Blackjack - Playing With Bad Players

Players simply hate playing with other players who draw when they should stand or stand when they should draw, especially when the results of that decision cause their own hand to lose.  I frequently hear this complaint from players who describe how much money they lost due to the bad play of their tablemate.

For some players, nothing is more annoying than sitting on the table with a 16 against the dealer's 5, and watching with horror as the third baseman draws on his own 14 - as opposed to standing and busts out with a 10.  Meanwhile, the dealer flops over a 9 for a 14, and rather than drawing the 10 taken by the inept third baseman, proceeds instead to draw for a perfect 21, busting out the whole table and causing a rippling of mumbling and anger from the other players.

It is bad enough for the player holding the 15, how about the other player who holds a 20!

But you know what?  It doesn't matter what any player does or how bad they are. It makes absolutely no difference to your chances of winning.  Absolutely none.  I personally couldn't care less if I was playing with a bunch of monkeys.

In the long run, whether you have a good fundamentals player behind you or the village idiot who turns every hand into an adventure, the truth is that mathematically, this player has no effect on your winning or losing chances.

Bad plays that cost money will really stick out to you at the table. However, the reality is that you probably won't notice or remember the other side of the coin, the times that the idiots bad play helped you win a big hand.

You know what?  It all equals out in the long run.  Bad players help as often as they hurt. Stop worrying about them.  How could you possibly know what card they will take?  However, if bad players disturb your enjoyment of the game or your concentration, move to another table. If you are more worried about someone else's play than your own, obviously a change of scenery is in order.