Third Base

Third base is the last seat at a blackjack table before the dealer, positioned at the far right from the dealer's perspective, so the player sitting there acts immediately before the dealer completes the hand. Because it is the final decision point of the round, third base sees every card the other players have already drawn and is the last position to influence how the remaining cards in the shoe fall to the dealer. The seat carries an outsized reputation. At a full table, the player at third base often takes the "community" cards that would otherwise have gone to the dealer, which is why the seat attracts both blame and superstition when a hand goes badly for everyone. Worked example: the dealer shows a 6 and you sit at third base holding 16, a losing spot most of the time. Basic strategy says stand against a dealer 6, because the dealer must draw to a 17 or higher and busts roughly 42% of the time from a 6. Suppose you instead hit and take the 10 that would have busted the dealer; the dealer then draws a 5 to make 21 and beats the whole table. Your play changed the outcome, but over thousands of hands correct basic strategy at third base still costs the house the same edge regardless of seat. For players, no seat is mathematically better or worse in the long run; card order is random and your own expected value depends only on your decisions, not your position. Ignore any pressure to "play for the table." Compare with first base, basic strategy and blackjack.