What follows are the most frequently asked questions that I have receive over the past 50 years I've been playing and teaching the game of blackjack to players.

Where you sit has no effect on the odds against you. My advice if you are a beginner is to sit in the middle because this will give you a little more time to decide how to play your hand. (The first base player, or player to the far right, is the first to act; the third base player, far left, is the last to act.) Now, if you are a card counter using a traditional counting system (e.g. Hi Lo), it's best to sit at third base so you can see and count as many cards as possible before acting on your hand.

I know many players believe the answer to this is "yes" because of the times they've lost a hand when another player misplayed his or her hand. But in the long run, the skill of other players on your table has no affect on your odds of winning. Yes, you'll remember the times you lose a hand when someone misplays theirs. But how many times have you congratulated a player who misplayed his hand that resulted in everyone on the table winning? Blackjack players have selective memory. Bottom line: Ignore how other players act on their hands and focus instead on how to accurately play your hands.

A dealer will bust more often when she must hit soft 17 instead of standing, which is good for the player; however, this is more than offset by the fact that when she doesn't bust, what would have been a 17 often ends up to be a higher hand that more often will beat the player's hand. (A soft 17 is a lousy hand not only for the dealer but also for the player, which is why it's better for players to hit or double down on soft 17.)

You want to play blackjack games that offer the best rules. For example, some of the better rules are being paid 3-2 for a blackjack, dealer standing on soft 17, you can double down on any first two cards, you can double down after pair splitting, and you have the option to surrender. The games you want to definitely avoid are those that pay only 6-5 (or worse even money) for a blackjack. As a general rule, a single-deck game that pays 3-2 for a blackjack often has better odds than a multi-deck game that pays 3-2. (But not always; you need to carefully compare the rules.)

No they don't. Whether you won or lost the previous hand has no affect on your chances of winning the next hand.

If you are basic strategy player, you are better off playing on a full table because you will get fewer hands to act on per hour and, therefore, less exposure of your bankroll to the house edge. If you are a card counter, your hourly win rate will increase when you play heads up because you will be playing more hands when you have the edge.

Yes, but you must learn the strategies on how to do it.

Simply because the majority of the public won't take the time or effort to learn the well-documented strategies that could give them the mathematical edge when they play. Instead they rely on hunches and guessing when they play, which results in a ton of profit for casinos.

Using your brain when you play blackjack is not illegal; therefore, card counting is not illegal.

I assume you tried to learn a traditional card counting system like Hi Lo. There are simpler (albeit less powerful) counting systems that are much easier to master that can give the recreational player either a break-even game or a slight edge over the casino. Three that I recommend are Speed Count, the Ace-Five count, and the Ace-Ten Front count.

How do casinos get away with excluding card counters from playing blackjack"? "Isn't this discrimination"?
The Nevada courts have allowed casinos to exclude card counters because technically they are private property, and under the ancient common law right a property owner could kick-off his property anyone for any reason, or even without a reason. Many players and lawyers believe that barring skillful players from playing blackjack is an unconstitutional form of discrimination. However, the Supreme Court prohibits discrimination only against persons who are members of "suspect classifications" based on race, creed, sex, national origin, age, or physical disability (i.e. card counters are not listed in the "suspect classifications"). Therefore, until a law is passed or blackjack players bring a challenge, casinos will continue the practice of barring card counters (or for that matter, any player for any reason, which casinos won't reveal to a barred player). (Note: In some gaming jurisdictions, such as in Atlantic City and Missouri, regulations won't allow casinos to bar card counters.)