Recently more than one player and a couple of dealers at my local shop have announced that the first hand out of the shoe (and some say the last, also)is highly in the dealer's favor. One dealer actually told me the dealer wins 70% of the first hands. A player nodded wisely and responded, "Yeah, the first deck is "for the house." (Hmmmm? I thought they *all* were!)
Hard for me to see how that assertion has any basis in statistical fact, but hey I'm no genius.
I'm not interested in guesswork or hunches, but do any of you math whizzes out there know if there are any *statistics* to back up that claim?
If it matters, the game I play locally is 6 deck and I don't count cards.
Like I say, I can't imagine why the first, last, or any other specific hand would vary in advantage/disadvantage. But I would sure like to know if there is any point in sitting out the first (and last) hands.
Appreciate your insight.
