Related to an earlier discussion thread, there is an
interesting paper discussing the advantage of sitting
at first base in blackjack.
Although most of the math is over my head, it seems to confirm what I think DD' was saying -- that the expected true count after removing any number of cards from the deck is the same as the actual true count before they are removed (see "True Count Theorem").
However, it claims the standard deviation from the expected true count for the third baseman is larger. I had some trouble interpreting the language used in the paper but they seemed to be saying that this standard deviation meant the third baseman would have to play longer than the first baseman to achieve the same financial gain and would experience larger flucuations in his bankroll.
The article is at
http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/math.PR/0006017
Like I said, I don't understand it very well but one of you might.
