Brock, I'd tend to agree that the more "typical" ploppy doesn't take as many cards as a BS player. You usually don't see too many wild-ass-cardtakers.
And sometimes it is a little distracting to see a ploppy doing amazingly stupid ****. But usually in an amusing way.
bigjimmyjames, it may seem like we're ragging on you a little bit, but it's only because there are two interrelated epiphanies that can really help out your play that we're trying to get across:
1) It's very useful to not worry about other players' play when you're at the table. You don't get stressed. You don't get distracted. You can focus on your betting, your playing, and your camo.
I've seen my stepdad (a slot ploppy) at the blackjack table. He gets too worked up about, well, everything, to ever have a shot of card counting.
2) It's also very important to be aware of the "conditions" at the table, that can have a potential impact on your play. And to know which ones matter and which don't. I'll confess, when I first started counting, all I did was find a table with an open spot and sit down, I was fairly oblivious. However, there's all sorts of things that you can pay attention to that will have an effect on your long-term results:
1) the count
2) penetration
3) table limits
4) crowd at table
5) speed of table
6) position of floorman
7) relative action at table
8) relative action in pit
9) how good-looking the dealer is
... etc.
Let's go back to your "coin-flip" example, where you have a random stretch of 10 hands that you're playing. If you sit down, and play alone, you might win 5 and lose 5 (or win or lose more). If a ploppy sits down, then you still might win 5 and lose 5. It probably would be winning and losing a different 5, but still the same number. And of course, during that 10 hands, you might get lucky or unlucky and win more or less with the ploppy than you would alone. But again, it's unknowable, and has no net effect over the long term, so why stress about it?