You actually want to obtain 3d bit (starting from the right end):
00001100
^
3d from the right end (bits are zero based)
All you have to do is to get rid of 3 lower bits (100) with a help of >> and check the next bit:
// 1 if 3d bit is set, 0 otherwise
player = (low >> 3) & 1;
Or if you have number 5 - index from the left end and assuming low being byte:
player = (low >> (sizeof(byte) * 8 - 5)) & 1;