There is a gaming technique in Blackjack used to gain an edge without playing every hand. You only need to observe a blackjack table and wait for the count to become favorable. When the deck is finally to your advantage, you immediately take action by placing a high-stakes bet. This technique is known as “wonging,” a simple but mighty strategy developed by the famous blackjack player and gambling author Stanford Wong.
Today’s casino news content discusses Stanford Wong’s impact on Blackjack, all the way from his book “Professional Blackjack” to his discreet gaming technique.
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Stanford Wong: Creating the Wonging Blackjack Strategy
Stanford Wong is John Ferguson’s pen name. He was born in Georgia, US, in 1943. Growing up, Wong loved card games. He learned the rules and strategy for the tic-tac-toe game at age 6. He mastered the game so well that he never lost a game to his peers.
Wong learned about Blackjack from a friend when he was 12. He fell in love with the game’s simplicity and was ever curious about gaming strategy. He launched into it head-first, only to discover there was much more to the game. But this didn’t deter him. Instead, it made him love it even more.
At 14, Stanford Wong developed a working strategy to give him an advantage over the house. But Wong had one challenge—he had not yet attained the legitimate gambling age of 21. Since Wong couldn’t visit the casino yet, he continued studying gambling and blackjack strategies. Wong read books like Edward Thorp’s “Beat the Dealer,” where he picked up card counting and discovered that his initial strategy was correct in comparison.
Hitting the Blackjack Tables
Stanford Wong was an excellent student in high school. After graduating with distinct grades, he was admitted to Oregon State University with a scholarship. Fast-forward to 1964. He turned 21 while at university and immediately traveled to Reno, Nevada, to put to the test what he had learned and discovered so far. But he didn’t go deeper until later.
Stanford Wong graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s in Business and taught math courses for two years at the same university. He also served in the army for two years, after which he attended Stanford University, California, for his PhD.
Stanford Wong’s Transformative Books
Stanford Wong stopped gambling because of the demands placed on him by his academic pursuits. However, he returned when he was tired of teaching and needed to build his bankroll. Wong hit the table again and reportedly won around a hundred thousand dollars. During this time, he began working on a book on blackjack strategy.
Introducing “Professional Blackjack”
In 1975, Stanford Wong published “Professional Blackjack,” a gambling bible for advantage players. The Book discusses card counting techniques in depth, including the “wonging” technique mentioned earlier and strategies not contained in Edward Thorp’s book. It also revealed blackjack strategies like team play and shuffle tracking. Additionally, the book exposed the weak points of the casino at Blackjack that can give players an edge.
Other Casino Gaming Strategy Books
Though “Professional Blackjack” was his most successful book, Stanford published other books. In 1987, he published “Tournament Blackjack,” highlighting strategies for gaining an edge in tournaments. In 1992, he published “Basic Blackjack,” a more introductory book on blackjack strategy for a broader audience.
In 1993, he published Blackjack Secrets. This book focused more on card-counting strategies and introduced “Ace Sequencing,” a concept that tracks the order of aces in a deck.
Stanford Wong also published books on other casino games besides Blackjack. His 2005 “Wong on Dice” book explained dice control in craps. He also published books on Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Video Poker, and sports betting.
Stanford Wong’s Newsletters
Stanford extended his influence beyond books into online newsletters, which he distributed using a blackjack website he launched for this purpose.
Blackjack Website BJ21
In 1997, he launched BJ21, a blackjack website with a forum, newsletter, and resource for advantage players. The site quickly became a hub for card counters and serious online blackjack players, serving as a space for discussion, strategy sharing, and networking.
The site’s popularity is due to its unique feature, the restricted “Green Chip” area. This area provides exclusive access to subscribers and offers in-depth discussions and strategies on card counting and other blackjack techniques.
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Stanford Wong Zipped
Stanford Wong changed the game, not just for players but also for casinos. Casino executives had to adapt to this new style of play. They implemented surveillance techniques and countermeasures, such as back-rooming and restricting mid-shoe entry, to curb wonging. They also introduced continuous shuffle machines to confuse advantage players. Furthermore, his books have generally been of help to some blackjack players.
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