Stanford Wong on TV

I just saw Mr Wong on the travel channel. The show was called "Gambling games-beating the house". Interesting show gave a good plug for bj21 web site. There was also a plug for the book Knock out blackjack and its writer Olaf Vancura was playing along side SW. Good show talked about card counters being dangerous for the casinos etc etc. SW also presented strategies for playing video poker too. It was neat seeing SW in the flesh. Anthony Curtis was there showing how he wiggled his feet to side count aces on his counting system. Sorry did not get the name of the system. It is something how the BJ Gurus are now part of the hype of Las Vegas and gambling. I guess I missed the days of Ken Uston and the book Million Dollar Black Jack because of my age. Now I guess it is big business on both sides of the table and I my play is just a hobby of times past. Oh yea they called Pro-counter types "wise guys"....????

2 AM EST, so I guess ll PM on the west coast.

..uses the Uston APC, and keeps the sidecount of aces with his foot.

of mine 86d out of six strip casinos.

Can someone give details on his foot thing for Aces? I'm not sure I'll be up late enough to catch the replay and I need the exact system that he used.
I also use a foot thing for Aces although I think it looks pretty natural (probably similar to SW's) but have yet to get backed off anywhere. However, I am a low-level red-chipper and I think my camo is pretty good. But I've always been concerned with how much of a giveaway the foot thing might be.

Start with a single deck of cards. As you count the deck down, you will get to the first Ace. Place the toes of your foot on the floor, heel up in the air. Next Ace, flat foot. 3rd, heel down toes off the floor. 4th put outside of foot against the floor. Repeat with the other foot for a two-deck game. You can also use a ring on your finger to twirl around, which is a common nervous habit of some people. You can also use your tongue on your teeth to count. Some people use chips. Try to hide the method you use, or get used to just knowing how many you have seen. It is not necessary to use a side count of the Aces in the old Humble school fashion using Uston's 1/13 method. This is what I have dubbed the "U" Hi Opt II. U for Uston, RIP.

Will try to tape this program if available in Toronto Ontario. I see it has an EST of 2AM so it must be getting beamed out from my time zone.

to start at 1 o'clock with first ace rt foot, 2nnd two, when you get
to six your rt foot is back with only toe on floor-seven switch feet like you are trying to get comfortable. up to 12 o'clock for 12
twice around is 24- oh yeah that is six decks. PROBLEM- there
enough EYES to pick up both methods on camera. Sorry 'bout that.

Set the alarm for 2AM but I couldn't find it on the boob-tube. Must have been blocked by the anti-gambling proletariat. You are right Frank, the best place to keep the count is in your mind, where, thank goodness, no pit can see us thinking....grin

Sorry I missed it. Was it on Travel Channel?

Currently rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. A pretty good show on the Travel Channel as far some of that stuff goes. And the hot chicks on their Spring-Break party-locations show that preceeded it was helpful got staying awake.

I was pretty surprised that a casino let that guy sit there and show the world how to count on camera...I'm sure they had to ask around to several different casinos to get permission to film that. However, since they only sort of explained counting...and since it appeared he was using a level-3 system, it probably worked out to the casinos benefit. It makes counting look as extraordinarily complicated as casinos want it to look.

The foot thing was interesting...I think my foot thing looks a bit more natural. Never been caught with it yet but then again, I am just a red-chipper so I'm not getting the most attention in the world. It's better than stacking chips or rotating one like a clock which I used to do despite the potential obviousness.
As far as the foot thing goes...on a 6-deck shoe you shouldn't have to set it up to count to 24. My system I use... I just set it up to count to 5 and re-set. I can remember which group of 5 I'm on by memory. When you're a deck in it shouldnt' be too hard remembering whether youre at 6 Aces or 11. If you're at 11 at just one deck in I think you would remember it and probably note that it's time for a Wong-Out. Still, When I started to do it I had trouble late in shoes remembering whether I was at 13 Aces or 18 (a big difference at the 4-deck mark of course) but I focued a little more...shortened my sessions and it's no longer a problem. After that 6-shoe practice..side Aces is a joy on DD. What a breeze.

It's lots of fun putting out a slightly bigger bet on a so-so count when all the Aces come out. The main problem comes from the other people at the table or the dealer, "Wow - You always seem to get your BlackJacks just when your bet is highest!"
Thanks for the compliment guy...too bad you're not observant enough to see the pit critters stop everything amd focus on me.

they tend to re-run those things quite a bit through the course of a year. And they sometimes re-run them on the weekends (or they show the weekend programs later during the week...not sure).
Some interesting stuff on video poker and slots too although I don't play either.
And I forgot to mention...a nice little plug for SW's site BJ21.com on the show.

The casinos can easily spot a good counter and rarely have to worry about the rest of the average counters, and James Bond wannabees. It makes sense to me that that would allow these guys to use their casino. They are already well known to these casinos, so who else would you want to go on TV for you to represent us? Gives the casino and these counters some major publicity, which helps them all make money. Add another 1000 so-so counters to the tables and you can help yourself cover the shark bites that get taken out of you.

Yes, I turned on the boob-tube, and that's just what I saw...boobs. Young ladies in tini bikinis that want to talk to you. I didn't know there were that many ads for phonewankers out there! laugh

This was my fourth viewing of the show on a 13" tv 3 feet away-better
detail. I can't figure if Sw is younger than I think, or has dyed gray hair red like our optomitrist. At the most not very oriental.
Yes I know the name and story. On all these shows there is far more tape on the floor than in the clip.

The Vegas channel (as we call it at my house - that's a compliment in my book) repeats their shows quite frequently. If you go to "Discovery.com" you can find the weekly schedule for the vegas channel. Just look in every week and you're sure to see this show repeated sometime soon.

The only reasoj I can guess they put this on tv. is to get more average counters into the casinos, or guess that most people wil not want to jump up and try to be a counter in this environment. I think the casinos are worrying themselves out of more money, especially in AC. The "no midshoe entry" kills alot of propective people who are just looking to get in a game and lose their money. keeping them out of the game loses them more money than they make by keeping the counter "teams" from playing, especially when you can just back off the team guys. I think when the data shows up when the casinos go to a marketing firm to compare the numbers and the number of players since the no entry rule and the CSM's, they will be more lax on these rules. They are too greedy.

My 2 cents.....

It was preceeded by a show with a bunch of seals or walri (plural of walrus?) gathered around the stud of the herd as he copulated with his cow.

The babes were more enjoyable to watch, but the artic intercourse inspired a more entertaining thread.

"The casinos can easily spot a good counter and rarely have to worry about the rest of the average counters, and James Bond wannabees. "

I agree with most of your post, but not the first statement. They do not spot good counters. 1. Good by definition means crafty enough to avoid detection, and 2. They just aren't looking that hard.

I am proof of the second part, because while playing on a team, we broke all the rules of "cover" and bet like crazy. Getting in and out in less than an hour, may have helped. But I was constantly watched and not booted by PB's.

JABP

I remember about a year ago they had a whole run of Vegas shows on the Discovery channel. One of them had an interesting segment on Griffen. Anyone catch that/have it on tape/ know if it will ever be running again?