·         Wongers have more difficulty receiving casino comps (freebies) as they are not seen putting in large amounts of time at the table.

·         Standing around staring at the tables and then jumping in for small periods often looks suspicious.

Wonging Betting Ramps

There exist many variations of Wonging, entering and exiting at different points. Wonging also involves a huge number of variables. Instead of hopelessly confusing both the reader and myself, this early in the book, I will provide a couple of simple examples on the next page and a slew of detailed charts in the “How Blackjack Works” Chapter starting on page 401. All examples are for six decks, S17, DAS, 75% penetration.

Example 1: Back-counting — In the first examples, I will include sample betting ramps for REKO and FELT assuming that the player enters the shoe at the first count with an advantage and exits at a disadvantage. The bet spread can be far lower when back-counting since you are not forced to play hands with a disadvantage. This is explained later.

With the FELT Count, you enter at a count of +2 and exit at -2. Exit points in strategies that do not use true counts, like REKO, are more complicated. The K-O book suggests different exit points at different depths. But I find this too complex for a simple strategy. So, for the REKO example, I entered at -3 at any point in the shoe, but exited at -14 only when more than two decks are dealt and not near the end of the shoe. (Make this -24 for eight decks.) The worst case numbers assume you always remain at the same table waiting for a new shuffle after you exit. The best case numbers assume that, upon exiting, you immediately start playing at another table. Actual results will be in between these two extremes depending on the casino and your skill. Hands played is the percentage of hands dealt that you play if you remain at the table.

Example 2: Exit Only — In the second example, you do not back-count. You enter at the shuffle and exit under the same conditions as in example 1. REKO is not as effective as the FELT Count under this scenario. Note: These examples are not meant as a comparison between REKO and FELT.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger