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Stanford Wong
Stanford Wong is known, today, by this name, and this name alone. This was not his name at birth - but you certainly wouldn't know that with his fame today! He was born John Ferguson in 1943 and became famous eventually for his gambling strategy and amazing ability. Legends are told that he first realized he had a natural knack for games and strategies while playing tic-tac-toe at the age of six. By the time that he was twelve, Stanford Wong was hooked on blackjack and he started to use his office calculator to figure out how the game was best played. He became a master card counter, which led to his eventual inclusion in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. He learned all of this quite young, however, and had to sit patiently until he turned 21 to put it into action!
Stanford Wong Starts to Play
As an undergraduate student at Stanford University in 1964, he started his professional gambling life. He would go on to get his Ph.D. in Statistics from Stanford and would then become a member of their faculty, all the while working on his gambling strategy. A friend in his Ph.D. program gave him his claim to fame by renaming him Stanford Wong. They took the name of the university and combined it with an Asian last name to create a mystical feeling.
Stanford Wong Hits the Game
In 1975, Stanford Wong published his first book, Professional Blackjack, with his findings about how best to play the four deck game. This book has become one of the hallmark texts in the blackjack industry, and helped to land him in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. It's even been considered the "Bible of blackjack" by some! Since those beginnings, he has gone on to write half dozen books on gambling strategy and he even has a sports gambling website where he shares his own ideas.
Retired from the Game - But Enjoying the Blackjack Hall of Fame
Stanford Wong no longer practices what he preaches. He is retired from the game, but he still writes about blackjack strategy and gives advice to others. He says, when asked, that he no longer enjoys playing blackjack competitively because he's mastered the game. He says that, in order to win, you really have to have a thirst to do so; once you've mastered the game, it's hard to maintain that thirst.
Learn More about Stanford Wong
Stanford Wong is certainly deserving of his place in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Wong developed the program called the Blackjack Analyzer which is software for leading odds-analysis. Some of his books are actually considered collector's items. His second book, Blackjack in Asia, is valued at over $2000! His book from 1980, Winning without Counting, is also valued at hundreds of dollars. A few blackjack terms, including warping, spooking and front-loading, are even credited to Stanford Wong! For these reasons, and so many others, he is definitely deserving of his place in the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
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