Stanford Wong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stanford Wong (born 1943) is a pseudonym for John Ferguson, a former professional gambler and gambling author. He is best known for his book Professional Blackjack, which was first published in 1975 and is still in print. Wong's computer program "Blackjack Analyzer", initially created for personal use, was one of the first commercially available blackjack odds analyzing software.
Wong began playing blackjack professionally in 1976 while teaching finance courses at San Francisco State and getting his Ph.D in Finance from Stanford University in California. Not content with the teaching life, Wong agreed to be paid a salary of $1 for his last term of teaching at the school in order to not attend faculty meetings and to pursue his gambling career.
The term "wong" (v.) has come to mean a specific advantage technique in blackjack, which Wong popularised in the 1980s.
Wong recently authored the controversial book Wong on Dice which purports to show how the game of casino craps can be beaten through controlled dice throwing.
Wong maintains a blackjack website which provides, among other information, the newsletter "Current Blackjack News", with information about rules and conditions of blackjack games in casinos in the United States and some other countries. He has reviewed or acted as a consultant for some of the world's leading blackjack writers and researchers, including Don Schlesinger and Ian Andersen. Wong no longer plays blackjack professionally.
The name "Stanford Wong" is a pseudonym. His first choice for a pen name was "Nevada Smith," but that name had been taken. "Stanford Wong" was selected by a friend in the PhD program by taking his alma mater as his first name and an Asian last name to provide the "mystique of the Orient". Wong's birth name is John Ferguson.
[edit] Trivia
- Wong resides in La Jolla, California.
- Wong has appeared on TV many times as a blackjack tournament contestant or as a gambling expert.
- Wong is one of only twelve members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
[edit] Books by Stanford Wong
- Professional Blackjack
- Professional Video Poker
- Wong on Dice
- Blackjack Secrets
- Basic Blackjack
- Tournament Blackjack
- Tournament Craps
- Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing your T
- Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker
- Vegas Downtown Blackjack
- Sharp Sports Betting
- Casino Tournament Strategy
- Betting Cheap Claimers
- Winning Without Counting
- Complete Idiot's Guide to Gambling Like a Pro
