Blackjack Authors: Stanford Wong

After Professor Edward O. Thorp, the father of blackjack card counting, there is Stanford Wong. This name is only a pseudonym. He was born John Ferguson in 1943. As can be learned from his life and Thorp's, the love of gambling and a genius in mathematics can make a winning combination.

As a boy, Ferguson loved to play games but he did not play as other children did. He invariably approached games as a serious strategist. At 6 years old, he could play tic tac toe with strategy that worked so well that it is said he never lost the game once.

When he was 12 years old, Wong discovered blackjack and became an ardent player. He used a calculator to find out the probabilities of the game. He read widely on the subject of card counting and mastered the art early on.

Ferguson began his career as a professional gambler in 1964 when he was still in college. He went on to obtain a Ph. D in Statistics in Stanford University. There a friend gave him the name "Stanford Wong." Perhaps because of his unusual gifts, the friend gave him an Asian surname to convey uniqueness and mystique.

During this time, the popularity of card counting was at its peak due to the publication of Thorp's "Beat the Dealer." This was great for players, but Wong found that the single deck blackjack games he had played were now being replaced with multiple deck games to thwart the card counters. The old strategies he had used as a young man no longer worked. Wong knew that a more advanced system would have to be made to keep up with the latest changes in the casino rules. Using computers, Wong devised a strategy for four deck games. He wrote about it in his 1975 book "Professional Blackjack." The book rapidly became a classic. Some hail it as the "bible" of blackjack players today.

Wong authored other books including "Winning Without Counting" published in 1980, "Professional Video Poker" published in 1991, "Basic Blackjack" published in 1992, "Blackjack Secrets" published in 1993, and "Sharp Sports Betting" published in 2001.

This genius retired from blackjack many years ago. In 2003, Wong wrote that blackjack no longer challenges him like it used to and that he no longer needs the money. However Wong continues to write on the subject as well as other gambling topics.