When is Wonging Wrong?

I have run into a conflict where I cannot seem to figure out which is in my best interest. Assuming you all know what wonging is, it is very helpful, but when does it become too noticeable? I play at a lot of smaller casinos with a few blackjack tables open at once, so if I keep wonging in and out, how noticeable is that? Is it best to do it only once or twice? Can I even sit back and wait out a few hands and jump back in? Or is it best to sit through a bad shoe and realize that this happens and just have to suck up a bad shoe once and a while. If they were larger Casinos it would be better!

If it's a small place, or only one pit is open, you can't do it for very long. It works great in places like AC and vegas, where you can hit one place for an hour and move on before they know what happened.

That's what I was afraid of. Well I guess it looks like I will be sitting through bad shoes. Is it completely wonging if I go use the bathroom and come back or if I just sit out a couple of hands? Can I even just sit back and pass my turn a couple of times? Basic questions I know, but I would hate to draw any more attention to myself!

I have been wondering the same thing. I feel like it's obvious when I sit out a few hands. I usually say somthing like " your killin me. I need to take a breather." But how many "breathers" or "restroom breaks" can you take? Guess I could claim I have diahrea...

what do you do in situations when you "take a breather"? I wouldnt sit at the table and stare at the cards as they come out and then jump back in when the shoe turns in your favor. Light a smoke, order a drink, get up and stretch, make it look like you are truly disgusted by your loss while watching the table out of the corner of your eye. :cool2:

I know! I laughed when I read your post. Yes there are only so many time you can take a breather or pee before they look at you like, wow you just won hands in a row! Now you're quitting!? Walking away?! ... I need a needy friend who whines and pulls me away repeatedly. Unfortunately, no one I know finds black jack at all interesting enough to wait around!

I don't drink, and I don't smoke. People do talk to me a lot, so I try to hold convos when I am "taking a breather" but then when I sit down they want to continue to talk to me, and about in-depth topics! It totally can mess my world up. I feel I am getting screwed any way I bend. How do you guys handle chatty neighbors?

Give them one liners. Don't go into detailed conversations that make you think about the story over the cards. Its tough. If you can get the dealer into the conversation, sometimes you can get them to take over as you in the conversation...and talking dealers make a lot of mistakes compared to your rainman introverted dealers who love numbers over the personal aspect of having someone enjoy "entertainment" for their value.

Talking is a good cover if you want to same table wong by "taking breathers". Just do anything to make it look like you arent focused on the game while you are not playing. too obvious.

There are other ways of employing cover. In my limited experience, it's been useful to sit at the table minimum rather than immediately wonging out when the count tanks; just wong out right after the first loss.

I have found that dealers talk to me a lot during a game, which is good and bad. They seem to then openly make mistakes on their job, I like that! I had a dealer once who was Rainman's brother.. he was intense, and never looked you in the eye. But when you did a certain hit or not hit or double down when you "arent supposed to" he would hold a huge conversation on how much a dumbass I must have been and then corrected me on the proper way to have handled it. He obliviously was completely unaware what I was doing that would have made hitting that hand a horrible mistake. He was a very odd man:juggle:

talking dealers are tough one on one...because they are talking to YOU. Otherwise I dont mind them as long as they don't focus 100% of the convo on me.

One time I had a rainman delear who was damn near close to counting a shoe as I was because he was doing the ploppy type "raise your bets its getting hot" kind of talk.....thing was the shoe was getting hot in my head...and I'm playing 1 on 1...So I start upping the bets and I do a run of 35 units into the last half of the shoe. At one point this lady sat down, put her money on the table..and he says to her "this gentlemen has asked if you would wait until the shoe ends, is this ok" and she nods yes...thing is I didnt ask, he was just so focused on numbers and how hot it was he didnt want it screwing up his own logic. One of the oddest experiences of my life at a BJ table....but fun.

Haha!! Wow.. lol I am sure that had to have been the most bizarre moment! Slightly nice in a creepy fun way that he had that lady wait, even if you didn't ask! I always wonder how many can count the cards.. however I am guessing it can't be toooo many or they might be on the other side of the table I like when the dealer thinks they are smarter than you though, and they almost skip over you because they think you're going to stay and you're not and then they look at you like you're being super stupid. Silly dealers :joker:

After the shoe i cashed out since I didnt want to play with ploppy who sat down. I got to speak to him 1 on 1 during this transaction and he was actually quite personable when not focusing on cards. He regailed me of tails from his youth and how he lived in idaho and took a bus to some northern nevada po dunk town to stay for the weekends (must have been in the 1970s was my guess) and he would consistenly lose until the last hour or 2 and then either even up or come out slightly over, enough to pay for the bus and some food.

He was convinced when I was down 16 units by midshoe that the deck had turned hot. I didnt not have the same count...but within 3 or 4 hands solo I was now ready to spread and he was correct in his ...whatever logic...the time to raise was at hand. Good times.

I no longer smoke, but I bring a pack of smokes with me. When I want a "smoke", I get up and go stand a distance away with a lit smoke in my hands. The dealer appreciates me not smoking and never notices the timing of my breaks. A pack of generic smokes runs less than $4.00 in Vegas.

Are there "no smoking" tables in Vegas? That would make things easy. Just get up and smoke when it's bad. How far do you have to be when from no smoking tables when smoking?

yes there are optimal ways to wong. it's discussed in a book by Don Schlesinger called Blackjack Attack in chapter 13.
i wont even begin to try and explain that stuff to you as i don't really understand it all, but i'll just say it's worth a read with respect to your question.

if i'm getting the gist of your post and if i understand correctly that you may not be a pro then i have a few less than professionally oriented suggestions.
first i think the stuff you talk about above is pretty much ok to do, but like you say how noticeable is it?
suffice it to say it might could get pretty darn noticeable, lol. i guess especially if you spend maybe three or more hours in this joint.
so ok, you can do stuff like that some and mix that up with this suggestion....

take a break from it all, a really break. like if your not a pro worried about getting in as many hands as possible, then taking a break shouldn't be all that much of a big deal. so give it a breather for a while, lol. how long? i dunno maybe ten, fifteen, twenty minutes or so.
then come back and get your self another seat and take another shot at some table, maybe mix in some of those bathroom breaks, smoke breaks, phony frustration breaks, what ever lol, when the shoe goes to hell in a hand basket.

A healthier way to wong out is while someone is smoking at the table. Telling the dealer the second hand smoke (during negative counts) is irritating and leaving for a short time is understandable to the pit.

Smokes

That is also a Sage Frog move!:laugh:



CP

SSSHHHHHHssh !

your not supposed to know that ,

geesh you saw through my act? :laugh::eyepatch::whip:

Good idea. I'll have to add this to my repertoire!