Indices for wongers

moo321

Well-Known Member
#1
I'm trying to put together about 15-20 index plays for wonging. The problem is, every "illustrious 18" I come across has negative count plays, and I don't want any of those. Any idea of a good set of indices for back-counting?
 

callipygian

Well-Known Member
#2
I'll post the data if requested, but when I investigated this before, the results were that any I18 list will basically hold as a qualitative measure; just drop the negative count indices. There's no secret play that suddenly becomes super-profitable when you include Wonging, although the most profitable plays do switch around. Insurance is always the most important index.

The Callipygian "10" - a mixture of what is most profitable for my bet spread minus things I consider too suspicious to play (e.g. splitting TT vs. 5,6).

Insurance
Surrender 15 vs. A (if S17)
Surrender 15 vs. 9
Surrender 14 vs. 10
Double 11 vs. A (if S17)
Double 10 vs. 10
Double 9 vs. 7
Double 9 vs. 2
Stand 16 vs. 10
Stand 12 vs. 3
Stand 12 vs. 2
 

Renzey

Well-Known Member
#3
moo321 said:
I'm trying to put together about 15-20 index plays for wonging. The problem is, every "illustrious 18" I come across has negative count plays, and I don't want any of those. Any idea of a good set of indices for back-counting?
Here are 25 positive index plays I seem to use most.

...HAND..............T/C..........PLAY
..8 vs. 5.............+3...............D
..8 vs. 6.............+2...............D
..9 vs. 2.............+1...............D
..9 vs. 7.............+3...............D
10 vs. 10...........+5...............D
10 vs. A.............+4...............D
11 vs. A.............+1...............D
12 vs. 2.............+3...............S
12 vs. 3.............+2...............S
15 vs. 10...........+4...............S
16 vs. 9.............+5...............S
16 vs. 10.............0...............S
A/2 vs. 4...........+3...............D
A/3 vs. 4...........+1...............D
A/5 vs. 3...........+3...............D
A/6 vs. 2...........+1...............D
A/7 vs. 2...........+1...............D
A/8 vs. 4...........+3...............D
A/8 vs. 5...........+1...............D
A/8 vs. 6...........+1...............D
7/7 vs. 8...........+3...............Spl
9/9 vs. 7...........+3...............Spl
10/10 v 5..........+5...............Spl
10/10 v 6..........+5...............Spl
Insurance.........+3.5

..
 

EasyRhino

Well-Known Member
#4
There's also the idea of learning "counter's basic strategy", where the BS chart is just generally shifted to something that's good at around +2 or so. Probably most useful if you need to train a gorilla or something.
 

Canceler

Well-Known Member
#5
Renzey said:
Here are 25 positive index plays I seem to use most.

...HAND..............T/C..........PLAY
..8 vs. 5.............+3...............D
..8 vs. 6.............+2...............D
..9 vs. 2.............+1...............D
..9 vs. 7.............+3...............D
10 vs. 10...........+5...............D
10 vs. A.............+4...............D
11 vs. A.............+1...............D
12 vs. 2.............+3...............S
12 vs. 3.............+2...............S
15 vs. 10...........+4...............S
16 vs. 9.............+5...............S
16 vs. 10.............0...............S
A/2 vs. 4...........+3...............D
A/3 vs. 4...........+1...............D
A/5 vs. 3...........+3...............D
A/6 vs. 2...........+1...............D
A/7 vs. 2...........+1...............D
A/8 vs. 4...........+3...............D
A/8 vs. 5...........+1...............D
A/8 vs. 6...........+1...............D
7/7 vs. 8...........+3...............Spl
9/9 vs. 7...........+3...............Spl
10/10 v 5..........+5...............Spl
10/10 v 6..........+5...............Spl
Insurance.........+3.5

..
Thank you very much, Mr. Renzey! Even though I use KO, there are a few of these I can add to my repertoire. :grin:

Edit: More than a few, like about 7 of them.
 
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callipygian

Well-Known Member
#7
EasyRhino said:
There's also the idea of learning "counter's basic strategy", where the BS chart is just generally shifted to something that's good at around +2 or so. Probably most useful if you need to train a gorilla or something.
My opinion is that most counters should be playing with "counter's basic strategy" all the time, and consider the misplays between the Wong-out point and +2 to be cover plays.

Always stand on 16 vs. 10
Always double 9 vs. 2
Always double 11 vs. A (even if S17)
Always double A7 vs. 2 (even if S17)
Always double A6 vs. 2

These might cause you to fail a basic skill check which is the first step of counter detection.
 

moo321

Well-Known Member
#8
Renzey said:
Here are 25 positive index plays I seem to use most.

...HAND..............T/C..........PLAY
..8 vs. 5.............+3...............D
..8 vs. 6.............+2...............D
..9 vs. 2.............+1...............D
..9 vs. 7.............+3...............D
10 vs. 10...........+5...............D
10 vs. A.............+4...............D
11 vs. A.............+1...............D
12 vs. 2.............+3...............S
12 vs. 3.............+2...............S
15 vs. 10...........+4...............S
16 vs. 9.............+5...............S
16 vs. 10.............0...............S
A/2 vs. 4...........+3...............D
A/3 vs. 4...........+1...............D
A/5 vs. 3...........+3...............D
A/6 vs. 2...........+1...............D
A/7 vs. 2...........+1...............D
A/8 vs. 4...........+3...............D
A/8 vs. 5...........+1...............D
A/8 vs. 6...........+1...............D
7/7 vs. 8...........+3...............Spl
9/9 vs. 7...........+3...............Spl
10/10 v 5..........+5...............Spl
10/10 v 6..........+5...............Spl
Insurance.........+3.5

..
This is good. I didn't even know there was a positive index for 77 v. 8!
 

bj bob

Well-Known Member
#9
moo321 said:
This is good. I didn't even know there was a positive index for 77 v. 8!
Is that only for a DAS game? I thought that play was already BS for that game unless you're referring to nDAS. Confused.:confused: :confused:
 

Canceler

Well-Known Member
#10
That 7/7 vs. 8 does seem a little scary. If anyone wants to explain that one, I'd be glad to hear it. Or is it one of those that doesn't seem to make sense, but does in fact work out?
 

jack.jackson

Well-Known Member
#11
Canceler said:
That 7/7 vs. 8 does seem a little scary. If anyone wants to explain that one, I'd be glad to hear it. Or is it one of those that doesn't seem to make sense, but does in fact work out?
And scary it is! especially w/max bets. Fortunately they occur less with max bets on the table. I split'em @ -1> DAS. Hit Ndas. Even with high counts they're still not that profitable, and can be a little risky, depending on your BR.

What I still can't understand, is the BS plays for single deck, 33vs8&66vs7,DAS.

But yet, Ive never seen Indices for these plays, in any count system.
(It would seem if their BS plays, for single deck, their would at least be Indexes for them, for more decks?)
 

sagefr0g

Well-Known Member
#12
Canceler said:
That 7/7 vs. 8 does seem a little scary. If anyone wants to explain that one, I'd be glad to hear it. Or is it one of those that doesn't seem to make sense, but does in fact work out?
it's in Wong's Professional Blackjack. for instance multiple deck s17das
77vs8 split at tc>=5 .
to me it's just one of those that doesn't seem to make sense but works lol. but i guess it's a kind of sense of logic if you think how bs departures sort of extrapolate. like say double 11 vs all dealer up cards except ace but then double ace if tc>=1, or A6v2, don't double except tc>=1 but you doubled A6v3,4,5,6 . so you kind of suspect changes in tc is gonna make A6v2 a candidate for a departure. so like 7,7v2,3,4,5,6,7 is a go and what's next in line? the 8 . sort of thing like that. but like you say the why's and wherefores i dunno :confused:
 

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rukus

Well-Known Member
#14
Canceler said:
Thank you, Mr. Fr0g. Since Wong, Renzey, and k_c all agree on it, I guess it must work.



Still doesn't make sense, though.
would you rather have a 14 v 8 on a moderately high TC like +3 and have to hit it? or would you rather start with 2 hands of a 7 each and possibly draw a 3 or a 4 for a double, or an ace for soft 18. by splitting you can possibly improve the hard 14 vs a pat hand. seems to me this isnt a play meant to make money but to lose less money in the long run, kind of like splitting 8s vs 10.
 

Canceler

Well-Known Member
#16
Well duh!

rukus said:
seems to me this isnt a play meant to make money but to lose less money in the long run
Thank you, rukus. Of course that has to be right. I never even considered it from that angle. :whip:
 

callipygian

Well-Known Member
#17
8 decks, 75% penetration, H17, DAS, DA2, RSall, LS.
Values are expressed as millionths of an EV (e.g. 1507 = 0.001507).
Indices are rounded up to the nearest whole number (which is why insurance is +4).

Apologies if the formatting gets screwed. I'm copying and pasting from an Excel sheet. (Edit: Fixed! :grin: )
Code:
Type	Player	Dealer	Index	no Wong	Wong -1	Wong +1
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ins	any	1	4	484	599	1507
Hard	16	10	1	214	265	667
Hard	12	3	1	94	116	293
Surr	14	10	4	71	88	222
Split	10	6	4	55	68	171
Hard	12	4	-1	52	10	0
Hard	11	1	-1	43	13	0
Surr	15	9	3	41	51	129
Hard	9	2	1	35	44	110
Hard	12	2	3	32	40	100
Hard	13	2	-2	25	0	0
Surr	88	10	2	19	24	60
Soft	19	5	2	19	24	59
Hard	8	6	2	19	23	59
Hard	12	5	-2	19	0	0
Hard	9	3	-2	18	0	0
Soft	13	5	1	17	21	54
Hard	15	10	5	13	16	40
Hard	10	1	3	13	16	40
Hard	9	7	4	10	12	30
Soft	19	6	-1	10	3	0
Hard	10	9	-2	10	0	0
Split	8	1	1	9	11	28
Hard	10	10	4	8	10	25
Hard	16	1	4	8	10	25
Split	10	5	5	8	10	24
Hard	13	3	-3	8	0	0
Surr	16	8	4	7	8	20
Surr	77	10	4	6	8	19
Hard	8	5	4	5	6	16
Soft	19	4	4	5	6	16
Soft	14	4	3	5	6	15
Split	4	5	-1	5	1	0
Soft	20	6	4	4	4	11
Soft	15	4	-1	4	1	0
Soft	18	2	-1	4	1	0
Hard	9	4	-3	4	0	0
Soft	17	2	2	3	4	10
Split	9	1	3	3	3	8
Split	3	2	-1	3	1	0
Soft	14	5	-2	3	0	0
Hard	12	6	-4	3	0	0
Split	4	4	3	2	3	8
Soft	13	4	4	2	3	7
Surr	14	1	5	2	3	7
Split	5	1	3	2	2	6
Hard	16	9	5	2	2	5
Split	9	7	4	2	2	5
Split	5	9	-2	2	0	0
Hard	13	4	-5	2	0	0
Split	5	10	4	1	2	4
Soft	16	3	4	1	1	3
Soft	20	5	5	1	1	2
Split	6	2	-3	1	0	0
Soft	13	6	-3	1	0	0
Hard	14	2	-5	1	0	0
Hard	9	5	-5	1	0	0
Split	2	8	4	0	0	1
Surr	77	1	5	0	0	1
 
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UK-21

Well-Known Member
#18
Question for Mr Renzey.

Doesn't hitting an A-8 against a dealers 4,5 or 6 stick out a little bit and draw some heat? These are plays that are also listed in the KISS-3 indices. On the surface, nobody but a seasoned player (who knew that the odds had shifted in the table's favour?) would risk a pretty sound 19 hand? From the table provided by Callyipgian above these would seem to have very little advantage.

Should these plays be reserved for the greedy-wreckless times when being busted isn't such a big deal, ie last day of a trip to Vegas?

Newb99
 
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kewljason

Well-Known Member
#19
A8 vs 5,6

I have felt that way about A8 vs 5,6 for a long time. even posted a threat about such http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bb/showthread.php?t=6156 I feel it is similar to splitting 10's. While certainly profitable if done at correct indicies, it draws heat from pit and other players. Now I could give a rats a** what the other players feel, but when they grumble and moan, That can i n fact draw attention. The case of A8 vs 5,6 happens less frequently that splitting 10's, however the index is lower as well which means it may come in to play more often. As a matter of fact I guess it is basic strategy to DD A8 vs 6 in H17 game. Ploppies never make this play. as a matter of fact I personally have only seen this play made (other than myself) twice in my playing carreer, however, I play mostly in atlantic city and try to avoid H17 games, which is becoming more difficults as fewer and fewer hit soft 17 games remain all the time.

Personally as with splitting tens, I wait until a higher count than called for to make this play. That way I am probably leaving the table at the conclusion of the shoe anyway. I feel it adds playing longevity. Courious to hear other's opinions.
 
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cardcounter0

Well-Known Member
#20
I actually had a pit boss sweating my heads up action at a Double Deck S17 game, when with about a +3 count and a $200 bet out I got A8 vs 6.

Following conversation occurred:
cc0:"Now this is an interesting hand. What does the 'book' say to do?"
pit: "I would stand"
cc0: "that sounds like basic strategy, but I have been running real good, I'm up about $1000."
pit: "yes, I've been watching, you have had a good run"
cc0; "go big or go home. It's time to gambooooooowl!!!!! I double down."
pit: "it's your money, but I would still say stand"
cc0 (after winning hand): "wow, that was some good luck"
pit: "yeah, if a duece had come up, I would suspect something"
:rolleyes:

PS> for DD s17: 7,7 vs 8 split is basic strategy, although it is another move that you should yell "It's time to gambooooooowl!!!!!" when you do it.
 
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