Wonging refers to the practice of leaving the table when the count drops very low (wonging out) or watching a game and counting without playing (wonging in). Generally wonging is better in large, crowded casinos with lots of tables, whereas a play all approach is necessary in smaller venues that may have only one game you want to play. For example Baccarat casino (now closed) in Edmonton had a very good game. Actually one of the best games on the planet, probably. The rules were like so :
H17, DAS, DA2, RSA, ES10. The ES10 rule in particular is quite favourable to the player in general, but to the counter in particular. Oh, and one more thing - they cut off a deck or less out of six decks.
Now this particular casino usually has 2 or 3 tables open on the main floor, and 1 table open in high limit or open upon request if there are no players. The main floor is very crowded and often there were vagrants there because of the nearby homeless shelter. Of course the main floor game was still quite playable because of the above listed conditions BUT in this situation, especially if you were getting the same penetration (high limit usually cut a little worse but let's imagine for the sake of the hypothetical they were cutting the same), and especially if the high limit game was heads up then it would be vastly superior. But there is only one table. So in this imagined situation based on a real game wonging would be a poor choice. The better approach is to play all, mostly because of the rounds per hour. Heads up with a quick dealer it is easy to get 200 rounds per hour if you can play at lightning speed. But only the slower main floor, with all the idiots coffeehousing and changing money etc. etc. you only get 70 rounds an hour. So, ceteris parabis, you are going to make 3x as much money playing the high limit game. Of course ceteris is not parabis but the essential point is that rounds per hour is very important, especially if the other conditions are the same or similar. Now if you could wong from one heads up high limit table to another then that would probably be better.
You can look at wonging as a 'leaving decision'. So many things can motivate you to leave a blackjack game. Crowded conditions are a big one. Other players slow down the game, costing you money and aggravation. The count dropping is another good reason to leave, especially if there are other good options nearby. A third reason to leave is if you have been playing there too long and want to employ more of a hit and run strategy. In some situations wonging is not really viable unless you are wonging to a different casino. That is the case if there is only one table or only one playable table in a small casino. But if you are a in a big casino with lots of different tables, and the conditions you are playing in are not that optimal, because it is crowded for example, then you should be more inclined to wong aggressively. But if you have a nice heads up game it would be counterproductive to quit and join another game with other people just because the tank dropped. It would probably be better to just play through, to suffer the modest expected loss from playing through the negative count, because of the higher rounds per hour of heads up play.
Another important time to wong is at tables with high minimums. It is a lot easier to suffer through a couple decks of -4 TC at a $5 table than it is at a $100 table. So higher limit tables should generally be wonged out more aggressively, whereas at lower limit tables, especially if you have a large spread then you can play through in order to preserve heads up play with a fast dealer.
H17, DAS, DA2, RSA, ES10. The ES10 rule in particular is quite favourable to the player in general, but to the counter in particular. Oh, and one more thing - they cut off a deck or less out of six decks.
Now this particular casino usually has 2 or 3 tables open on the main floor, and 1 table open in high limit or open upon request if there are no players. The main floor is very crowded and often there were vagrants there because of the nearby homeless shelter. Of course the main floor game was still quite playable because of the above listed conditions BUT in this situation, especially if you were getting the same penetration (high limit usually cut a little worse but let's imagine for the sake of the hypothetical they were cutting the same), and especially if the high limit game was heads up then it would be vastly superior. But there is only one table. So in this imagined situation based on a real game wonging would be a poor choice. The better approach is to play all, mostly because of the rounds per hour. Heads up with a quick dealer it is easy to get 200 rounds per hour if you can play at lightning speed. But only the slower main floor, with all the idiots coffeehousing and changing money etc. etc. you only get 70 rounds an hour. So, ceteris parabis, you are going to make 3x as much money playing the high limit game. Of course ceteris is not parabis but the essential point is that rounds per hour is very important, especially if the other conditions are the same or similar. Now if you could wong from one heads up high limit table to another then that would probably be better.
You can look at wonging as a 'leaving decision'. So many things can motivate you to leave a blackjack game. Crowded conditions are a big one. Other players slow down the game, costing you money and aggravation. The count dropping is another good reason to leave, especially if there are other good options nearby. A third reason to leave is if you have been playing there too long and want to employ more of a hit and run strategy. In some situations wonging is not really viable unless you are wonging to a different casino. That is the case if there is only one table or only one playable table in a small casino. But if you are a in a big casino with lots of different tables, and the conditions you are playing in are not that optimal, because it is crowded for example, then you should be more inclined to wong aggressively. But if you have a nice heads up game it would be counterproductive to quit and join another game with other people just because the tank dropped. It would probably be better to just play through, to suffer the modest expected loss from playing through the negative count, because of the higher rounds per hour of heads up play.
Another important time to wong is at tables with high minimums. It is a lot easier to suffer through a couple decks of -4 TC at a $5 table than it is at a $100 table. So higher limit tables should generally be wonged out more aggressively, whereas at lower limit tables, especially if you have a large spread then you can play through in order to preserve heads up play with a fast dealer.
