8 Responses to “Tips on Playing Efficiency”

1. Richard says:

   January 31, 2012 at 6:30 pm

   Hey guys, at about 5 minutes in you guys talk about the Wonging process and you say the word “backcounting.” What exactly do you mean by that?
2. Colin says:

   January 31, 2012 at 10:25 pm

   Richard,

   Backcounting is when you count down a table without playing (usually standing behind the table and watching). Wonging in is when you jump into the table (wonging out is leaving the table). So a strategy of card counting is to stand behind the table and watch, then when the count gets good, you “wong in”, then “wong out” when the count goes bad again. It saves EV and keeps you from having to dramatically change your bets.
3. Maurice says:

   March 8, 2012 at 11:43 am

   I’ve been watching your videos and studying/practicing hard for a couple weeks and picked up on things very quickly.. The first trial run at a casino I did was on Tuesday.. I was there for 12 hours put $200 on the table and walked out with $750… The next day I went and lost $300 and I feel that it was because I was not playing efficiently.. The table was in a severe negative count most of the day and even when it was at a positive count the dealer rarely busted.. I remember a stretch where the running count was 9 and the true count was 3 and the dealer made “21″ 4 out of 5 hands and continued to make hands in virtually ever situation.. Was my main mistake the fact that I didn’t get up and find another table considering the bad circumstances? I feel that was the biggest difference between my first day and second day as a card counter.. Is there anything outside of that I could have done better?
4. Colin says:

   March 8, 2012 at 5:51 pm

   Maurice,
   There’s no way to guarantee you didn’t make a mistake when you won $750 or that you did make a mistake when you lost money. The best card counter in the world still loses about 45% of their sessions.

   That being said playing through negative counts will cost you money in the long run.

   Is there anything outside of that I could have done better?

   – All you can do is perfect your game, have a winning betting strategy, and maximize positive rounds per hour while minimizing hands played when the casino has the advantage.

   Hope that helps!
5. Maurice says:

   March 8, 2012 at 9:12 pm

   Colin,

   Yes that definitely helps. I think I could’ve saved some of what I lost if I was patient and disciplined and had continued to stay away from negative counts and situations where I was at a disadvantage. I am struggling a little bit trying to find a winning betting strategy but I’m getting close. This is a great site and I have been playing blackjack for fun for about 2 years but your site has been eye opening and I can already see things in the game I never dreamed of before coming on this site. Thanks again for the speedy response and the advice. See you guys at the top!
6. SuperBenett says:

   April 13, 2012 at 11:24 pm

   This is great stuff. I’m new to card counting but excited about the possibilities.
7. matt says:

   April 19, 2012 at 1:08 am

   Do you guys drink at all while u count?
8. Colin says:

   April 23, 2012 at 11:17 am

   Matt,

   I don’t recommend drinking while you play. Nowadays I might have a beer every once in a while while playing, but never did for the first 3 or 4 years I played.