Edward O. Thorp


Edward Oakley Thorp is widely regarded, by professional players as well as the general public, as the Father of Card Counting. It was in his book, Beat the Dealer, first published in 1962, that he presented his Ten-Count system, the first powerful winning blackjack system ever made available to the public. All card-counting systems in use today are variations of Thorp's Ten-Count.

When Thorp's book became a best seller, the Las Vegas casinos attempted to change the standard rules of blackjack, but their customers would not accept the changes and refused to play the new version of the game. So, the Vegas casinos went back to the old rules, but switched from dealing hand-held one-deck games to four-deck shoe games, a change that the players would accept. Unfortunately for the casinos, in 1966 Thorp's revised second edition of Beat the Dealer was published. This edition presented the High-Low Count, as developed by Julian Braun, a more powerful and practical counting system for attacking these new shoe games.

In 1961, Thorp and C. Shannon jointly invented the first wearable computer, a device that successfully predicted results in roulette. Thorp has an M.A. in Physics and a Ph.D. in mathematics, and has taught mathematics at UCLA, MIT, NMSU, and U.C. Irvine, where he also taught quantitative finance. For many years Ed Thorp wrote a column for the now-defunct Gambling Times magazine. Many of these columns were collected in a book titled The Mathematics of Gambling, published in 1984 by Lyle Stuart.

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Stanford Wong


Stanford Wong self-published his first book, Professional Blackjack, in 1975. It was later published by the Gambler's Book Club in Las Vegas, then revised and expanded numerous times and published by Wong's own company, Pi Yee Press.

Wong is widely regarded as one of the sharpest analysts of systems and methods for beating the casinos. In Professional Blackjack, he described a never-before-revealed table-hopping style of playing shoe games, a method of play now known as wonging. Professional Blackjack had a profound impact on serious players because it provided card counters with an easy yet powerful method for attacking the abundant four-deck shoe games that had taken over Las Vegas. Many pros still think of card-counting opportunities as "pre-Wong" and "post-Wong."

In his second book, Blackjack in Asia-a book priced at $2,000 and one of the rarest gambling books sought by collectors today - Wong discusses the unique blackjack games he had discovered in Asian casinos as a professional player, along with the optimum strategies he had devised for beating them. The book also included underground advice for exchanging currencies in these countries on the black market, as well as an account of his own hassles with customs officials when he attempted to leave the Philippines with his winnings. Of all of Wong's books, this is my personal favorite, as it reveals more of his anti-establishment personality than any of his later books.

In 1980, Wong published Winning Without Counting, priced at $200, and again, on a personal note, this is my second favorite book by Wong (and another collector's item if you can find one). He not only discusses many hole card techniques that had never before been mentioned in print-s-front-loading, spooking, and warp play-but he also delved into many clearly illegal methods of getting an edge over the house, including various techniques of bet-capping, card switching, card mucking, etc. He was widely criticized by those in the casino industry for the amusing way in which he discussed and analyzed such techniques, but anyone with half a brain could see that he was merely informing players with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

Wong subsequently published Tournament Blackjack (1987), Basic Blackjack (1992), Casino Tournament Strategy (1992), Blackjack Secrets (1993), and since 1979 has published various newsletters including Current Blackjack News, aimed at serious and professional players.

Mr. Stanford Wong is a life legend of blackjack and we highly recommend his website http://www.bj21.com/ to anyone seriously interested in blackjack game.

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Roush satisfied with NASCAR action

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —Team owner Jack Roush said Wednesday he’s satisfied with the penalty NASCAR levied against driver Carl Edwards for his intentional accident with Brad Keselowski.

Edwards was in an early accident with Keselowski in Sunday’s race at Atlanta, and later returned to the track and deliberately wrecked Keselowski. The contact sent Keselowki’s car airborne, and NASCAR parked Edwards for the remainder of the race.

On Tuesday, he was placed on probation for three races.

“We are satisfied that NASCAR fairly considered all the circumstances in its decision to discipline Carl,” said Roush.

Roush said he looked forward to a NASCAR-called meeting next weekend at Bristol between the two drivers and Keselowski car owner Roger Penske.

“It is our hope to put this behind us at that time,” said Roush, who added the incident overlooked an otherwise good day in Atlanta for the Roush Fenway Racing team.
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Francesco Totti's Roma Return Suffers Another Setback - Report


Francesco Totti is a long way from making his Roma return from injury as he continues to skip training with tendinitis, according to Leggo.

Nothing more than physiotherapy is the order for Totti as inflammation to his right knee continues to keep him away from the training pitch.

He is now expected to return towards the end of the month, giving him some time to prepare for the clash against Inter on March 31.

The Giallorossi's medical staff are working hard to get the ace back in action, but they are unlikely to rush his return as the risk of worsening the injury is always present.
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Cristiano Ronaldo & Portugal National Team Could Grow Mustaches For World Cup - Report

The Portuguese national team could earn some publicity for their off-the-field antics this summer in South Africa. As reported by Spanish sports daily Sport, Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese team could grow mustaches for the World Cup.

The movement has been started by a Facebook group that has asked for the players to grow mustaches and the initiative has slowly begun to pick up steam as more than 2,000 fans have joined the cause.

During Portugal's midweek international friendly against China, one could see a number of fans in the crowd holding up a large banner in support of the group and chanting, 'We want a Seleccion with moustaches in South Africa'!

The movement is said to reference to what is stereotypically thought of as the 'traditional Portuguese man' and Sport has taken the liberty of displaying a doctored photo with some of the Portuguese players
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