The Lady Luck Phenomenon: Gender and Gambling Superstitions

Sinatra once sang, If Luck Be a Lady, about the gamble we take in love. Beyond the association with love and gambling, it does raise quite an interesting question. In that why we refer to Lady Luck when testing fortune in games of chance. We don’t refer to Mister Fluke or Señor Fortunada. It is not just the alliteration or how easily Lady Luck seems to roll off the tongue. Lady Luck has roots in mythology and does not specifically extend to gambling alone.

Personifying luck is quite a dated and ancient way of interpreting something that is completely random. But gambling has not always been used as a means to risk money or material wealth. In older civilisations, gambling was something more spiritual and extended to the divine. Naturally, luck could be personified or take human shape to give these civilisations a character or god they could turn to. And this deity, who let’s say “controlled luck”, was always a female.

Lady Luck in Ancient Mythology

In ancient Greek and Roman mythology, luck was deified as a goddess. The ancient Greeks believed that Tyche controlled fortune, and that she was responsible for any luck, be it good or bad. The Romans called their goddess of luck Fortuna, which is where we get the word fortune from. Spreading the net a little, and in ancient Egyptian mythology, the goddess of luck was called Renenutet. Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of fortune, and the Vikings linked Freyja to luck.

Instead of looking at random outcomes or happenings as an arbitrary or ungoverned event, these civilisations believed that outcomes, especially where something random was concerned, had to be governed from above. Take the ancient Egyptian game of senet. Players had to throw painted sticks or knucklebone dice (an early form of dice), and move their pieces along the tiles on a board. Your strategy and experience could definitely work in your favour, trying to beat your opponent. But the random element of the game, a simple dice throw (or the equivalent), was something completely out of your hands.

Interpreting Luck and Gambling as a Divination Device

These ancient civilisations believed that good fortune or bad luck was not a game of chance. The gods, or goddesses in this case, governed the happenings. Players could thus read fortunes through these games. Bad luck could have alluded to someone falling out of favour, or that they should prepare for something in the near future. Good luck may have been seen as a reward, favour, or that good things were on their way.

People in these ancient civilisations would pray to their gods and goddesses. The goddesses of luck were just as important as the deities of war, health, fertility, and so on. And, it was believed, through games of chance like Senet, the Royal Game of Ur, and other chance-related gambling games, people could find out where they stood with Lady Luck.

Lady Luck Portrayal in Modern Culture

Going from Tutankhamun back to Sinatra, in modern culture, Lady Luck is portrayed in many different ways. While we don’t have the same polytheistic beliefs and assign luck a goddess, you will hear people talk about Lady Luck in gambling circles. She is more of a symbolic image of chance now and part of the gambling iconography. Like the horseshoe, playing cards, rabbit’s feet and four leaf clover, among others.

You will find Lady Luck printed onto gaming chips, painted on casino murals, within slot machines, or posing as a flirty mascot on a scratchcard.

Lady Luck Gambling Expressions

In the gambling nomenclature, you will hear about Lady Luck when:

• Lady Luck is With You: she is on your side and delivers you the wins. You can also say Lady Luck was not on your side, in which case, the wins didn’t come your way
• Lady Luck Favours the Ones Who Try: It’s a bit counterproductive, this one. The saying implies that if you try hard enough, you can win, which is not the case in gambling. But who knows, you may be rewarded for your perseverance
• Lady Luck Smiles On You: If she smiles on you, it means a bit of fortune came your way. It can be for one round, or persist for an entire winning streak
• You Rode with Lady Luck: You got lucky during your games. It is not an exclusive phrase to one game. You can ride with Lady Luck playing slots, or hold a bluff at poker and ride with Lady Luck
• Luck Be A Lady Tonight: I will hit the big time if Luck Be A Lady Tonight. Basically, you are hoping for luck to come your way

Lady Luck appears practically everywhere where you can find casino games. Poker players can assign the luck of the card draw down to Lady Luck. Or, a slot player may trigger a highly lucrative bonus round with a little help from Lady Luck.

How Chance and Fortune Really Work

If you were to break it down into practical terms, though, Lady Luck is not a real thing. Casino games are designed to run on probability and randomness. Even in games like poker, video poker or blackjack, where you can make decisions mid-round.

By design, casino games are random; they are impossible to predict. Players could count cards in blackjack to work out whether they have an advantage with the remaining cards. But this only works to a certain point, as the dealer will reshuffle.

In general, casino games are not designed to be predictable. Digitalised casino games are powered by RNGs, or Random Number Generators. These algorithms create sequences that are fully random, and go for millions of rounds.

Where the Casino Gets Its Money

To ensure the casino keeps its business, the house carves out a tiny advantage. This is the house edge. It is not done by rigging the cards, tampering with the slot machines, or in any dishonest way. Quite the opposite. The house takes its edge by offering you payouts that are slightly smaller than the maths implies. It’s best described with an example at the roulette wheel.

Your chances of hitting a Red/Black bet are 18 in 37 at French or European roulette tables. This means there is a 48.64% chance of winning your bet. The fair payout for this bet would be 2.05 (+105 in American odds, or 1.05/1 in fractional). But they are not. They are 2x (+10, or 1/1).

This is done across all casino games, and that tiny percentage of the win that is skimmed off is enough the give the casino an edge. Therefore, the card draws, roulette wheel spins, and dice throws are done in complete earnestness and fairly.

Essential Tips for Gambling Cautiously

At the end of the day, Lady Luck is a nice sentiment for gamblers, but nothing more. She is closer to superstition than reality. We know how the games run, that outcomes are not governed from above, and that, within the parameters of each game, anything is possible.

Your most powerful ally when gambling is your bankroll and a cool head. By creating a bankroll, you are effectively giving yourself a foundation. This is the money you will play with. You won’t put in more or hurt yourself financially if you lose it. It is money you can afford to spend and play with. Of course, you want to win and increase it. But there is also every possibility that you may go bust.

So you keep a level head. It is ok to zone out while playing or soak up the atmosphere. But you should also take regular breaks not to become engulfed in your gaming. When players get tired, they are in danger of falling into a number of psychological traps. Always remember, the odds don’t change in casino games. The house has an edge, and the maths points towards you going bust before them. And, that when you are in doubt, it is best to quit while you are ahead. You can always come back, and perhaps test Lady Luck later, when you are fully refreshed.