The Role of Superstition: How Rituals Affect Gambler Decisions

There are countless gambling superstitions out there, that for the most part are quite harmless. If you have lucky numbers for playing roulette, a lucky charm bracelet, or have a set of “lucky games” at a casino, you have a few superstitions of your own too. There is nothing wrong with having a preferred game, time of day, or other rituals that could put your mind at ease. Superstition can boost your morale and have some basis in practical betting habits.

On the other hand, superstitions can also induce negative emotions and make us do reckless things with our money. The goal is to rid yourself of any of those damaging types of superstitions, understanding what they are based on and why you have them. Forming good habits is pivotal to playing smarter, and creating an overall enjoyable experience.

Why Do We Have Gambling Superstitions

Gambling is a game of chance and something that we find difficult to rationalise. Sure, there are figures and numbers to show us probabilities of winning and how likely we are to lose money. But the element of luck controls these outcomes.  You could run hundreds of thousands of tests on a roulette wheel and still, the results may not perfectly align to the real probabilities of winning any roulette bets. Therefore, we usually look for patterns and try to build explanations to rationalise the randomness of the games.

We use logic to define things and are natural problem solvers who want to figure out why events happen. After gaming for a long time, you may start putting together the dots, locate several patterns, and use it to try to work out what will happen next. This is called “apophenia“, a term coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad, in his 1958 book on schizophrenia. This is not to say that looking for patterns is a sign of schizophrenia, but it avoids the underlying truth of how these games are designed. The results are random. Games are not rigged to follow patterns, and you should avoid looking for explanations to work out why luck hasn’t come your way yet.

Superstitions Come in Many Forms

It is not necessarily bad to have your rituals, so long as they don’t involve making any bold assumptions. We have heard countless stories from gamblers about their preferences and rituals, and superstitions can arise in virtually any aspect of your gaming. The most obvious superstitions include:

• Lucky Numbers
• Lucky Clothes
• Not Crossing Your Legs
• Don’t Count Your Money at the Table
• Wearing Good Luck Charms

But when further analysing player habits and tendencies, we found lots of more commonly practised superstitions. Mostly relating to online gambling, we have heard superstitions such as:

• Only Playing on a “Lucky” Device
• Sticking to Specific Games (or Software Providers)
• Playing at a Specific Time of Day
• Only Playing on Certain Days
• Depositing Only on Specific Days
• Making Deposits of a Specific Amount

These are closer to routines than they are to superstitions, which is good for practical purposes. There are no dangerous risks in playing on certain days only. Or making deposits of a specific amount, or only playing on your lucky device. It won’t help you win either, but it can help reduce the tension in gambling.

How Superstitions Can Be Harmful

Superstitions can affect your betting patterns, and how much you bet, and can even lead you to chase losses. Going to the example of a simple game of Baccarat, let’s assume you have brushed up on your basic strategy and will only play Banker or Player bets. Good thing too, as the house edge is the lowest on those bets. Before starting, you look at the archive of the previous 10 outcomes and see that the player has won the last 7 hands. This does not mean a thing in real life, as the chances are practically 50-50, but it can play with a superstitious bettor’s mind.

For example, it may give a gamer the notion that the Player Bets win more often at this table. Or, give them the impression that the Banker Bet has to win the next round, to balance the 7 Player wins. Both are assumptions and wrong because the odds are fixed and theoretically it is even possible for the Player Hand to win the next 7 rounds as well. Unlikely, but mathematically possible.

Superstitions in Betting Patterns – Highest Risks of Danger

The worst superstitions are the ones that affect your betting patterns. This is the one area in which you have full control and the casino has none. You determine how much you bet each round, and when you decide to call it quits. But some superstitions will encourage gamers to keep playing until they have either won a specific amount or achieved a specific goal. For instance, a gamer may believe that they should only call it quits if they have doubled up their original bankroll. Or, that they should only quit if they have won 5 hands in a row. While there is a chance that you will meet your goals for the gaming session, there is also a strong chance of going bust.

Avoid Superstitions that Affect Your Decision Making

So long as the superstitions do not affect how much money you stake, how long you play, or your betting patterns, you are not in any danger. It is all right to have harmless superstitions or rituals that can sustain your hopes of winning. Just don’t let them affect your decision making during gaming sessions.

The danger around creating predetermined goals or winning limits is that they make lots of assumptions. For instance, you don’t know whether you will reach your goal in 5 minutes, or whether you will be stuck at it for hours on end. Even if it is something realistic like increasing your bankroll by 5%. You may be playing for an hour, yo-yo-ing up and down around your starting level, and never know quite when you will run into a series of wins to bring you to your desired goal.

Stay Open to All Possible Outcomes

Understanding the dangers and being able to adapt to the situation at hand is key. You may be up 25% and decide to play 5% and keep the remaining 20% in profit. It doesn’t matter if that 5% goes on to win another 10% or ends up back in the casino’s hands, you should know when to call it quits and control the situation at all times.

Over relying on rituals can also work its harm on gamblers. It can distort our understanding of the odds and compel us to make dangerous decisions. The pivotal moment when our psychology starts working against us is when we start losing. Depending on the player of course, when we start losing then it triggers frustration and can even push us to make desperate decisions. Lots of players chase their losses when they start losing, in an attempt to rectify the “mistakes” and bring themselves back to a specific level. Or, some players may keep playing in spite of their losses, as they have already dashed their chances of making a profit and will continue playing until they go bust. These are unhealthy practices that can turn you off gambling completely.

How to Gamble Responsibly

Casino games and sports betting products are provided for entertainment purposes and are intended for fun. There is no way to skirt the risk or avoid the possibility that you will lose your money playing these games. Therefore, you should only play with money that you can afford to lose.

While there are ways to increase your chances of winning or turning a profit in the long run, these are not infallible. We have covered numerous betting systems that you can use to optimise your bankroll. Alternatively, we have also gone into depth on ultimate strategies for games such as blackjack, poker, video poker, slots, roulette and baccarat. But once again, luck is an undeniable aspect of whether you will win or not.

Make sure you set deposit limits and reality checks to make sure you don’t spend too much time or money playing. And try to pick up good gaming habits to avoid any dire consequences.