Do you have a lucky number you believe will bring you good fortune one day, or do you kiss your dice before tossing? Gambling has been part of society since time immemorial and is arguably one of the most contentious institutions in both traditional and modern societies.
Through the centuries, many myths have been associated with different forms of gambling. Some myths are entirely based on fantasy, while others result from deliberate misinformation aimed at discouraging members of the community from taking part. Some beliefs and gambling rituals that have passed on from different world cultures and persist in modern times will amaze you.
Today we will remove the myths from the story as we separate facts from fiction in some of the most common myths about gambling.
People who love to gamble are of questionable character and often engage in criminal activities
This is the typical stereotype spread by the movies. Some gamblers who turn to a life of crime are mostly driven by a sense of loss and desperation. It all depends on the reasons for gambling in the first place. While for most it is a recreational activity, some wage the little income they have in hopes of multiplying.
They do not want to consider they could lose their wager and when driven by wishful thinking, the loss hits them harder than others. The truth, however, is that not all gamblers have a criminal record. You may check that out on this website. Some are just naturally good at it and hence play more.
You can study gaming patterns and develop a guaranteed winning system
You have probably heard people talk of a system that can predict lottery numbers, stories of people who study players’ repeated actions on a blackjack table, or that video poker machines work on a fixed system that can be cracked. These are all false statements.
One thing you will realize with casino games or any other gambling outlet, the possible outcomes are too many to come up with a fixed system of predictions. Odds for anyone winning are always constant. The randomness of such games is what qualifies them for gambling.
It is all a matter of luck
Luck is part of the gaming process, but other factors also determine the game’s outcome. The difference between good and poor gamblers is their ability to make smart decisions to influence the outcome of the game. Some games like blackjack and poker require a strategy to win.
Bookmakers have inside information about events and therefor know how games will turn out even before they are played
Match-fixing is a term that is thrown around in sports betting, mostly by gamblers who have lost money on a game that turned out contrary to rational expectations. Professional sports leagues are highly regulated and there is so much at stake for teams to throw away matches. Professional leagues are also profitable without such antics. This is not to say that match-fixing does not happen in smaller leagues around the world.
Another point to consider is if bookmakers somehow managed to collude with professional teams, their management, and oversight bodies; such bookmakers would be more profitable than they currently are. Odds on betting sites would also be asymmetrical to maximize the profit margin rather than going through the trouble of enhancing point spread.
The house will always win because all games are rigged
Maybe there is some truth to this statement, but not in the sense that most think. Rigging casino games is a complicated and expensive task that is not worth the trouble. How do you manipulate dice with different sides to land the way you want every time despite being thrown by different players or get a roulette ball to always land in a certain pocket out of 38.
The truth in the myth is that most games in the casinos are designed with an algorithm that favors the casino in the long run. This is done to make such organizations profitable but it does not diminish the chances of winning. It does not mean that a gambler will not beat the casino. Many have walked from casinos with millions, but rarely do players quit when they are ahead.
Gamblers have the free will to quit gambling tendencies after huge wins, but there is no fun in that, is there? As stated earlier, many players gamble for recreation. That is why they will always find a way back to the casino floor where chances of their fortunes overturning are considerably high, because “the house always wins in the end.”
Online gambling is illegal
This depends on the gambling laws in your country, but online gambling is legal in many regions of the world. People often confuse land-based casino regulations with online regulations. It is important to review the local gambling laws before making any assumptions. In some countries, setting online gambling platforms is prohibited for local casinos, but citizens are allowed to place bets with international sites that allow them to register.
What about lucky numbers?
There are probably as many superstitions as there are myths when it comes to gambling. We want to believe we can impact our luck or believe that there are certain days when our chance of being lucky is a little bit higher. Many people turn to certain objects or rituals to increase their luck.
If we can’t impact the outcome of the game itself, then at least we can try to bring some luck in our way. When it comes to gambling, people will always look for ways to influence their chances of winning, it’s part of the game, but if games were to become predictable, however, it would deprive players of the fun presented by the randomness in such games. Perhaps this is the reason why many of us have a lucky number. Or like to wear red when we gamble.
There are many stories of big winners, many around lucky numbers at the Roulette table. And it can happen. Perhaps you’ve heard of Mike Ashley who won £1.6 million playing Roulette in 2008, bettings on his lucky number 17. Many similar stories can be found around the world and give us that feeling of hope, that luck can actually happen, to all of us!
To check out other big wins in history of casinos visit www.truebluecasinos.org.
All we need is a bit of luck and why not end with the best gambling quotes of all times;
“Quit while you are ahead. All the best gamblers do”
(Baltasar Gracián y Morales, 1601-1658; Spanish Jesuit, writer, and philosopher)