Roulette Superstitions: Ignore or Enjoy?

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games in the world, second only to slots in Ireland and throughout Europe. 

Despite people knowing that roulette is a game of complete chance, plenty are still superstitious. Many players have rituals to which they strictly adhere, for fear of upsetting the gods of luck. 

We take a look at some of the more commonly held roulette superstitions and beliefs and wave a condescending wand of reality over the likelihood that there’s any truth in any of them. 

Lucky Numbers

Almost everyone has a favourite number, whether you’re superstitious or not. For some, the number might be the same as the squad number of their favourite footballer, for others there may be cultural reasons that influence their choice. When playing roulette, a lot of people’s favourite number becomes their lucky number, by default.

There is in fact no number that is more likely to be hit than any other number. No universally lucky numbers exist when it comes to a game of online roulette or land-based roulette. 

While there are many common lucky numbers, such as seven (in the West) or eight (in the East), there are also numerous unlucky numbers, ones that players will try to avoid placing bets on.

Many of these unlucky numbers are also culturally dictates, such as 13 being widely considered to be the unluckiest number in western cultures, or number four, which is considered to be unlucky in China.

Sleeping Numbers

A sleeping number is a roulette term that simply refers to a number that has not been hit for a long time. A lot of people believe that when a number hasn’t come up for a while that it is ‘due’ and place their bets accordingly.

However, as any student of statistics will tell you, according to the laws of probability, each spin of the wheel is an independent event and the outcomes of the previous spins have no bearing upon what the next spin might be.

Nevertheless, you see a lot of players watching out for losing streaks of multiple spins, particularly when it comes to the even money bets - red or black, odd or even, high or low. 

Following this approach can allow them to employ a Martingale style betting system.

Clocked Tables

A clocked roulette table is an old-fashioned roulette term that refers to a table that might be rigged against the player. This really is a casino myth, so unless you’re frequenting some illegal gambling den, you have nothing to worry about here!

Modern casinos are highly regulated and their tables are regularly inspected and tracked for fairness by gaming authorities, in jurisdictions where gambling is legal.

Nevertheless, there are some superstitious players who like to go against the flow and bet on the least popular sections of the wheel, so as to be “with the house” and “against the crowd”.

Skilled Dealers Can Hit Specific Roulette Numbers

Similar to the belief that roulette wheels might be rigged, some superstitious players believe that skilled croupiers can land the ball in a designated area of the wheel, or even hit a specific number on demand. This is largely anecdotal and most casino executives believe it to be total nonsense.

This is another doomsday-type belief held by some players who think that casinos will go to any lengths to try and cheat them - but of course, it is totally unfounded. The casinos have a good enough house edge anyway, which is a far more sure-fire way for it to make money, rather than training their dealers to complete a seemingly impossible feat.

Lucky Charms and Rituals

Lucky charms are perhaps the most commonly utilised form of superstition when it comes to roulette, or indeed, any type of gambling. Some have lucky underpants, some only wear a specific colour of clothing, while others might carry a lucky rabbit’s foot to try and ensure a spate of good luck at the tables.

Other players have specific rituals they go through when preparing to hit the roulette tables, such as getting dressed in a specific order, or not shaving if they are in the midst of a lucky winning streak.

While there is certainly no evidence that any of these will actually work when it comes to delivering good luck, they are harmless and might help the players to feel confident in themselves. 

Having a System

Many gamblers, especially roulette players, will tell you that they use a ‘system’ to play the game, implying that they have discovered a magical method to beat the house edge and consistently walk away a winner.

Most roulette betting systems are simple staking strategies that might force players to face the reality of the odds they are up against. 

As long as you recognise that having a system is not a guaranteed way to become a winner at the roulette wheel, it can help to regulate and control play within affordable means. Some systems are better at this than others and ones based around a ‘let it ride’ type of approach offer the carrot of achieving a big win, if luck is on your side.

Trust Your Instinct - Go With Your Gut

Some players prefer not to face the reality that roulette is a mathematical game and play it with a gung-ho style, no-plan approach of simply splashing chips onto the felt in any manner they choose. While this can feel like a refreshing way to play to someone who doesn’t want to put the effort in to understand the game, it can bring about problems of its own making.

If you simply splash chips randomly, you might be ensuring a mediocre return or even a loss if one of your bets does win. If you take this kind of approach, it's best to at least start with a basic staking plan that ensures that there is an upside worth shooting for in the first place.

Know the Maths

The best approach to playing roulette is to dispel any thoughts that you are entitled to win or are sure to get lucky. 

As with any casino game, we would advise learning the rules of roulette and how the different bets interact with each other. By investigating the best and worst roulette strategies, you will be able to enjoy the game and play within your means, with money you can afford to lose.