On superstitions and online-slot playing

Superstitions are beliefs held to try and predict and control the randomness of future events and slot players have many ideas on how they can increase their chances for winning. The kinds of superstitions held by slot players will be discussed below.

Slot players often only play video slots close to or on the weekend, believing that the machine will pay more at that time. Players who tend to be religious or spiritual may pray before pulling on a slot handle while others find a special meaning in a certain slot game’s theme or imagery. There is a notion that playing during a full moon isn’t wise or to see dogs around a gambling table is a bad sign. Chinese players tend to be the most superstitious of all the cultures and often believe that certain colors or numbers are lucky or unlucky. For example, if the game has too much black it is not a lucky game to play, while red instigates good luck.

Then there is the aspect of numerology, the study of numbers and their meanings; in Asian cultures, numerology has an important place in the belief system. Many players will not play 13 lines at slots on a Tuesday or a Friday. Negative numbers for the Chinese are 58 and 4: 58 because it sounds too alike to ‘won’t prosper’ in Cantonese and 4 as it sounds too similar to ‘die’. Positive numbers regarded by the Chinese to be lucky are 8 and 3, 6 and 9 when combined with the number 8. 8 is considered lucky as it relates to prosperity. Then there are number combinations including 1388, 998, and 168. As for 1388, it sounds like ‘prosperity in one’s lifetime’, while 998 means ‘prosper for a long time,’ and 168 can be translated as ‘prosper all the way’. Because of the widespread practive of numerology, certain online casinos take the concept of superstitious beliefs and use it as a marketing slant by including numbers in their casino names.

More popularly-held superstitions are if a player wins once at a game that for he/she to continue to play that game is advantageous and lucky. Slot players will also look into the past month’s winners and get a feel for what games are generating money and go there, too.

Back to the Chinese, some more commonly held superstitious activities that they may partake in are offering fruits to the gods before playing, and not to count money during gambling as Kenny Rogers sings in his song “The Gambler.” (“You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table / There’ll be time enough for counting when the deal is done.”) Additional precautions for the Chinese are to stay clear of sex and the opposite sex, to wear red underwear while gambling, not to touch people on the shoulder, that women are more likely to win during their period, to never enter into a casino through the main entrance, to leave all the lights on in the house and to keep away from $50 bills and $2 bills as they too are unlucky. Not singing or whistling while playing is a must, and crossing your legs while playing is believed to ‘cross out your good luck.’ Objects, charms or amulets can additionally initiate good luck; common examples include four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, rabbit feet or blowing on the dice before you roll them. Stacking your chips in a nice order or crossing your fingers are also portents for good luck.

Do these superstitions work? No, not really, but at least they are relatively harmless beliefs that pose no serious threats to the people who either believe them or to the people that don’t. Past superstitious beliefs held by human beings over the centuries have included human and animal sacrafice; at least in this, gamblers, although perhaps a touch primitive basing their wins or losses on ideas that have no foundation in reason or logic, are still harmless, and certainly more civilized than their ancestors. We’ve come a long way from the life and death pursuit of seeking favor from the gods, and in that, we can all thank our lucky stars.