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Roulette playing guide – myths and superstitions


Roulette is a game of pure chance, but players want to believe that there are some things which can increase this chance. Therefore more and more superstitions and myths have appeared around roulette.

Here are some of them:

  • Betting on sleeping numbers increases chances to win.
    A sleeping number is the number which has not fallen down for a long time. In fact, there is not any logical or mathematical explanation in this. The chance that a sleeping number will become winning is the same as any other (not sleeping) number;
  • Betting on the first colour which has caught your attention when you have come to the roulette table is your chance to win.
    This is also a pure superstition. However, betting on a colour (red or black) is one of the most beneficial bets in roulette, chances to win here are 1:1.
  • Betting on a lucky number guarantees a win.
    Any number which has brought money to the player several times becomes lucky for that player. But this is also a pure chance which number will hit.
  • Taking different lucky items such as a horse shoe, rabbit’s foot, four leaf clover, etc. when the player is going to play roulette.
    This is only a mystical belief.
  • An opposite belief is that there are things which bring ill luck.
    These things could be different, any player himself decides which item is lucky or unlucky for him. They may be a black cat crossing the road, breaking a mirror and many other things sometimes ridiculous and absurd. So if the player faces any of these events during the day, he never starts playing roulette.
  • Saying a prayer is a good thing before the game.
    It is one more superstition. Before starting to play, some players pray and take some religious items with them. They believe all this will help them to win.

There are also a number of myths with regard to roulette:

1. Some players think dealers can make the ball stop where they want.
This is a pure myth. No one even the most experienced dealer can make the ball stop where they like. The wheel and the ball spin in opposite directions and the ball bounces off the surfaces so it is absolutely impossible to control the ball.

2. Some believe that all the casinos have similar roulette wheel.
It is not true. There are two types of roulette wheels, American and European. The European wheel has 37 slots while the American one has 38 slots.The European wheel is much better with regard to odds of winning. The house edge is 2.7% in European roulette and 5.25% in American roulette.

3. The spin outcome is not random.
Some players are sure that the result of roulette spins is not random and previous spins affect the outcome of the next spin. That’s why they keep betting on sleeping numbers hoping they will win soon. The fact is that all the numbers have the same odds and nothing influences on the result of a spin.

4. Different mathematical systems can help to beat the game.
I’d like to remember that roulette is a game of pure chance, thereby no one mathematical system works. This happens because there is no past data to be analyzed in order to create a system.

5. Money management systems help you to win more.
There is no money management system which can increase the chances of winning. The casino will have the same edge on any bet. Money management systems can’t influence the house edge. It is impossible to change the house edge at all.