- Just keep your cards or chips away from black cats and cracks in the floor...
In a casino, it feels like anything you can do to give yourself a slight advantage is worthwhile. And that doesn’t just extend to learning the game and reading up on the best strategies for success. It also means calling upon that useful old lady luck from time to time.
Of course, people who have fortune on speed dial seem to be few and far between. The rest of us need to work on bringing it into our lives. There are plenty of legitimate ways that players can improve their chances when it comes to table games and online casinos. It’s possible to utilize casino bonuses to get hold of free bets, and learning more about certain games, such as blackjack, can improve your odds.
Then there’s those who rely on superstition. Casino players have more than their fair share of remedies for attracting luck. And as you might expect from something so slippery, not all of them make a whole bunch of sense, at least at first.
In this blog, we’ll run through some of the most prevalent — and unusual — casino superstitions from around the world.
Lucky Red
The color red is considered lucky across the world for many areas of life, not just when it comes to gaming. In parts of Asia, people wear red because they believe it brings good fortune. And anything that supposedly brings good fortune is surely a welcome addition to a trip to the casino.
If you pay a visit to a casino in China, you’ll typically find players wearing hints of red or, in some cases, entirely red outfits. Well, you have to wear something, so for the people who believe in the power of colors it may as well be red. On the other hand, you probably won’t find too many people wearing white, since that’s considered an unlucky color in various parts of Asia.
Blowing on Dice
Even people who have never played craps before will know about the superstition of blowing on dice, which supposedly brings good luck.
Unlike most other superstitions, we actually have a source for this one — Marlon Brando’s character did it in the movie Guys and Dolls. There are theories as to why this device made it into the movie. One story goes that people using fake dice during a game would blow on them to moisten adhesive, which would increase the chances of it landing on one particular number.
You wouldn’t get away with that in a casino today, but the superstition stuck!
Itchy Palms
According to some cultures, having itchy palms is a sign that wealth or other good fortunes will come your way. The best part about this superstition is that, unlike others, it’s not something that you induce — you have to wait for the sign to come to you. Of course, whether itchy palms signify anything is up for serious debate.
Superstitious people may seek out a big win when they feel sensations in their hand. But itchy palms can sometimes indicate an allergic reaction, so it’s not always good news.
Individual Lucky Charms
Not all superstitions and luck have worldwide appeal. Some are hyper-individual. Many casino players have their own rituals that they take part in before joining the tables, or their own lucky charms that they bring along.
Many people who frequent casinos have items that they keep in their pockets or wallets, which they then rub for good luck. Others take specific steps to increase their chances — usually the same steps they took the last time they won big.
Number 13
Finally, there’s the number 13. This is known as an unlucky number for many people in all corners of the world, not just in casinos. However, it does have an especially strong relationship with casinos and real money gaming in general.
For instance, pay a visit to a Las Vegas casino hotel, and it’ll be unlikely that you will book a room on floor 13. Why? Because most casinos don’t have them. You will find the number 13 on a roulette wheel, but you probably won’t find too many placing bets on that number!
Does luck really influence the outcome? We’ll probably never know. But these superstitions and their origins are interesting to contemplate.