Superstitions at the Wheel
Lucky 17, unlucky 13, blowing on chips, never saying “zero”, and why the superstitions of a random game are the most durable of all.
Roulette has accumulated two centuries of rituals: favorite numbers, forbidden words, lucky seats and dealers, and the belief that attention changes outcomes. None affects the wheel; all are interesting about people, and some are useful for keeping a budget.
Numbers
Seventeen is the most bet number on every wheel in the world: it is the center of the layoutequipmentLayoutThe printed betting grid on the table. Also: table, felt, cloth.Read full →, it was Sean Connery’s number in a widely reported 1963 win at Saint-Vincent (three times running at 35:1, the story goes), and it is in the middle of the voisins. Thirteen is avoided in the West and sought in parts of Italy. Eight is favored by Chinese players and 4 avoided. Birthdays supply most of the rest, which is why 1–31 are bet more than 32–36. The wheel pays 35:1 on all of them.
Rituals
Blowing on chipsmoneyChipA token representing a fixed amount, placed on the layout to make a bet. Also: check.Read full →, touching the stake after placing it, placing chips in a fixed order, not watching the ballequipmentBallThe small ball launched along the track against the rotor. Modern balls are ivorine or Teflon, 18–21 mm.Read full →, watching the ball, not speaking during the spin, saying “come on redbetRedEven-money bet on the 18 red numbers. French: rouge.Read full →” during the spin. Dealers see all of them and have their own: some will not say the word “zerowheelZeroThe single green pocket that no even-money, dozen or column bet covers; the source of the house edge. Also: single zero, 0.Read full →” aloud before a spin, some launch from a fixed foot position. None changes the physics. Several change the player: a ritual slows the round down and makes betting deliberate, which is harmless and occasionally useful.
Lucky dealers, seats and tables
Players follow dealers they have won with, sit in the seat where they were lucky, and avoid tables where they lost. Casinos rotate dealers and know which seats are “lucky” (the ones nearest the layout, where people sit most and therefore win most in absolute terms). The dealer-signature hypothesis in the Lab is the respectable cousin of “lucky dealer”, and even it has not survived testing.
Why superstitions thrive here
Random outcomes with high stakes are where superstition grows fastest: there is no skill to learn, so the mind supplies rituals in its place, and every win confirms whatever was done before it. Skinner produced the same effect in pigeons with a feeder on a timer. Roulette is a feeder on a timer with a dress code.
The one superstition worth keeping
Players who say they “never chase” and treat a losing night as a sign to leave have a superstition that happens to coincide with the arithmetic. Keep that one. The rest are free, harmless and tell you nothing about the next spin.
Questions
Not the odds. Online, nothing at all. On a floor, a popular number means more hands reaching for the same cell.
Widely reported; the casino at Saint-Vincent confirmed a large win. Three in a row at 1/37 each is 1 in 50,653, which has happened to many people since.
It is the house edgemathHouse edgeThe share of each stake the casino keeps on average: 2.70% in European roulette.Read full →, which is bad luck in a precise sense of 2.70%.
Comic relief
Every win confirms whatever you did before it.
Sources
- Skinner, B. F. “‘Superstition’ in the pigeon.”
- Schwartz, D. G. Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
- Wykes, A. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Gambling.