Roulette Myths

As with anything involving gambling, there are many myths that surround the game of roulette. Below, the myths and some of the psychology behind them will be explained.

First off, every spin of roulette has the EXACT same odds as the spin before it. Granted, the ball will never land on a red number every single time, but that is simply mathematics. Quite possibly, the best way to sum up the logic behind these facts is with this statement: The roulette ball has no memory.

However, this fact does not stop players from insisting on betting on “cold” numbers which haven’t hit for a while. The thought process behind this is that since this number hasn’t hit lately, it therefore is more likely to hit on future spins. This of course is a fallacy, as it could be a very long time before these cold numbers hit, just as they could conceivably hit 10 of the next 30 spins. You could be dead broke long before any of these cold numbers finally get around to being the winning number.

Also, players who are winning tend to be in a better frame of mind than those players who are losing. Losing players have a tendency to already feel defeated, so they are more willing to make a foolish bet. They have already accepted the loss, and it’s somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Contrarily, winning players are in a good mood generally, and their cheerfulness may help keep their betting in the realm of sensibility. Psychology could play a part in short term success in gambling.

A lot of the thought behind the idea of luck in roulette comes from watching players go on a “rush” or a good winning streak. This makes it easy to forget that no matter how big of a rush you can go on, if you play long enough, you will lose in the end. The cold streaks will always outweigh any hot streaks you could go on.

All these facts aside, remember one thing about talking about luck, betting strategies, cold and hot streaks, and “gut feelings”: It makes roulette fun. Everyone who plays roulette knows deep down that there is a house advantage to the game, but sometimes it is just good fun to pretend that you can beat the game. And sometimes you will. Just keep your stakes at a level where you can still have fun and enjoy yourself.