Superstition is a belief that a given action can bring luck when thre are no rational grounds for such a belief

If you’re superstitious when you gamble then you’re not alone. Even the most skilful gamblers can be. The fallibility of human reason is the greatest single source of superstitious belief. Sometimes referred to as a belief in ‘magic’, superstition can cover many spheres, such as lucky or unlucky actions, events, numbers and sayings, a belief in astrology, the occult, the paranormal and ghosts. But for gambling it’s probably best to view superstition as a belief that a given action can bring good luck or bad luck when there are no rational or generally acceptable grounds for such a belief.

Surveys suggest around one in three people are superstitious in the UK but there’s a stereotypical view that certain groups within society tend to hold more superstitious beliefs than what’s considered the norm. These include those involved with sport, acting, miners, fishermen and, of course, gamblers.

Luck versus chance

Most people tend to have ‘half-beliefs’. On the whole, people are basically rational and don’t really believe in the effects of superstition. However, in times of stress, uncertainty and perceived helplessness they seek to regain personal control over events by means of superstitious belief. This often happens in gambling situations.

Dutch psychologist, Professor Willem Wagenaar, proposed that in the absence of a known cause, gamblers attribute events to abstract causes like luck and chance. Prof Wagenaar differentiates between luck and chance and suggests luck is more related to an unexpected positive result, whereas chance is related to surprising coincidences.

Other psychologists suggest luck may be regarded as the property of a person, but chance is thought to be concerned with unpredictability. Gamblers appear to exhibit a belief that they have control over their own luck. They may knock on wood to avoid bad luck or carry an object such as a rabbit’s foot for good luck. US psychologist, Professor Ellen Langer, argued that a belief in luck and superstition accounts for causal explanations when playing games of chance and may also provide a desired element of personal control.

Surprisingly few studies have examined whether gamblers really are superstitious. A recent one here at Nottingham Trent University examined how players’ beliefs about superstition and luck are related to their gambling behaviour. Of over 400 bingo players we found significant relationships in many areas. While many gamblers reported beliefs in luck and superstition, a greater percentage reported having ‘everyday’ superstitious beliefs, rather than those concerned with gambling activity.

We found 81% of bingo players had at least one superstitious belief – ranging from not opening an umbrella indoors (49%), not walking under ladders (55%), not putting new shoes on a table (60%) to touching wood (50%).

However, only 10% of the gamblers were superstitious while actually gambling (a further 13% claimed they were ‘sometimes’ superstitious while gambling). This was reflected in such behaviours and beliefs as having a lucky night of the week (5%), friend (4%), or mascot (6%), while 21% sat in the same seat for luck, 13% believed certain numbers are lucky or unlucky, 29% swapped pens or ‘dobbers’ to change bad luck and 27% believed in winning and losing streaks.

Who believes in hoodoo?

When examining our findings in greater detail, we also saw that the heaviest-spending gamblers were more likely to be superstitious while playing bingo, be more likely to have a lucky friend, be more likely to have a lucky seat and be more likely to believe that some numbers are lucky or unlucky. However, some casino gamblers consider that going on the same night with the same friends, or sitting in the same seat aren’t actually associated with luck, but merely part of a ‘familiar’ social routine. So it seems that what some people deem as luck or superstition is not universal across gamblers.

Even if people don’t have strongly-held beliefs on luck and superstition, there’s some evidence that having these beliefs adds more fun and excitement to the game being played (‘It’s my lucky night’, ‘I’m on a winning streak’, ‘I’m in my lucky seat’, or ‘My stars said I’d win’). It’s clear that a large percentage of gamblers in our study reported beliefs in luck and superstition and that having superstitious beliefs may be simply part of the thrill. What we can’t say is whether other types of gambler would behave in the same way, but my own observations in casinos throughout the world is that many skilful players have lucky charms or superstitious beliefs. And you may be one of them!