Common Casino Myths and Superstitions in the UK If you spend any amount of time at casinos, you’ll come across a fair few myths and superstitions, below we have debunked the most common ones in the UK.

Most casino myths and superstitions harmless, but some can lead to players making bad decisions and landing themselves in big trouble.

To try and stop you from making these same mistakes, we’ve gone through some of the most common casino myths and superstitions and debunked them!

Myth #1: Online casinos are rigged

Unsurprisingly, this is the most common myth about online casinos. When your luck takes a bad turn, you’ll be tempted to blame it on cheating or malicious unseen entities, but that’s simply not true.

Most online casinos are licensed by trusted regulation bodies like the MGA, KGC and UKGC, who all hold online casinos to strict fairness standards. Some, like the KGC, even require licensees to submit to independent fairness and RNG (random number generation) testing to prove their games aren’t rigged.

If you’re feeling scorned by an online casino, check for that seal of fairness guarantee before you start throwing blame around. Popular fairness testers include eCOGRA, iTech Labs and GLI.

Myth #2: You can beat the house edge

It may sound a little weird, but when playing at casinos, it’s important to remember that in the long run, not all players can win. It’s mathematically impossible. This is because of a little thing called the house edge.

The house edge is the concrete advantage a casino has in games to ensure it turns a profit for purposes of paying staff, renting games, domain and security costs, etc. In online gambling, we sometimes refer to this as payout percentage or RTP, but it’s all the same thing. And you cannot beat it.

Understanding house edge and working around it to your advantage is possible. But, when the chips are down, there is no way to beat it completely. It is important to note that this also applies to brick and mortar casinos.

Myth #3: You can tell when a slot machine is about to pay out.

You see many renditions of this one, and they’re usually nonsense or outright scams. Slots are designed to be random, so you can’t tell when they will or won’t pay out.

The human brain is designed to find patterns whether they exist or not, so it’s only natural that we’d become convinced slot machines are predictable. But the truth is simply that they aren’t. Slots run on random number generators specifically to avoid these patterns and are regularly tested to make sure they stay that way. This ensures fairness on both the house and the player's parts.

Therefore, don’t get hung up on a slot waiting for it to finally pay out because “you can tell it’s about to happen.” And steer clear of anyone trying to convince you otherwise.

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Myth #4: Don’t use a player's card to track your winnings.

You’ll often see people warning against using a player's card when gambling because they claim casinos track your progress and tighten the odds when you start winning too much. This is false.

Player’s cards are tools casinos use to track a player’s casino activity; this much is true. However, this isn’t to keep players from getting payouts but to tally loyalty points and offer appropriate rewards and promotions. Not using your player's card could cause you to lose out on fantastic perks, thanks to superstitious anxiety.

If you need proof, look at online casinos. By their nature, you can’t play at an online casino without a trackable account. Yet, many players still win money online.

Myth #5: Never cross your legs at the casino

Here’s a light-hearted superstition. While crossing your fingers is a symbol of good luck, crossing your legs is the opposite. Some people believe that crossing your legs “crosses out” good luck and causes you to lose more.

Obviously, this is just superstition, like black cats and broken mirrors. There’s zero evidence that crossing your legs impacts your chances of winning. However, this one is entirely harmless. So, like wearing lucky socks or blowing on your dice, if it makes you happy, go for it.

Myth #6: Never talk about bad luck at the casino

We see this everywhere. In the theatre, you say break a leg, you never mention rain on your wedding day, and you don’t talk about bad luck at a casino.

You’ve probably heard some form of warding against jinxes; the idea that mentioning something you don’t want to happen makes it more likely to happen. There’s little need for me to tell you this is just a myth, but it might get you a few stink eyes if you mention it.

Either way, it’s better to stay positive even when your luck does take a downturn. We gamble to have fun, not to win, and talking about bad luck will just bring you down.

Myth #7: Always bet the same amount

In a way, this one makes sense. When trying to keep your odds from fluctuating, you want to keep as many variables steady as possible. But this isn’t a variable that will affect anything other than your wallet. The amount you bet is purely incidental to the outcome of the game. In fact, you probably should vary how much you bet depending on the game, the wager and your bankroll.

Myth #8: Never leave a winning table

Just because you or others have been winning big at a table doesn’t mean anything. Winning once doesn’t mean you’re going to win again, and in fact, it might just pull you into a dangerous thought process where you’re convinced any losses will quickly come back. A table is a table, and luck comes and goes regardless of it.

If you need to leave a table, do so. If you’re enjoying yourself and have enough money to keep going, stay. It’s as simple as that.

Myth #9: Never count your money at the table

This is like counting your chickens before your eggs have hatched. Some people believe it’s bad luck to focus too much on your numbers, once again jinxing progress and all that.

Of course, this is just another myth and bad practice to boot. We actively recommend keeping track of your money as you play so you can follow your winnings and losses and avoid going over budget.

Myth #10: You should always chase your losses

We left the most important one for last. This is the myth that leads to gambling problems and overspending.

As we’ve already discussed, you can’t concretely win at a casino. The house always wins in the long run, and chasing your losses will just lead to you losing more. If you’re losing money at an uncomfortable rate, the best thing to do is to stop and walk away. It can be useful to have someone with you to help enforce this mindset if you struggle with it, and strict budgets are good, too.

Conclusion

Gambling and casinos are about the thrill of risk and having fun; don’t let these myths and superstitions hold you back from that! Some are harmless, sure, but remembering that they’re all untrue can help you have a good time in the long run. Always stay informed and level-headed while playing, and you shouldn’t run into any issues.

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