Top 5 Most Popular Gambling Superstitions

“It’s unlucky to be superstitious.”

If you’ve ever walked within 100 feet of a casino or someone that’s been to a casino recently, you’ve probably heard at least one if not plenty of different superstitions. Gamblers love to gamble because even though we know it’s probably not possible, we think we can change and affect the outcome of the games we play.

Some of you that are superstitious will disagree with me and say that you can, in fact, change your luck and that’s totally ok. As someone who doesn’t win very much when they gamble, maybe I have a thing or two to learn from you and should start being more superstitious. The funny part is that even though I understand the math of chance and probability and don’t claim to be superstitious at all, I will definitely continue doing things a certain way if I at all think it may be having some sort of effect on me winning or losing.

Superstitions are serious business for some people and are just a fun way to enjoy gambling for others. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, as long as you are having fun playing, you’re doing it right. In light of all this talk about superstitions, we wanted to highlight some of the top superstitions that we’ve seen from gamblers. Some of these may be brand new to you, and some of them may be your “secret to winning.” Either way, we hope you enjoy the read. Did we mention it’s bad luck not to read this entire article?

Give the Dice a Blow

This one is super popular at the craps table and has been made famous by being used in movies. The premise is this. If you or you have a pretty lady blow on the dice before you roll them, you will roll what you need, and everyone will win. Does this work? Well, that’s up to you to find out. The one piece of advice we can offer with this one is that if you do choose to blow on the dice, remember that blowing is done with air and not saliva. Too many people go to “blow on the dice” and end up giving the dice a full shower of the cheap buffet food they had for dinner.

$50 Bills

This may be a new one for a lot of you, but in Vegas, this one is still fairly popular. It is a superstition that $50 bills are completely unlucky and should be avoided at all costs. The basis of this superstition is there are rumors that mobsters used to tuck $50 bills into the jackets of anyone they killed before burying them in the desert outside of Vegas. Whether this was true or not, it has morphed into a full-scale superstition.

I’ve legitimately seen people at the bank and the grocery store getting cash back refuse to accept a $50 bill. They demand that the banking agent of cashier switch the $50 bill out for anything else. Some of these people are so serious about it that I guarantee they would rather take pennies than take the bill.

The Number 7

It’s funny that one of the luckiest numbers in most people’s minds is something regarded as unlucky to utter in one specific place – the craps table. If you utter the word 7 at the craps table, everyone and their mother around the table will groan and instantly not be a huge fan of you. Think I’m kidding and want to have a terrible night? Give it a try. The best way to see that this does exist WITHOUT everyone hating you is to hang out at the craps table for a few minutes. You will hear people say things like “that number we don’t speak of” or “the number after 6” when referring to the 7.

Counting Your Chips While Playing

Kenny Rodgers said it best in his iconic song The Gamblers when he said, “You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table. There’ll be time enough for counting when the dealing’s done.” Little did some of us know that he was trying to warn us of a new superstition. The premise here is that if you try and count your chips and your winnings while still playing, you will start losing.

The interesting part is that Kenny Rodgers was talking about not counting your chips while playing poker. The problem with this is that knowing how many chips you have is vital to being successful at poker. For that reason alone, we are debunking this one as not legitimate. One thing that is true, though, is that if you start to try and realize your profits before you are done playing, you may start to play differently and will, in fact, start losing. This one may be closer to strategy than superstition.

The Mouth of a Lion

This superstition is one of my favorites because of the story that goes with it. In Chinese culture, it is unlucky to enter a casino from the front entrance. This superstition actually started only a few years ago when the MGM Grand in Las Vegas built a giant lion’s mouth for patrons to walk through before entering the casino. Walking through the mouth of a lion was seen as unlucky and quickly morphed into the front entrance superstition.

The fun part about this one is that the MGM Grand actually had to change the design of their casino to keep their Asian customers happy. This is one superstition that definitely cost them a few bucks in remodeling costs.