The Psychology of Luck: How Beliefs Influence Casino Players’ Behavior

There are many ways to look at gambling from a psychological perspective. Some people believe gambling is pure luck and there is nothing you can do to influence the outcome of the game. Other people believe there are things you can do to give yourself a better chance of winning.

Either way, the psychology of luck plays a role in how casino players approach games and their behavior when playing both land based casino games and online casino games.

Luck in Casino Games

There is no doubt there is luck involved in every casino game, especially those available to play online. Taking online slots as an example, there is no way anyone can know what the outcome of the spinning reels is going to be before they land.

It may be possible, on some online slots, to hold every reel so they do not spin but that is the only occasion when it is possible to accurately predict the reels. Even when using a strategy, there is no way luck can be removed from the equation when playing slot games and the same applies to table games. Even games of poker involve luck and poker is regarded by many as being the most skilful of all the casino games. It may be possible to work out the percentage chance of a card being overturned next but knowing that information does not guarantee any kind of specific outcome.

However, some people believe they are lucky and if they do certain things, it will bring them good luck when playing casino games.

Superstitions

It may seem strange to think that wearing a specific item of clothing or playing a specific casino game at a certain time of day would influence peoples behavior when it comes to gambling but it does.

Playing a game of craps is a good example and some people will choose to hold the dice in their right or left hand and shake the dice a predetermined number of times. It will just feel right and players believe it will give them a better chance of winning when in fact, it will not make any difference to the outcome of the dice role.

If you are playing a game of online roulette, and you win big, there is a good chance you will think about what you did and try and repeat the process next time. It could be the pattern of your betting, the clothes you had on, the time of day you played the game, who was with you at the time, or any other factor that was in play during the game. None of those factors led to you landing the big win but you will be tempted to do them all again, in the same way next time because it brought you good luck.

Self-Perception of Luck

Some people believe they are lucky and that will drive their gambling behavior. Those who believe they are lucky are more likely to gamble more often and for larger sums of money.

Research has been carried out numerous times and the results show that those that had high levels of self-perception of luck spent more money on gambling. If you felt you were always unlucky in life, you are not likely to bet large sums of money on the spin of the roulette wheel because you think you are guaranteed to lose. The opposite of those who are happy-go-lucky and they are more likely to bet larger sums of money because they believe the outcome is going to land in their favor.

The Best Chance of Winning

There is a difference between luck and giving yourself the best chance of winning a casino game. For example, when playing online slots, those who are determined to win will do their research and will try and play slots with the best RTP. Slots with the best RTP have a better average of winning returns than slots with a low RTP.

That does not mean you are guaranteed to win when playing a slot with a higher RTP and the percentage is usually calculated using a high number of spins. If you are planning on playing slot games for a prolonged period of time, selecting a slot with a high RTP could see you win back more money but luck will still have a significant role to play in the game.