Whether you keep a dead rabbit’s foot in your pocket to stroke while you play poker or you always have to wear your lucky pants when you gamble, you’re not alone. In fact, you might be a lot less weird than you think.
There are hundreds of strange superstitions that casino players from around the world believe in. From not washing to staying away from dogs, these crazy rituals will have you scratching your head and asking, ‘what is up with humans?’
Dogs are the devil
Dogs are meant to be man’s best friend but at the casino, they’re evil little luck leeches that will bring you nothing but endless misery. Sure, they might look cute but don’t be fooled.
It has long been believed that dogs are bad luck for gamblers. If it’s a black dog, well that’s even worse. You’ll probably die very soon.
At Las Vegas casinos this whole dog thing is going to be much more of an issue than it would be in your home. Afterall, you can just shut your four-legged friend out of the room you’re gambling in.
Not every Vegas casino even allows pets in, so if you’re the superstitious kind, it’s head for one of those animal free casino floors.
Stay away from hunchbacks
Those pesky hunchbacks, they’re just everywhere aren’t they? Hardly. Unless you’re living in the Disney universe of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, it’s unlikely that you’re seeing hunchbacks on a regular basis.
And that’s good because in 2019, it’s frankly unacceptable to hold on to superstitions based on a disability someone has no control over. That being said, there are still thousands of gamblers around the world who will run off in a panic if they see a hunchback either in the casino or on the way there.
The origin of this bad luck omen is thought to come from the outdated idea that someone who has a hunchback has already lost the lottery of life by having ‘bad genes.’ By that logic, hunchbacks are considered to be cursed and their bad luck is meant to be contagious.
Never read a book
If you thought books were for gaining new knowledge, enlightening you with new perspectives on life or perhaps carrying you away to distant imaginary lands, you’re wrong. They are actually paper pirates looking to sabotage your good luck and take your cash hostage, apparently…
This not so proven fact originated in ancient China. Today there are gamblers from around the world who strongly believe that reading books before you bet is a very bad idea. We’re not just talking about gambling books either.
The ‘don’t read anything’ rule applies to every kind of book, from sci-fi to erotic novels. That’s because it’s not the content of the books that’s important here but the word ‘book.’ In Chinese the word book sounds almost the same as ‘lose.’
So when it comes to gambling, books are for losers.
Don’t wash
An ancient tradition from India says that you should go to the casino as dirty as possible. That’s because washing yourself and your clothes rinses away any good luck that might be clinging to you, duh.
In the gambling scene, the dirtier the better. Rather than the idea that you’ll keep all the good luck that’s built up on your skin, this might have more to do with unsettling your opponents.
If you’re playing a game of poker stinking of week old sweat, with bits of stale food in your beard, the chances are you won’t be competing against many other players. They’ll all leave holding their noses and find another table to try and steal the pot at.
Get dumped by your partner
A broken heart is meant to improve your chances of winning when you place a bet. Sorry but It’s time to ask yourself how much your current squeeze is actually worth to you. $100? $1,000? What about $1m?
The idea that someone who’s sad and lonely is more likely to experience good fortune has been around for thousands of years. It’s basically an extension of the Gambler’s Fallacy.
Surely, if someone has experienced bad events recently, they must be due for something good to happen in their lives soon, right?
If only the world was that fair…
The upside to this superstition is that if you have just broken up with the love of your life, the casino might be a good distraction from that dizzying sense of loss that makes moving on feel impossible.
Put the ice cream away, stop looking at their Instagram, get dressed, and try your luck at the casino.
Who knows, if you win enough money, maybe they’ll take you back.
