You can be sure that for every logical explanation behind the reasoning of something, such as the Earth being round, there will always be a conspiracy theorist trying to prove it wrong. Sometimes, these arguments have some merit and can be validated, but quite often, they turn out to be unfounded or misunderstood. This also happens in casinos, both the physical brick-and-mortar variety and ones that operate online.
Today, we’re going to take a look at ten myths that quite often get brought up when it comes to a live dealer casino games and decipher if there is some substance to them, or if they’re just a bunch of rumors.
1 – There Are Magnets under the Roulette Wheel
Now, this is a common one thrown around and suggests that under the roulette wheel, there are small magnets that allow the casino to pick which number the ball lands on. This way, they can see what is on the table and avoid making any big payouts, maximizing their profits and cutting their losses.
Now, for a casino to operate legally, it must adhere to local regulatory bodies and be granted a license. Much of the process for these things is just tick-box exercises to ensure certain things are in place. However, they often also include inspections from independent bodies to ensure that games operate fairly. Which would mean if magnets were being used, the operator would be found out and have their license suspended. So, yeah, this myth is just that, a myth.
2 – Bigger Payouts Happen Later at Night
Many people believe casinos pay out more at certain times of the day. Now, that is partly true. For example, when the best online live casino is at its busiest time of the day, it will potentially be paying more out because there are more people playing. People tend to play more in the evening because they’ve been at work during the day. So yes, there is the potential for bigger payouts at night, but it isn’t a guarantee.
3 – Cards Are Marked for Dealers
Some believe that in casinos, the cards for games such as Blackjack are marked so the dealer knows what you have and what they have so they can encourage you to hit or stick when it benefits the house. Well, actually, they’re not, most licensed casinos have to change cards regularly, using fresh new decks in order to make sure cards never do pick up marks. Also, a dealer isn’t allowed to advise you to do anything.
4 – The Odds Are Always in Favor of the House
This one is true – it’s actually called the house edge. If it wasn’t the case then casinos wouldn’t be able to make any money. A quick example to show this is how, when you play live roulette online, there are 37 numbers on the wheel. However, the return for predicting the correct number is only 36x your stake. Meaning if you stuck a single dollar on every number, the house would still be a dollar up from your wager.
5 – Card Counting Is Illegal
Wrong. It is extremely frowned upon, but don’t believe what you see in the movies. Counting cards is a mathematical system where players count which cards have been drawn already, to decipher what cards are left. Potentially giving them an edge over the house. But as it doesn’t physically interfere with the game, it isn’t illegal. Just don’t go around telling people you’re doing it.
6 – Practice Makes Perfect
Apart from playing live dealer poker online or in person, where there is an element of skill involved, it doesn’t matter how much you practice other table games, it won’t help you. Sure, you can better understand the rules of certain games, but these are games of pure chance. There are no tactics or strategies that are guaranteed to turn the tide in your favor. Even counting cards isn’t guaranteed to make you win, it just gives you a better idea of what cards are coming up.
7 – Slot Machines Are Overdue for a Win
Back in the old days, this may well have been the case. Slot games used to have two pots inside them to payout coins from, the hopper and the overflow. They would always start with twice the full jackpot amount, and once all containers were full, they had to pay out because they physically couldn’t take more money.
However, nowadays, most machines are digital and take notes or card payments. Therefore, they use entirely different systems and software which make use of random number generators. So even if you think it is about to payout, it’s entirely down to chance if it does or not.
8 – Past Results Are Important
People like to think there are patterns to everything. Is the ball landing on the same colors or in the same section on the wheel in roulette? Playing live blackjack but no one has hit 21 for a while, it’s got to happen soon, right? Wrong. Once again, they are games of pure chance. The ball falls completely randomly, cards nowadays are put in automatic shufflers that constantly shuffle cards, so it’s all pure luck as to whether your bets come in or not.
9 – Casinos Let You Win to Encourage You to Play
Again, wrong. The Casinos in all honesty don’t want you to win. They’re running a business. They have bills, wages, taxes, and maintenance to keep on top of. This costs a lot of money. They have to cover all that before they begin to make a profit. What they may do if you haven’t been for a while is send you special offers such as free wagers on certain games, to draw you back in. But that’s the closest you’ll get to this myth.
10 – If You play Long Enough, You’ll Eventually Win
Once again, this is just a myth. Whilst the probability is that at some point you may win if you keep sticking with the same bets, it is once again down to chance. You could just as easily keep losing. This is where responsible gambling comes into play. You should never chase your losses. Set yourself a limit, and if you lose it all, stop. Because otherwise, you will just be digging yourself into a hole.
What Have We Learned about Casino Myths?
For the most part, they really are just myths. Crazy ideas that people have come up with to try and explain away why they have not won big. Anyone offering strategies for certain games is just misleading you because there is no method of guaranteeing that you win. Everything comes down to chance and luck, except once again, for poker, in which there is an element of skill because you can win by bluffing your opponents.
Those myths that do have some merit to them such as casinos paying out more at certain times can be explained logically. So, if someone starts telling you something that sounds untrue, it probably is. Think about it logically before making any decisions and you will be fine.
