Casino and Gambling Myths and Why They Aren’t True

Top 10 Casino and Gambling Myths

Gambling at online casinos will always be misunderstood by some people, but even the most experienced players still believe in many of the casino myths that persist in today’s iGaming era. These myths linger on across all forms of online casino, bingo, poker, and sports betting and it looks like they will keep playing on the minds of players for a long time to come.

At Best Online Casino Reviews NZ, we want to put these gambling myths to bed once and for all. We have compiled a list of 10 common myths waiting to get debunked, so let’s get started.

1 – Online Casino Games Are Rigged

The first one is the classic myth that online casino games are rigged with little to no chance of actually winning. It’s an easy one to believe when you’re on a losing streak and your bankroll is shrinking fast, however, this all comes down to gaming swings. You can’t expect to win all the time (remember the house does have an advantage) and so players need to accept that losing is all part of the overall experience. That said, we can appreciate that this can be especially hard to accept at times.

Debunking this popular myth comes down to the legal side of online casinos and the all-important gambling license. All casinos need to apply for and acquire a gambling license to operate legally in the eyes of the law. One of the biggest license requirements is to ensure they use RNGs on all simulated games: RNG stands for Random Number Generator and is based on computer algorithms that reflect the real game statistics. It means that every spin on the pokies, every hand dealt and roll of the dice is completely random and fair.

2 – Predicting Winning Bets from Past Results

The next myth revolves around the thought process that you can predict the outcome based on recent results. Funnily enough, roulette is the game that players seem to think that they can predict the most, even though it’s the one game that is based entirely on luck.

Let us explain. You’re sat playing a roulette game and 10 out of 15 numbers that land is red. Many players would now expect that the next 15 numbers would contain more black numbers – but this is not the case. Every spin of the roulette wheel is random and there is no link between what has happened previously and what will happen next.

3 – Card Counting is Illegal

Card counting is the infamous blackjack strategy that spawned countless books and even Hollywood movies. It’s one of the biggest gambling myths around – but is it actually illegal? The answer is that there is nothing illegal about card counting. However, in brick and mortar casinos, management is often quick to discourage players who try to use this tactic at the table. The reason is simply that they don’t want you to win, not that it’s illegal.

Card counting is based around keeping track of the cards in a deck, which then gives you an increased advantage over the house as you can ‘predict’ when good hands will be dealt, especially in single deck games. It’s a complicated strategy and requires complete concentration. However, it’s also impossible to use if you only play the virtual online blackjack games since the deck is “reshuffled” after every hand, making counting literally impossible.

4 – Luck Is Everything

Lady luck is a fun thing to believe in, but when it comes to winning at the casino, it’s all down to mathematics. The reality is a lot more boring than lucky numbers or colours! The main point to remember here is that every casino game has a mathematical advantage built into it, which tips in favour of the casino.

This is commonly known as the house edge or RTP and basically means that the casino game will receive more money than it pays out over time. Forget your luck and pick out the games with the lowest house edge and give yourself the best possible chance of winning.

5 – Relying on Betting Systems to Win

You might have seen the e-books or guides that claim to show you “The Secret to Winning on Pokies” or “Betting and Guaranteed Casino Wins”. They sound great, but at the end of the day, these betting techniques and ideas are not guarantees of winning. The house edge always gives a casino the advantage and they simply would not offer a game that would payout every time – they’d go out of business.

Casinos are in the business of making money and not giving it away for free. We know that there are some betting systems out there that can help you, such as the Martingale system for roulette. This is more of a money management guide and essentially allows you to extend your gaming sessions and not fall into the trap of losing your money too quickly.

6 – Pokies Overdue for a Win

There are plenty of myths doing the rounds in relation to how trustworthy pokies are these days. One of the most popular casino myths is when players believe that a specific pokie is “due a payout”. Perhaps they have been playing for over an hour and think that the big bonus round win is only a few spins away, or they see the linked jackpot rising to a significant amount and think that it’s surely time to drop.

The fact is that it all comes down to that RNG feature again and that means every spin is random. The last spin is not connected to the next spin and so on. We can understand that you might think otherwise if you’re playing a progressive pokie and the jackpot is reaching NZ$10,000,000. Surely, the jackpot will drop soon, right? Unfortunately, the answer is no, each and every spin is random and the spin that triggers the jackpot can happen at any time.

This is mostly a throwback to old-school, physical, isolated slot machines, some of which would pay out after a certain amount of time. In today’s online arena, however, there’s sadly no such guarantee.

7 – Casino Tactics to Keep You Playing More

Many newcomers to online gaming think that casinos use special tactics to keep players logged in and playing their games. It can be described as someone watching you play the pokies and then they secretly gifting you a win when your bankroll starts to get low, just to keep you entertained and engaged. The thought is a bit far-fetched but that doesn’t stop many players believing in it across the world.

For this to happen, a software engineer would need to program special code into an online game. If this did happen, it would be picked up straight away by the gaming auditors when they inspect the coding and RNG statistics behind each game. It is completely illegal and against the fair gaming policies that sit within the guidelines of the gambling license that we mentioned earlier on. Online casinos don’t use secret tactics to keep you playing longer. Period.

8 – Play Long Enough and You Will Win

Players often think that they will eventually hit a winning streak if they keep playing long enough. This links back to the pokies payout myth mentioned earlier: a losing streak on any game is hard to accept, and there is a chance that you will eventually hit a win at some point – but you can’t count on it.

For most people who believe in casino myths like this one, the harsh reality is that they run out of money before the variance swings in their favour. The important reality to focus on is that each spin or hand dealt is independent of the last one. You might feel that you are due a win, but the only guarantee that you can be sure of is that the casino will win in the long run. Waiting for a big win to come along and clear your losses is a very dangerous game.

9 – Playing at Certain Times of the Day

Players who believe in this myth are restricting their overall casino enjoyment because they believe that certain games play differently depending on the time of day. It’s possible that this myth tumbled over from poker into the casino and pokie realm. This is because poker players often think that playing at night will bring them more luck.

The reason behind this is that beginner players tend to play casually, just for a bit of fun. Therefore, they play later in the day. Experienced players who join tables at this time, therefore, have a better chance of winning. The myth is completely unfounded at online casinos however, since a pokie machine does not keep track of the time and the RNG keeps games random and fair at all times.

10 – You Won’t Receive Your Winnings if You Win Big

Many beginner players believe that casinos will not payout on those big wins. This myth will even stop some players from ever engaging with games offering big prizes. It’s true that the casino will often look into the winning spin or hand to ensure that everything was above board. Wagering with bonus money and errors in the game are often cited by management, but if you have stuck to the rules then you will get your winnings soon enough.

Sometimes these payouts are issued in installments, but they are always paid.

The biggest mistake that you can make in terms of payouts is playing at rogue casinos. This is one of those gambling myths that will become a reality for players who wager at unlicensed casinos: they’ll take your money and they won’t let you withdraw a penny. As long as you play sensibly, at proper casinos, you aren’t at risk.