Whether related to culture, religion, or language, numbers matter worldwide, and beliefs about what is lucky or unlucky vary.
The Fruity King NZ team created this article to discuss and inform their readers about the different numbers considered lucky or unlucky in different cultures and how they can relate to roulette.
For instance, a number could be attached to an ancient legend, or the pronunciation of a number sounds like another word in the same language that could be either lucky or unlucky.
It’s well known that people, no matter where they live in the world, are a superstitious lot. How many of us crossed our fingers for luck at one time or another? In some countries, hotel owners will not have a room with the number thirteen on the door to avoid complaints.
In roulette online games, players will bet on certain numbers more than others, even though there seems to be no reason to do this, or is there?
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Different Meanings For Different Cultures
Take China as an example. In Chinese, the word for four sounds very similar to the word for death, leading to the number four being considered unlucky, so much so that some people will not stay in a hotel room or hospital room with the number four.
On the other hand, in China and Japan, the word eight sounds similar to the word for prosper, so the number eight is considered lucky. However, the number eight in India is believed to represent a thin border between good and bad luck, heaven and hell.
Seven is considered a lucky number in the USA and most of Europe. Perhaps because in Christianity, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Also, there are seven wonders of the world, and the ancient world contains seven planets.
There are so many instances of the same number in different countries being considered lucky in some and unlucky in others. For instance, the number six, six, six in the Christian religion is known as the sign of the beast in the Bible.
Yet, in China, six, six, six sounds similar to the word smooth, as in ‘everything is going very smoothly’, and is therefore considered lucky.
Another interesting difference concerns the number thirteen, considered unlucky in most Western countries. However, the same number is considered lucky in Italy and China, especially in gambling, leading us to our next section.
About The Origin of Probability
There is a long, connected history between betting and probability, with some considering the act of gambling as the mother of probability.
Gamblers and Astronomers responsible for the probability theory were one of the two groups. Gamblers wanted to understand the odds fully, whilst Astronomers tried to observe the milky way accurately using rudimentary tools.
What is for sure is no one can be lucky all the time, although some people live a happy and lucrative life whilst gambling.
In ancient times when people gambled, they called them ‘games of chance’, which meant the outcome could not be controlled. Because of this belief in luck, they never expected any outcome more than another.
But then, some mathematicians started to find a connection between probabilities and gambling as early as the 16th century Gerolamo Cardano is regarded as the first key player in the development of probability theory writing a book called ‘Liver de ludo aleae (Games of Chance).
Gerolamo Cardano’s book was the first-ever use of probability, defining odds as either favourable or unfavourable.
A century later, two of the most respected mathematicians, Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal, were interested in similar problems.
Today, probability theory is the core of many scientific fields like insurance, weather forecasting, finance, how people might vote in an upcoming election etc. It has been proven that even the most advanced theory of physics – quantum theory – also comes down to probability.
So Which Are The Best Roulette Numbers?
We have determined that roulette is a game of chance; the roulette wheel slots are all the same length, width and depth, and the wheel is balanced.
Even so, many roulette lovers will repeatedly play their ‘lucky’ number and firmly believe there are better numbers to play in roulette. So, when we say ‘best’, we mean the most commonly played numbers recognised as ‘straight up’ bets.
- Many players consider the Number Seven a lucky number due to the positive superstitions connected to it. In Christian countries, where the world, according to the Bible, was created in six days, then God rested on the seventh is one of those reasons. However, there are records that ancient beliefs believe that the seventh son of the seventh son will have magical powers.
- Number seventeen is also considered a lucky number. It is situated in the middle of the roulette table and has also given some lucky punters impressive wins.
- Some players consider the numbers twenty-three and twenty-four lucky, although the reason for this is still being determined.
- Of course, for each lucky number, there are also unlucky numbers:
- The number six is surrounded by superstition, specifically 666, the sign of the beast.
- Number thirteen in Western countries (except Italy) has the tag ‘number thirteen, unlucky for some’ passed down through time and although in Italy and other parts of the world, the number is considered lucky, generally throughout the West, it is still thought to be a bad number to place a wager on.
- Number thirty-four is thought to be jinxed by some professional players who avoid placing a bet on it.
- Suppose you are playing the American version of roulette. In that case, it is considered unlucky to bet on either of the zero pockets due to their position on the table. However, this reason alone seems odd and difficult to explain.
In Conclusion
Roulette has been enjoyed throughout the ages by many people worldwide. Because of the cultural differences, ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ numbers have evolved.
Like betting strategies and systems, lucky numbers are personal to the player. They might be something as simple as a special anniversary or birthday.
Whatever the reason for choosing one number over another, lucky numbers are just that ‘lucky’. Sometimes Lady Luck will smile at you, and sometimes she prefers another number, but that does not detract from the fact that roulette remains focal to many land-based casinos and is incredibly popular online.
