So this is interesting if you have ever grappled with the notion of ‘luck’ versus ‘chance’ when you place a bet.

Gambling is risky……or is it? What researchers Juemin Xu and Nigel Harvey at University College, London, have just published  basically explains that  the degree to which you are lucky when it comes to gambling has absolutely nothing to do with luck, chance or any other intangible notion.

Nope.

Your next big win at the roulette table is down to your BEHAVIOUR – and simple mathematics.

Think about that.

This is no new revelation. Films such as 21 have already highlighted the opportunity that is afforded to one to win a shit-load of cash if you can get your head around the maths of a hand of Black Jack.

But when it comes to things like horse-betting or even playing a slot machine, your behaviour and the decisions you make before placing a bet can literally ensure an ongoing ‘hot hand’.

The two researchers examined 565,915 bets made by 776 people on sports such as horse-racing and football.

Here’s what they found:

The probability of a first bet winning was 48% and that of a follow-up winning again was 49%. After that, the streak took off. The third bet won 57% of the time. The fourth, if the third had won, won 67% of the time, the fifth, 72% of it and the sixth 75%. As for the losers, after ploughing their first bets, their success with their second slipped to 47% and thence held at 45%.

The explanation of the puzzle, Ms Xu and Dr Harvey found, was not that Lady Luck actually does smile on winners and frown on losers. Rather, as winners’ winning streaks increased in length they started choosing safer and safer odds, which led them to win more often, though less profitably. In contrast, those who had experienced a losing streak went for ever riskier bets, making it more likely the streak would continue. [The Economist]

Cool, now that you know that, you can go ahead and draw out your life savings and hit Grand West  today, yeah? They’ve JUST told us how to clean out a casino – why are you still even sitting here?

[SOURCE: The Economist]

Are YOU feeling lucky today? You might want to try the MegaMillions lottery which is sitting on R1.5 billion. You can buy tickets from anywhere in the world here. 

Or maybe you have a good feeling about sport? Check out betflash and try your hand at sports betting!