Finding Gambling Patterns – Real Or Unreal
Whether or not human beings are capable of actually ‘spotting’ patterns in gambling, remains, and certainly is, a much-debated issue. It’s true that humans are naturally good at detecting patterns. But it’s also true that humans tend to see the world through a specific filter, also referred to by psychologists as ‘warped thinking’. And its oftentimes a combination of wanting to win and a tendency toward warped thinking that cause a false sense of confidence in self, along with self’s ability to spot a definite pattern. Which brings us to slots and a common misconception that ‘probability matching’ is the best way to go about hitting it big.
Consider for a minute two separate online slots. One of the two indicates a Return to Player percentage of 67% and the other a Return to Player percentage of 33%. A common error would be to reason that betting on the ‘better’ slot 67% of the time, and on the ‘poorer-paying’ slot 33% of the time, will render the best possible result. But in actual fact, this is exactly what is known as an illusionary result.
The correct way of reasoning would be to take the information presented by the slot at face value (these are regularly independently audited, after all!) and go along with playing the ‘better’ online slot game when wanting to enjoy better odds at beating the house.
Don’t Be Fooled By The Love
Anyone who has ever enjoyed a game of online Roulette will have, at some point, experienced the inclination to next bet on red, because black has come up 11 times in a row. And it’s an illusion that gets more pronounced the more the supposed anomaly is witnessed, which explains why spotting illusionary patters is more prevalent among gamblers than non-gamblers.
If something appears ‘non-random’ enough to be betting money on, then that ‘something’ needs to be considered soberly from all angles. Which brings us to our next point: it’s important to have a strategy.
About That RTP
Formulating a proper strategy means configuring an approach away form the excitement of it all – i.e. with no bells and whistles chiming invitingly in the background. This is true for the simple reason that the minute the human mind becomes excited, it becomes given to the type of ‘elevated’ reasoning not altogether different from infatuation, falling in love, even.
This is why online casinos suggest coming up with a favourite mode of play – or strategy – beforehand, and one that can be applied to an array of eventualities. There’s a reason developers and online casinos ensure that Return to Player percentages (RTPs) are clearly displayed when it comes to slots and online slots. These clearly indicate the odds of winning, and in a comparative manner.
No casino or online casino wants to lose even a single one of its players to unwarranted resentment, the gambler’s fallacy, or a warped manner of thinking. None of these are a good way to hold onto valued customers.
The bottom-line? Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation tends to be the correct one. And when translated to gambling language? Read the screen. The RTP percentage doesn’t lie.