If you’re an impulsive gambler, then chances are that you may be superstitious as well. According to researcher Luke Clark, a scientist at the Department of Experimental Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, gamblers who exhibit a high level of impulsive behavior are significantly more likely to adhere to superstitious habits and rituals in their play.
These rituals may include traditional rites such as carrying a lucky coin, rubbing a rabbit’s foot, blowing on the dice before throwing them or wearing a lucky shirt or hat. Superstitious rituals may also include reciting an incantation before play or even limiting play to specific lucky numbers.
The study also showed that impulsive gamblers are more likely to blame all of their losses on that great archenemy of the gambling world: bad luck.
According to the study, however, these losses can likely be attributed to more than mere bad luck. Researchers say that gamblers with chronically impulsive behavior are far more prone to make errors in judgment and reasoning — errors that may definitely have a negative impact on their playing. This is especially true if an impulsive gambler starts feeling that the control of the game is out of his hands and in the hands of an unknown, unseen fate.
Although one’s success or failure as a gambler is certainly related to chance, the study does help support the old gambler’s adage that it always helps to keep a cool head and a steady hand during play.
