It’s no secret that people are a superstitious bunch. Detectives act on their “hunches”, students taking exams cross their fingers and knock on wood, and hotel owners skip from 12 straight to 14 in their floor plan. And in roulette, players favour some numbers over others. Is there any rhyme or reason to this, or is it simply what it sounds like: an old wives tale? Can humans really tap into something deeper when it comes to luck and probability, or are we really all stuck in a gradually overheating RNG machine?

• Most Frequently Hit Roulette Numbers Games
• Most Frequently Hit Roulette Numbers Ever
• Most Frequently Hit Roulette Numbers List

A Brief History

This happens to be the case in NY right now. 055 hit yesterday and that number is from group 2 (550). 657 hit the day before and that number is in group 3 (567). Therefore, the most due list of numbers are the numbers in group 1 so one of the 36 numbers from group 1 should hit today or in a day or two. Roulette is a game that heavily relies on chance, players bet on a particular number or color that the ball will fall on after its momentum comes to a stop. Just like any other web-based casino game, online roulette also uses the RNG or Random Number Generator principle. In several studies when correspondents were asked to choose a random number from 1 to 20, 17 was the most frequently chosen, making it the least random number by human standards. 7 followed closely behind. Computerised RNG made no such biases. Whether you prefer playing American, European, or French roulette, among the most frequently asked questions, particularly by new roulette players, is how best to choose the appropriate bets, and what number does roulette go up to in these popular roulette versions. What number hits most in roulette? The distribution of random outcomes evens out over time, and no number hits more than others. In large enough samples, the actual frequency of any number on the roulette wheel converges to the theoretical probability of 2.70%.

The link between betting and probability has a long and intermingled history. In fact, gambling is the mother of probability. Blaise Pascal, who accidentally invented the roulette wheel in his attempt to construct a perpetual motion machine, struggled with the idea of probability from a mathematical standpoint. Through the contemplation of a notoriously difficult hypothetical gambling problem, he and Pierre de Fermat formulated the theory of probability. Before this time, there was no other “scientific” way for people to rationally predict outcomes to situations. They had to guess and trust their gut instinct. Since roulette and the theory of probability have grown together side by side, why is it that many people still adamantly hold onto their superstitious ways? Perhaps, sometimes there really is something that guides people to choose the way they do.

The Legend of 17

The number 17 is the number in the centre of the roulette board and is also famous for delivering some staggering wins.

• “Newcastle boss wins £1.3 million on lucky number 17”
• Sean Connery wins on 17 3 times in a row

If you ask croupiers what the most common number people bet on, the answer will always be 17. Not only does it lie in the centre of the board, making it the most obvious place to bet, MIT have described the number 17 as the “most random number”, meaning that when people choose a random number they go straight for 17. In several studies when correspondents were asked to choose a random number from 1 to 20, 17 was the most frequently chosen, making it the least random number by human standards. 7 followed closely behind. Computerised RNG made no such biases.

So, perhaps the phenomenal wins commonly associated with the number are simply because more people bet on 17. Ashley, a long time roulette player, most likely bet on the number 17 a lot of times before he hit his big break.

Sean Connery’s Staggering Win

But, this doesn’t explain Sean Connery’s unbelievable achievement on the roulette wheel. Reportedly, while playing in Casino de la Vallee in Saint-Vincent, Italy, he placed 5 bets on the number 17. The first two he lost, but he persisted. The third time lucky, his number came up winning him 31:1 odds. Not content to settle with that, he placed all his winnings back on the number 17. Literally against all odds, the movie star wins again. Instead of walking away, Connery tempts fate and puts all his money on the 17 for a fifth and final time. The number comes up. Apparently the probability of hitting three single number bets in a row is 0.0000197% or 50,000:1. While it is weird that it would be the same number three times in a row, mathematically it’s like as likely as Connery guessing any other number correctly. Of course, that doesn’t make it any less bizarre.

What on earth is going on here? Perhaps the number 17 truly is a mythical number for roulette.

Perhaps the reason is simply that Connery spotted a bias with the roulette wheel, and went with it. However, since the roulette wheel missed the mark the first two times, it still seems extremely risky. Maybe Connery was simply in the mood for a thrill! Or, perhaps he slipped the croupier a little something under the table… Sadly, we will never really know the answer to the mystery of the number 17. We can see why people love betting on it though!

Other Common Lucky Numbers

The number 7 is perhaps the most common number that people like to bet on, after 17, because it is generally considered to be lucky. People also love the number 3, as everyone knows all good things come in threes. However, these numbers are all lucky in the Western culture. Eastern casinos would tell an entirely different story of what the most common numbers bet on are. For instance, the number two has extremely positive associations in Asian casinos: double your luck and double your chances!

Least Favourite Numbers To Bet On

As we already mentioned, people tend to avoid the number 13. Its unluckiness is well established throughout most of Western culture. However, in Italy the number 13 is lucky and the number 17 unlucky. So, if you are betting with an Italian you can expect them to do the reverse of what you might expect. Players universally tend to dislike betting on the zeros, perhaps because of the placement on the board, and perhaps because of their unlucky associations with the house edge.

Conclusion

17 is a very common number to bet on, which is most likely why you hear so many great success stories surrounding it. 7 is also very common and has enjoyed fame because of a number of big wins associated with it. The more fame these number have, the more likely people are to bet in them – thus increasing their fame and luck further.

Whatever number you bet on mathematically has the same chance of coming up. So if you do have a favourite number spread that means a lot to you, like a birthday or anniversary date, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use it. They are just as likely, or rather unlikely, to come up as any other. Then, when your numbers do come up you’ll have all the more reason to favour them! Keep this in mind when playing online for real money.

How many times in a row has a little ball landed in the same pocket of a Roulette wheel, i.e. how many times has a single number occurred in a row? And how about the same color? What is the probability of these events and a potential impact on a play?

Record Occurrence of a Single Number in Roulette

The probability that any single number occurs is 1/37 in French Roulette and 1/38 in American Roulette (there are 36 numbers + zero + double zero in American Roulette). There is no doubt that it is a great coincidence when the same number comes up again and again.

The longest reliable series was registered at the hotel El San Chuan in Puerto Rico on 9 June 1959. During the course of the American Roulette, number ten occurred even six times in a row! The probability of such (successive) events is determined by a multiplication of individual events. Therefore the probability that the same number comes up six times in a row is:

(1/38) ˟ (1/38) ˟ (1/38) ˟ (1/38) ˟ (1/38) ˟ (1/38), that is:

(1/38)6 = 0.000000000332122593261671.

That is a very small number indeed, roughly three billionths only. If we convert this probability into true odds that would have to be offered to us by a casino, we get the value 3,010,936,384 to one. The true (fair) odds are calculated as a reciprocal of the probability, that is 1 ÷ probability. If such a bet on a series of outcomes was possible in Roulette, we would win $3 billion for a $1 bet(!)

It is important to add that the above-mentioned calculation of probability deals with a multiple (successive) events, i.e. we can ask this question: What is the probability that the same number in Roulette comes up 6 times in a row?

Since it would be a different case if e.g. number 10 occurred and after that before the new spin we asked what was the probability that number ten came up again? In this case the answer would be 1/38 (in terms of American Roulette), because any number could occur with the same probability 1/38 in every new spin. That is what we call a simple event in contrast with a multiple event(s) whereas the probabilities of individual events are multiplied (→ Articles on Probability).

The true odds for a 1 to 10fold repetition of the same number are shown in the table below. It is the same mechanism as if a sporting bet company or a casino offered the odds for a victory of some home team in some football match (→ The Odds Determination and Calculation).

The odds are reciprocal values of the probabilities – the higher they are, the lower the probabilities are. The case of the above-mentioned record series is marked green. Consider also the difference that is made by one extra number in American Roulette (the double zero).

Record Repetition of the Same Color in Roulette

There are no exceptions that the same color appeared more than 20 times in a row in practice. The record was registered in 1943, when red color came up 32 times in a row! The probability of such event in French Roulette is (18/37)32 = 0.000000000096886885 with the corresponding odds 10,321,314,387:1.

Most Frequently Hit Roulette Numbers Games

The probability of the 32fold repetition of the same color in American Roulette is much more lower: (18/38)32 = 0.00000000004127100756 and the odds are 24,230,084,485:1. Thus this is even less likely than occurrence of a single number six times in a row. Again it is clearly demonstrated what kind of importance (a negative one for players) has just one extra number in American Roulette.

Most Frequently Hit Roulette Numbers Ever

Now imagine that you used the Martingale betting strategy (→ see the first test of the Martingale system), whereas the next bet is doubled if your bet loses...

Most Frequently Hit Roulette Numbers List

→ Testing & Simulations of Roulette Bets & Strategies