Gamers’ Superstitions in South Africa: Power-Ups, Patterns, and Powerball Numbers

Around the world, superstitions are a huge part of gaming and sports. From rituals before elite players step onto a football pitch, to habits giving players a psychological boost when they play video games, superstitions are a regular element of the gaming and sports worlds.

 

The term “power-ups” are mostly known as the bonus features and power boosts that are available in video games to provide super powers. However, power-ups can also come in the form of finding psychological boosts that help players to be more successful. Arguably, rituals such as the order of steps they take before starting a game or wearing a lucky clothing item may not actually have any direct correlation to the gaming outcomes. 

 

However, rituals can boost positive emotions, helping players to focus on the game play and avoid feeling overwhelmed by pressure. Performance anxiety can be a major barrier in elite sports and this carries over to esports and other intense gaming where there are high stakes. Applying superstitions can help overcome performance anxiety and enable gamers to give their best performance level.

 

What Type of Superstitions Do Gamers Have?

Superstitions and rituals vary from person to person but some common ones include sitting on a certain side of the screen to allow for better reflexes. Doing things in a certain order, such as turning on the device, picking up the controller and then sitting down can also be a superstition for many gamers. 

 

Gamers also often stick to using the same skins when on a winning streak or even having specific drinks or snacks that they believe to bring them luck. Some players like to keep the game volume at exactly the same number every time they play and choose a lucky number for the volume number.

 

In slot machine playing, many players are drawn towards games that feature lucky numbers, such as 7s. This is why games like 777. Lucky 7 and Wild 7 are so popular. If you have an affinity with a certain number, for example, if it represents a date that is important to you, you’ll feel like you have a type of power-up boosting your confidence.

 

Lottery players are often driven by superstitions too, selecting numbers that have significance in their life. Even though it does not increase the odds of these numbers coming out in the draw, the idea of lucky numbers dominates lottery playing.

 

Players often choose patterns of numbers too, believing that this brings extra luck. Some common patterns include choosing numbers with the same ending, e.g. 4, 14, 24, 34, 44. Other patterns are sequential odd or even numbers, for example, numbers going up in 4s, 5s or 6s, for example.

 

There is also a theory that using uncommon patterns or avoiding common patterns helps to prevent having to share the prize with many people but there is no credible evidence to support this theory. 

 

Lotteries in South Africa like Powerball have strict regulatory frameworks to comply with, and are governed by the National Lotteries Commission. The draw uses a Random Number Generator, so theories around lucky numbers are nothing more than a myth. However, the opportunity to win life-changing money prizes ensures that huge numbers of the population play the various available lotteries.

 

Choosing lucky numbers for the powerball lottery is still a big part of the fun and it helps players to select a set of numbers out of the 50 available. Powerball is the fastest growing lottery for players in South Africa, and huge jackpots of over R100million have been paid out multiple times through rollovers. The winners of the biggest jackpots include a mix of players who chose quick picks and many who chose their own lucky numbers.

 

The record R232,131,750.69 jackpot was won with the numbers 14, 18, 21, 26, 35 and the Powerball number 5, with just one anonymous winner receiving the full prize money. One of the great things about playing Powerball is that there is a chance to win smaller prizes with historic winnings such as R454 for matching 3 balls plus the Powerball and R767 for matching 4 balls.

Lucky Numbers Across iGaming and Lotteries

 

When video gamers and casino players also play the Powerball lottery, they will often use numbers from their gaming to influence their lottery number selections. For example, video game numbers such as scores, kill counts, the game level or in-game currencies can be inspiration for Powerball numbers. 

 

For casino players, lucky numbers that gave them success on the roulette table might inspire their lottery number selection. The roulette wheel only goes up to 36 but interestingly, the numbers that won the biggest ever jackpot only featured numbers up to 35.

 

While the odds of winning big prizes are small, lottery players often win smaller prizes, which can be very exciting and knowing that lottery funds are also used for important causes is another great reason to play.