Monte Carlo fallacy

English

Etymology

From an incident which took place at the Casino de Monte-Carlo.[1]

Noun

Monte Carlo fallacy (uncountable)

  1. The fallacy, most often believed by gamblers, that a past random event influences the outcome of a future random event, that is, that a run of even numbers at roulette means that there is a greater chance of an odd number next time.
    Synonym: gambler's fallacy

Further reading

References

  1. Tom Stafford (2015-01-28), “Why we gamble like monkeys”, in BBC.com: “This is known as the gambler's fallacy, and achieved notoriety at the Casino de Monte-Carlo on 18 August 1913. The ball fell on black 26 times in a row, and as the streak lengthened gamblers lost millions betting on red, believing that the chances changed with the length of the run of blacks.”
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