Does Lady Luck really favour the males?
Men are luckier than women both in games of chance, and in everyday events such as finding lost items, according to new data.
According to Winner.com, men are more likely to lay winning bets while gambling, and will walk away from a casino or race course having won more times that their female contemporaries.
Gents are also more likely to find lost items around the house, such as mislaid keys or jewellery, the website said, but will fail horribly in feats of memory.
“Men and women have their own particular skills,” said Yoni Sidi Head of Data at Winner.com, “Where it’s nature or nurture, each gender tends to be better at some things than the other.
“And we think that men are better at making their own luck, and come out on top in things that involve chance. The male memory, though, is like a Swiss cheese.”
When it comes to betting, Winner.com found that men are likely to win 45% of the time, while women only win 39% of bets.
Women are more likely to bet on impulse, while men habitually take their time to study odds, form and other factors, Winner said, citing its own studies that involved talking to and observing gamblers.
“Men like to think of themselves as experts on sports betting and are more likely to make what they think as informed wagers which might – on average – do slightly better,” said Yoni, “but experience shows again and again that luck always has a role to play in gambling.
“But being great at betting doesn’t cut much ice when you forget your wedding anniversary, and that’s where men fall down.”
Some psychologists think men’s brains are better wired to find things. One Dutch study found that men are better than women at finding their car in a crowded car park.
“This probably goes back tens of thousands of years,” said Yoni, “When men were hunters and gatherers, they needed these unconscious skills.
“Translated to the modern world, the location of an animal den becomes a set of keys for this year’s Toyota Prius. Not much of a difference really, but it shows that ‘luck’ may be wired into your brain without you knowing it.”
“It’s swings and roundabouts,” said Yoni, “While men are great at finding lost items, a collective male memory loss means that they’re more likely to be the one that lost them in the first place.
“You can be the greatest and luckiest gambler in the world, but if you can’t even remember where you left your wallet, you’re in trouble.”