Nine (9)

We have already covered the number eight in this section, which is a very lucky number in China. But if you happen to be Thai, it’s the number 9 that’s the lucky number for the superstitious when playing รูเล็ตต์ (that’s how you say roulette in Thai, pronounced Rū lĕt). 9 is said to be closely linked to the number 27 (2+7, 3×9 etc).

We go into that in great detail below, but how do you play a nine in roulette?

Betting on the Number 9 in Roulette

Well, you can place a straight up bet on the actual number of course, for a 35:1 payout, but that isn’t going to get you much table coverage. The Number 9 is a red number that sits between the black number 22 and the black number 31 when you play European Roulette and between black 26 and 28 on an American Roulette wheel.

So you can cover 9 on the red, odd and lo even money bets. It sits on the 3rd column and the first dozen on the 2:1 payout bets. You can cover it using other Inside Bets like the Corner Bet and the Street Bet, or with a Red Splits bet. The 007 bet also covers 9, as does the Orphelins Bet and the Snake Bet. You have plenty of options! Test it out on one of our roulette free play games or grab the exclusive bonus on our betfair roulette page.

The Thai Number Nine

Nine is the last single digit natural number. After that, you arrive at the number 10. Odd numbers are often seen as luckier than even numbers The number 3 is lucky as well, so 3×3 or 9 is super lucky. Plus Thai word for nine is gao (similar to Cantonese incidentally)- and this sounds very similar to Kow-nah which means progress or moving forward, and rice, which is called khao.

And anyone with rice is seen as very lucky.

At Buddhist ceremonies and openings of shops and hotels, you’ll often see 9 monks invited for prosperity and good luck. And licence plates containing the number 9 change hands for big Baht. The number 9 is also seen as an auspicious number because the Thai digit for nine looks like a symbol seen on the Buddha’s forehead.

When the Metro (MRT) first opened, the first 99,999 customers were given gifts.

So if you buy lottery ticket in Thailand, make sure it’s got a nine in it. In Thailand there are no land based casinos. They were banned, but you can play the Thai National Lottery and bet on the horses. There has been talk of legalising casinos in Thailand– for example in Pattaya to attract the tourists. At the moment, it is just that, just talk.

The Indian Connection

The number 9 is a number that crops up often in Indian Culture:.

There were nine influencers in Indian astrology.
In Hindu philosophy, there are 9 elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Ether, Time, Space, Soul, and Mind.
In Yoga, the human body has nine gateways- two eyes, two ears, the mouth, two nostrils, and the openings for defecation and procreation.
9 is a very symbolic number- it is revered in Hinduism and is thought of as a perfect and divine number as it is the last number in the decimal system, which has been used in India since around as 3000 BC.

In China

The number eight is the King of Lucky Numbers in China, but nine is hardly unlucky. Nine (九) sounds similar to the word for “long-lasting”. It is also firmly linked to the dragon, a symbol of magic in China. Kowloon in Hong Kong is so called because there are “nine dragons” or hills surrounding the city.

The Emperor was often represented by a dragon.

In Europe

In the West, the number seven normally steals the limelight when it comes to luck. But the number 9 does crop up quite a bit in European cultures.

In Norse mythology, there are Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil are: Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Nidavellir, Helheim, Niflheim, and Muspelheim. Play the Thunderstruck slot to find out about those!
There are also 9 Muses in Greek mythology, and it takes nine days for an anvil (a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck, just in case you were wondering) to fall from heaven to earth, and nine more days for it to plunge into the underworld.

Nine Slang

One of things that we like most about the number nine, is that it crops up in slang so much. So a cat has nine lives (if you are a cat person, you’ll probably like 9), a Stitch in Time saves Nine, possession is 9/10s the law, you can dress up “to the nines”.

In Maths

Nine is 3 times 3, so it is the 3rd square number. Since 3 is lucky in many culture, 9 which is 3×3 is also seen as lucky. It is the highest single-digit natural number in the decimal system. A shape with 9 sides is a nonagon or enneagon.

Some interesting sums involving nine (for your Trivia Night) are:

12345679 x 9 = 111111111
12345679 x 18 = 222222222
12345679 x 81 = 999999999

Freaky, hey?

We like this trick too:
Multiply any number by 9, add the digits you get together and then bring them down to a single digit, you always 9.

E.g., 5 x 9 = 45, 4+5 = 9.

Let’s try it with 3×9. That’s 27. 2+7 is 9. Similarly, 8 x 9 = 72, and 7 + 2 = 9.

Let’s go for a bigger number, say 851. 851 x 9 = 7659. 7+6+5+9 = 27. 2+7 =9. Weird! it’s like you cannot escape from 9, it’s always with you!

Science and Nature

The number 9 is the atomic number of fluorine, and a human pregnancy lasts nine months, or 9 lunar cycles.

Sporty 9

9-ball is the name for pool played in the United States.
In rugby union, the number 9 is worn by the scrum-half, and in football the centre-forward/striker traditionally wears the number 9 shirt.

Famous strikers such as Alan Shearer, Andy Cole, Ronaldo and Robbie Fowler all wore the no. 9 shirt.

So is the Number 9 a Lucky Roulette Number?

If you bet on the number 9, you’ll get the same odds as if you bet on the number 8 or the number 7. But then lucky numbers have never really been much of a scientific thing have they?

It’s all a personal thing, but it is a very interesting number.