History Main / ParanormalGamblingAdvantage

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* Paul, a child in D. H. Lawrence's short story "The Rocking-Horse Winner", receives a hobbyhorse that tells him the names of real winning horses. He and the family gardener make good winnings this way, and the boy tries to use his gift to win his mother's love. [[spoiler: The exertion winds up killing him.]]

* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': In the AlternateRealityEpisode "Vegas", a Wraith is hiding on Earth using prosphetics to appear human and gathering funds by playing poker. Since Wraith are a highly telepathic species, he always wins. [=McKay=] points out that it's also less risky than to rob a bank since the Wraith is specifically trying to avoid detection.

* ''Series/TheAlmightyJohnsons'': Mike Johnson being the [[GodInHumanForm incarnation of Ullr]], the Norse God of Skill, Hunt and Duel, powers manifest like this. If he can get the other party ti agree even tangibly to any form of competition (even a fight if he words it correctly) he's utterly invincible (it only applies to competitions he person personally participates, thus has no power other activities like horse racing) even if he wants to lose it will end in his favour. Mike likewise struggles with addiction to gambling, specifically as he knows he can't lose, he has a habit of getting extremely antagonist and cocky during the games often angering his opponents (it's implied this coupled with him betting often against unsavoury and likely to be violent individuals is a subconscious manifestation of his guilt at knowing he's cheating).

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' mentions in the [[AllThereInTheManual Codex]] that [[MindOverMatter biotics]] sometimes abuse their powers, such as cheating at roulette.

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* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'': on several different episodes of The Twilight Zone people would gain some sort of magical power that would allow them to cheat at gambling. Those it usually started off fine but rarely ended well.
** In A Most Unusual Camera a camera lets the protagonists win betting on horse races, but all three of them are dead by the end of the episode.

* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Magical Items 3'' includes Arkwright's Inversion Glasses, which shows you the opposite side of whatever you look at through them. Their main purpose is to see other people's cards. Arkwright himself was killed after [[HoistByHisOwnPetard forgetting he was wearing them and dealing an entire poker hand face up]].

A sub-trope of MundaneUtility, in that gambling in itself is a common activity in RealLife. Compare to MuggleSportsSuperAthletes, where people use superpowers in games of physical skill rather than luck and probability. Related to CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit, which uses similar inside knowledge for savings and investments. Compare BornLucky, in which a character always wins at gambling because they were, well, born lucky.

!Examples:

->"I recall that Master Giiett once remarked that an individual skilled in the force could make a comfortable living as a gambler..."
--> '''Jedi Master Kai Hudorra''', ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic''

** Defied by the warlock Patrick in "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester". He plays with people [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame for years and not money]] and usually wins. Sam speculates he's simply reading people's minds, but Patrick denies it, stating there wouldn't be any fun in that. He's just become ''that'' good at it due to his many decades of experience.

* In ''ComicBook/WolverineAndTheXMen'' the Jean Grey School needs a some quick funds to keep the school running, so Logan forces the telepathic Quentin Quire accompany him to what's basically an intergalactic Las Vegas. Such a place safeguards against cheating by using a telepath detecting, [[ReadingsBlewUpTheScale which soiled itself before dying]] when it detected Quentin, who is Omega level.

* Yami Yugi from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' has this as an explicit power. Even before the franchise became absorbed by the card game, Yami Yugi had the ability to pull out miracle moves to swing the game in his favor even when all hope seemed lost. He's only lost three times in the series, and only one of those were counted as legitimate.

* ''Series/Babylon5'': Under [[SuperRegistrationAct Psi Corps]] rules, human telepaths are expressly forbidden from any form of gambling, for precisely this reason. A fifth-season episode notes that, as a result, those who break the rule turn out not to be very ''good'' at it: being able to read your opponent's mind only helps so much when [[RealityEnsues you lack the necessary knowledge and experience]]. [[spoiler:Unless you're powerful enough to [[MindRape rip the knowledge out of an experienced gambler's brain]].]]

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': While visiting a UsefulNotes/LasVegas casino with Ando, Hiro uses his time manipulation abilities to count cards at the poker table. RealityEnsues when management confronts them. They don't know exactly ''what'' Hiro did, but they have a clear idea that he was cheating, and that entitles them to take back his winnings.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/4286250/chapters/30782331 Shadow Balance]]'' posits that [[Anime/YuGiOh Jounouchi's]] good luck is because a latent Shadow Magic user. The heroes only notice when he plays pachinko and wins every round (which [[RealityEnsues gets him kicked out]]), but in hindsight, Bakura points out that the only times he played a gambling card and lost was when he was facing another Shadow Magic user.

* A meta/borderline [[BreakingTheFourthWall 4th wall breaking]] example in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' where loading disables gambling for 60 seconds as the casino takes anti-cheating measures (if it's a roulette table, the croupier checks the wheel for bias. If it's blackjack the dealer breaks out a new deck of cards and shuffles it, if it's a slot machine it "resets" itself).

* In ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', Lancelot cannot lose any contest due to having God's favor. In the Western arc, Arthur is surprised that a religious man like him is gambling, and Guenevere replies that, for Lancelot, it's not a gamble.

* Yami Yugi from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' has this as an explicit power. Even before the franchise became absorbed by the card game, Yami Yugi had the ability to pull out miracle moves to swing the game in his favor even when all hope seemed lost. He's only lost three times in the series, and only one of those were counted as legitimate.
* Yuma from ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' is able to outright create cards on the fly with his Shining Draw ability, letting him have the perfect counter to whatever situation he finds himself in.

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* ''Manga/YuGiOh'':
** When Bakura and Yami are playing Monster World, Bakura spins the dice to increase his chances of getting critical hits. When Yami catches on, they agree to ban dice spinning, but Bakura decides to use dice with souls of his defeated enemies instead, trying to get the same result without Yami noticing. Unfortunately for him, Ryou interferes and causes him to get the worst possible roll.
** Pegasus is able to win every card game by reading the opponent's mind. Yugi and Yami, two souls in one body, beat him by switching out every turn, preventing him from guessing their strategy.
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* ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'': Raven is a spirit tethered to Blitz, and only Blitz can see or hear him at first. Raven takes advantage of this to cheat at cards, standing behind the Luck brothers and telling Blitz which cards to play.

** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': As the Ultimate Lucky Student, Nagito naturally has an edge when it comes to anything relying on chance. He uses this to purposely pick the losing lot so he could clean the space for his class's party [[spoiler:to set up his murder plot]] and successfully play Russian roulette with ''five out of six'' chambers loaded. Finally, [[spoiler:he relies on his luck to have TheMole unknowingly kill him and make it impossible to determine which student was actually responsible for the murder with one hundred percent certainty]].

''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': As the Ultimate Lucky Student, Nagito naturally has an edge when it comes to anything relying on chance. He uses this to purposely pick the losing lot so he could clean the space for his class's party [[spoiler:to set up his murder plot]] and successfully play Russian roulette with ''five out of six'' chambers loaded. Finally, [[spoiler:he relies on his luck to have TheMole unknowingly kill him and make it impossible to determine which student was actually responsible for the murder with one hundred percent certainty]].

In practice, things are more complicated, especially if the author wants to deliver AnAesop about how cheaters never prosper. A character who uses their abilities to make just enough money to get by might do better in the long run.

A sub-trope of MundaneUtility, in that gambling in itself is a common activity in RealLife. Related to CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit, which uses similar inside knowledge for savings and investments. Compare BornLucky, in which a character always wins at gambling because they were, well, born lucky.