After five reds in a row, is black finally due?

A coin that just landed heads five times has no memory of doing it.

The gambler's fallacy is the belief that independent random events balance out in the short run. After a streak of one outcome, people feel the opposite is now due. But each new flip, spin, or draw is independent - the past results do not change the odds of the next one.

You keep playing the same lottery number because it has not hit in months, sure it is overdue. It is not - every draw starts from zero, and the long dry spell gives it no extra chance.

Independent events have no memory, so a past streak never makes any single outcome more or less likely next time.

Spotting this stops you from chasing overdue lottery numbers, doubling a losing bet, or assuming a quiet stretch guarantees what comes next.

The coin forgets. Five heads in a row still means 50/50 on flip six.

Learn the idea and practice English at the same time.