The Meaning of Gambling Related Tattoos

The meaning or interpretation of symbols and icons changes over time. Depending on cultures and beliefs, symbols can be significant in completely separate ways to different people.

Body art fans will be aware that a tattoo can offend one culture but be supported by another. It is something to consider before getting inked.

The meaning of some tattoos can change over time from positive to negative or vice versa. As with many things, it is literally how you react or perceive something that denotes a meaning to you. Historically tattoos were a popular custom to show strength of character. The pain endured from a tattoo was seen to enhance the individual’s spiritual wellbeing. Whereas now they are seen as a form of self-expression.

Dice, card and roulette tattoos, which come under the gambling umbrella in style, all have different connotations. It might not just be that the owner likes to play slots online.

We look at the connotations of gambling tattoos in more detail below:

Dice

Dice tattoos can have varied meaning. The most obvious is the ‘roll the dice’ attitude to life. Typically, a free spirit, they do not pre plan and lets life take them on an unknown route.

The number rolled on the dice is also significant and can denote a winning attitude to life or luck.

Dice are often included in other tattoo designs rather than drawn alone and therefore the surrounding context can influence their connotations.

The image below and text suggests a daredevil attitude to life and someone living on the edge.

Playing Cards

Just as with dice, the face of the card will have different connotations. These could be a royal flush, an ace, a king or any combination.

The most popular hand used in tattoo design is the Royal Flush, made up of the ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 of all one suit (hearts, diamonds, spades or clubs). This is the ultimate winning hand in poker and symbolises power. 

Certain singular cards have meaning as well such as the joker which can signify a playful character, and some believe this is a good luck charm.

Connotations can differ wildly over time, such as the Ace of Spades. In the 17th century it was considered good fortune, but come the Vietnam War where soldiers wore the card on their helmets, it came to symbolise death.

Roulette Wheel

Again, the roulette wheel is a symbol in itself and also the numbers that are shown on the tattoo design.

The wheel is a symbol of risk, but for large payouts. In this way it can show the euphoria gamblers get from risking it all to win! 

Everything you should know about small tattoos

You may have seen this new trend emerge these last few years: small tattoos are gaining in popularity, and you may have felt tempted to have one inked on your skin. However, little beauties such as those you can see on the Black Hat Tattoo’s gallery (and they have even more and more recent pics on their Instagram), come with their own features, which means that there are some things you need to know before contacting your favourite tattoo artist to get a new piece of art on your skin.

Less is more on small tattoos

Depending on the size you are considering for your small tattoo, you should know that you will be able to add more or less details to your piece. If it’s 3 to 4 inches big, depending on the shape of your tattoo, you may be able to add quite a lot of detail to it—you may even have a whole landscape drawn onto your body, you probably have seen these very trendy tattoos here and there on the Internet already!

However, if you are going for a very small tattoo, know the limits of your skin: as it ages, the lines composing your tattoo will expand a bit and might become a bit blurry. While this is perfectly normal, it is something to keep in mind when imagining and designing your tattoo. If you want a rune, for instance, you may have to consider the size of it in relation to the way it is traced: if the lines composing it are close to each other, the tattoo cannot be less than a half-inch high.

Nevertheless, no matter how big you want your small tattoo to be, remember that sometimes a simple design can be more effective than something very intricate. Keep it to a minimum of lines, and it will age well; but not only that, it will also be more pleasing to the eye from the start. No one likes to squint at any piece of art to understand what it represents! This is of course more true of very small pieces, but this nonetheless can be good advice for anyone.

What makes a good small tattoo design?

Anything can become material for a small tattoo. Quotes are pretty popular and a good way to have a tattoo which people will want to talk about with you. If you have a favourite poem, saying, song lyric, or even movie quote, that might be a good inspiration for your tattoo, or at least a good place to start. You will have to determine the writing style which your tattoo artist will use, and for that, do keep in mind the advice given above concerning the size of your lettering.

Symbolic tattoos are also a great idea. They are intriguing, and should you want it, their meaning will be known to no one but yourself. After all, a triangle on your wrist may mean nothing to a stranger, but could mean a lot to you, and makes for a great small tattoo.

Of course you can also have a more classic drawing, but do bear in mind that a tattoo artist cannot work miracles: do not hope for a very detailed miniature version of the Mona Lisa on your arm, because that may not be possible do draw!

Do know also that, as there are numerous styles for more classic, ‘regular-sized’ tattoos, there are just as much styles for small tattoos? Do have a look at what these are; we personally have a crush for the Korean tattoo style!