Board Thread:The Flash discussions/@comment-27700324-20180510011407/@comment-27700324-20180513001411

DrSmart wrote: okay i think part of it is just the writers forgetting that he has this passive ability, but i think a good explanation is that its not as passive as we think, and probability manipulation contradicts Devoe's personality.

Becky wasn't just constantly having good things happen for no reason, she took risks, she chose to use her abilities to benifit herself, she didn't just randomly put the city in danger at the end of her episode, she was in a casino winning big money. the more you push your luck the more powerful the ability acts.

also the ability isn't omnipotent, its localized, only by taking larger risks and pushing your luck further and further does it create city wide ripple effects. most of the time her abilities simply effect her, and people near her at the time, if devoe is in his lair, or across town, his abilities won't affect team flash in whatever plans they are making and most importantly...

Devoe does not take risks. Devoe is nearly omniscient, he doesen't need luck, he plans out everything meticulously, that is what has made him such an interesting opponent this season, if something goes wrong for him, its not because he was pushing his luck, its because he was limited in his own inteligence in some way (especially emotional intelegence) he will use his abilities in a fight based on what his intelect tells him is the best course of action in that moment and yes he can use probably manipulation when it suits him, but that is ironically a decicive action, as decisive as a "passive" power can be.

honestly i don't even think he'd want to use the full force of his probablity manipulation, no matter how beneficial it might seem to him, it creates nearly unpredictable chaos that could throw off future plans, he surgically manipulates things and generating bad luck around him is far too messy for his usual MO That really makes sense. All areas of his plan were known and every action he takes is riskless so he is not pushing his luck. Only time not everything was according to plan was when he didn't see Barry's emotional block, but even then, he did nothing and waited until everything was back to being according to his calculations.