Wait... dude... loss of emotional control on play money? Isn't that like revenge trading on a simulator?
When I was young I made a promise to myself to never gamble. Not out of morals or ethics but because if I was going to become wealthy i wanted it to be because I did it..and didnt get lucky. having said that as you get older you realize every investment is a gamble in its own way...its just that if its well thought out the odds will be in your favor.
Yea. It's hard to explain. I've seen some people get two full houses in a row, and be like what are the chances of that?..and I'd have like, a two pair of aces and kings..and lose. And on the next round it happens again..I think I'll win, but lose to a slightly higher hand. A trade isnt like that. You pay to play ONLY when you feel the time is right.....poker isnt like that..if some guy wants to raise, you have to call or fold. Also, in trading, you only go up against one other person, in poker..its a whole damn table, but still only one winner, so the odds are against you before you even get your cards. cm
Think of a lottery ticket like this...........$1.00 is not going to hurt you or help you at all.............so what is wrong with throwing 1$ away on a shot in the dark? Someone is going to win from pure luck. Could it be you? Starbucks charges what for a stupid cup of coffee? Who is fooling who? .. :eek: Gee, seems to me the bigger fool is the self righteous guy that is afraid of wasting a dollar now and then for a nice prise. Rather than explain to someone why you do not play and get into a review of math classes and give a dissertation about taxes why not just answer. No i did not win, DAM i have to go back to work on Monday.....
I'll buy one lottery ticket if the pot gets big enough. Even though I know I'm more likely to get struck by lightning than win. My logic is someone will win, and you can't win if you don't play.
No lotto. I play craps and find it a fairly easy game to beat consistantly for small, but steady profits. I usually take about 50-75 bucks away on a 200 dollar buy in at a 10 dollar table. Takes about an hour.
I live in Canada as well, and am well aware there is no tax on winnings. But the government does keep a portion of each ticket price for taxes.
Yes, buying lottery tickets is "illogical" in the colloquial sense, i.e. not advantageous -- given certain generally accepted propositions about what is advantageous from a personal finance perspective -- BUT when one plays on such a small scale, as was mentioned before, this is just not meaningful from a practical perspective. If one looks at it from a psychological perspective, even *big* lottery players may be gaining more from their lottery playing than they are paying (i.e. in happiness, or variants thereof). The one who remarked a trader who plays the lottery is extremely foolish, or something along those lines, is correct IF you're talking about a trader who views his lottery playing as an endeavor similar to his trading -- i.e., one who views his lottery playing as a "serious" money-making venture. Most traders don't think that when they play the lottery! So, basically, the whole objection to the lottery, and calling lottery players stupid, is predicated on the notion that lottery-playing is a purely financial endeavor and carries no other rewards for the player. This is false in many cases. (Although, of course, the psychological benefits are related to the possibility of financial rewards. Again, though, this doesn't mean that the realization of these psychological benefits is dependent on actually winning. Although that helps!!!!!!!!!!! ) A simple answer to the question of whether I gamble of play the lottery: I rarely gamble, though I have gained money rather than lost money if I tally my lifetime total. This may be a function of the limited extent of my gambling rather than my prowess, though! My greatest skill is walking away from the table, I think. And I only play the lottery once in a great while. Sometimes I think that just a *little* bit more of a gambler's spirit might actually improve my trading...
I see buying a $1 lottery ticket as throwing 50 cents in the garbage. I know I have no chance of winning. It's like buying deep OTM call options, why bother?