We are used to say that a gambler should gamble with an amount he can afford to lose but in the actual sense do we think there is any amount a gambler can afford to lose? When a gambler places a stake what he sees is not the stake but the potential win. This is why when he does not win he panics regardless of how little the stake is and he will always mention the potential win rather than the stake as the amount lost. The gambling system especially sports betting works in a way that as a game plays the value of the stake keeps increasing and what may appear to be what the gambler can afford to lose may rise and become what he can no longer afford to lose and this becomes a source of concern for the gambler if he losses the bet. In fact, if a gambler accumulates the total of what he thinks he can afford to lose he would know that he is losing what he cannot afford to lose. I think that any penny spent on gambling is a money the gambler have decided to sacrifice with the hope of getting a bigger amount and not because he can afford to lose it.
What's your position on this thought?
I take gambling a bit differently than most people.
Instead of thinking of gambling as a source of income or a get rich quick scheme, both things which it is not, I think of it as purely for entertainment. And so I only gamble with tiny amounts of money and I follow a strict profit/loss gambling limit. But that requires quite a lot of devotion to self-discipline. There is a lot of ways that someone can interpret the saying "only bet what you can afford to lose" but people cannot really decide on how much is too much. Especially during high adrenaline events like betting.
We share the same thoughts and ride the same boat.
I have discussed multiple times in this thread that the gambling community is divided between two (2) sets of people, which are as follows:
- Those who gamble as a hobby and source of entertainment; and
- Those who aim for profit.
If you are one of those people who sees gambling as a form of entertainment, then no matter what the amount may be, you will feel satisfied on your gambling bets. Even if you win or lose money in the process, you would feel the same feeling of satisfaction. On the other hand, if you see gambling for profit then you may be sensitive about your finances and expenses. Then, OP's view that
no amount is affordable in gambling may take into effect and apply in this given scenario.