What Does ‘Only Gamble What You Can Afford to Lose’ Really Mean?

[Hatchy]

What do you think guys?

Nope you are getting it wrong. Gambling only what you can afford to lose is as simple as it's explained. You shouldn't gamble with funds that you can't bear the loss. This gambling which we all endulge our selfs into is one scary thing and if you aren't careful as a gambler you can end up ruining your entire life. Without proper planning and risk management, you won't be able to sustain your self long enough in the gambling industry.
It's not about betting small or betting large, but using money that you know very well won't be of much importance to you if it's gone. So many people have made the mistake of gambling on money meant to solve their financial problems, which is totally wrong..

[Orpichukwu]

Reckless gambling should be measured by how much someone is worth and not by the amount the person stakes. It can be reckless for someone who doesn't earn up to $100 monthly to stake $20 on a single bet, but it should never be considered the same for someone who earns hundreds of thousands in a single month spending the same $100. Though no matter how much someone is worth, there is an amount you see the stake in a bet, and you as a person who doesn't own that much will indirectly consider the person to be gambling recklessly without asking further questions.

[hedgeh0g]

I think many players and users in this thread have already described similar scenarios where a player bets more than they should. To me, this means they've grossly violated their bankroll rules, and that's unacceptable if we want to become a professional or even a winning player over a certain period of time. It's also important to stay mentally strong, because when we do all these things, we're simply unsure of ourselves and our game, so we want to recoup losses with larger bets to avoid increasing anxiety, but in doing so, we only dig ourselves deeper into the hole.

[DaNNy001]

What might be considered as a low stake to you might be a lot for someone else, that's why staking low shouldnt be termed as responsible gambling,..There are rich people that gamble with amounts that are no a big deal for them but this doesn't mean that they are gambling responsibly though...Gambling with what you can afford to lose entails that you have limits that you don't cross , this is what responsible gambling is all about

[Iamgoat]

What you can afford to lose is simply an amount of money that you can lose comfortably or you can say it's spare money you don't have need of. This is why gambling is all about, you are not supposed to use an amount of money budgeted for something. If you have no spare funds then you have no business with gambling but a lot of people think that they have to take big risks to chase the rewards they need

This topic is quite a bit tricky considering what people at different levels regard to as the amount of money that you can comfortably afford to lose but for me I try to look it from a more realistic way which is more of the individual than a generalized statement. When people make statements such as gamble with what you can afford to lose, it is mostly talking about the person involved. Because betting a large amount of money does not necessarily mean you're reckless, recklessness to a large extent is about context because what I see as recklessness may not necessarily be what you see as recklessness due to our individual financial capacity. For example a millionaire might decide to bet 1 million naira  and see it as fun but you cannot compare it with a student who used his entire pocket money, maybe 50,000 naira to gamble. In the context of the millionaire, it can be regarded as a fun but in the context of the student, it is pure recklessness.

[Cantsay]

So here's what i like to ask..
[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?
[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

What do you think guys?

I think I have said this in multiple conversations, the fact that someone bets 5 figures on a single bet doesn’t automatically translate to reckless betting. We have seen people like Drake who bets 6 figures and still won’t be moved by it, a lot of people would classify him as a reckless gambler and would be quick to use him as an example of people who gamble more than they can lose but in reality Drake is wealthy enough that he can lose those bets and still won’t feel it meanwhile someone else would be just $50 and still feel so much pain concerning the bet.

[1] No, it’s not an actual number. Afford to lose depends on your financial situation, if you are wealthy and you are willing to let go of a huge amount you can freely do it and if you don’t wan to you’re free to choose, the choice is yours to make.

[2] No, betting a huge amount doesn’t translate to reckless gambling.

[HelliumZ]

We always hear the line “gamble only what you can afford to lose.” Most people interpret that as: keep your bets small. But is that really the meaning?

Yes, there is a rule in gambling that you bet only the amount you can afford to lose. Gambling is an uncertain possibility where you may or may not make a profit on a bet. You wouldn't bet all your life savings on a bet. Or you wouldn't sell your real estate business or your house and car to gamble. That is, a gambler will participate in gambling with the same amount of ability to lose as he has. To illustrate this point, this valuable saying is added to gambling.

[Tungbulu]

What might be considered as a low stake to you might be a lot for someone else, that's why staking low shouldnt be termed as responsible gambling,..There are rich people that gamble with amounts that are no a big deal for them but this doesn't mean that they are gambling responsibly though...Gambling with what you can afford to lose entails that you have limits that you don't cross , this is what responsible gambling is all about

Exceeding one’s limits a few times still isn’t enough to say one is irresponsible, I mean there are times that even a responsible gambler who has been sticking to their limits would get carried away and still exceed those limits that they had already set and had previously maintained. How you know a gambler that is naturally irresponsible is when the gambler regularly exceeds those limits and have normalized it, then we can say that it’s not a responsible behavior.

[snipie]

What do you think guys?

What you can afford to lose never meant to be small bets. It means don't cry when you lose that money, you can regret it or be annoyed a little bit but not that sad or crying for the money that gone.
It is like Elon Musk sending his Tesla car to space. He doesn't care if he loses it, I think he already forgot about it but other people gonna die if their cars gets heavy damage and another ones will have to work hard for a year to collect the price of the door of that car.
Anyway I think the point is clear. Play and forget about that money regardless of how many Zeros it has.

[nelson4lov]

[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?

It's about your financial situation and if your financial situation can afford you the luxury of losing that bet and still be alright in the general sense. That means you don't lose you shit mentally and the loss doesn't reduce your standard or living or put you into bet.

The statement "what you can afford is to lose is very relative and differs from person to person same way our financial situations are all different.

[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

No. If sizing in big automatically means rektlessness, then the big guys and billionaires who have all made it in life will be in the category of reckless people. However, in my years on earth, I can confirm that it is +EV to bet big on something especially when your convictions about the bet are spot on.

I could have retired if I did the above but instead I chose to play it small so I won't be called reckless.

[$weetne$$]

Betting a large sum does not mean recklessness when it has to do with betting an amount one can afford to loose, and just like OP did pit we all have a various financial capacity and I know  that betting that which we can afford to loose will have some references to this because everyone according to their financial capacity has got an amount they can afford to loose comfortably and it does not matter how big or small it looks or feel to you.

[promise444c5]

[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

What do you think guys?

You already answered your question, different people with different pocket sizes.. It’s just amount you can afford to lose without affecting you in any way. The reason why people do see gamblers that wage big amounts as being wreckless is just because no one canreally tell they can afford to lose all that money..All they know is they are rich , no one can really tell if they are trully wreckless or not but therr are still some amount that feels wreckless anyways

[Iroh]

So here's what i like to ask..
[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?
[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

What do you think guys?

Well, it's pretty straightforward, place bets with funds that you can afford to lose equals placing bets with the appropriate amount of money that if you come upon a loss, you won't freak out or dwell long on the loss. It's that simple. The "appropriate" amount here hugely depends on your income or how much you're worth.
Also, placing bets with large sums doesn't necessarily mean you're being a reckless player. Obviously, the larger the bet, the larger the potential payout. So people with deep pockets can and do tend to place larger bets. The higher the stakes, the greater the potential for gains or losses.

[Tmoonz]

I think the term "gamble with amount that you can afford to loose" is very sell explanatory, if you want to gamble you should use amount that if you lose it you won't be bothered. Noboby likes to lose their hard earned money and when you gamble and lose a lot of money you will not be happy, the regret can last for a very long time. It can make the gambler to be chasing loses that can lead to frustration if they don't recover the loses, in the end the gambler can become addicted. But if you use amount that you can afford to loose you will not be tempted to be chasing loses, you will easily move on. Amount that mr. A can afford to loose is different from what mr. B can afford to loose so there is no flat rate for what every gambler can afford to loose.

This is correct and it is that simple to understand whatever anyone can not risk them he shouldn't gamble it, gamble with what you can afford to lose emphasis on the amount that when you lose it, it will not affect your other areas of your life negatively, Lossing what you can't afford will drain the gambler and affect his other life affairs negatively, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration and devastation and some times this things will not only affect you but will also affect those around you, we should understand our financial situation and spend our money wisely including gambling and any other thing that will negatively affect our peace of mind.

[imamusma]

~~

This is correct and it is that simple to understand whatever anyone can not risk them he shouldn't gamble it, gamble with what you can afford to lose emphasis on the amount that when you lose it, it will not affect your other areas of your life negatively, Lossing what you can't afford will drain the gambler and affect his other life affairs negatively, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration and devastation and some times this things will not only affect you but will also affect those around you, we should understand our financial situation and spend our money wisely including gambling and any other thing that will negatively affect our peace of mind.

Simply put, bet small amounts to avoid negative consequences in your life. Don't take gambling too seriously, casinos are a place for entertainment, not for making extra money. Think of gambling as just one of many other entertainment options available. This can help reduce your gambling ambitions. Even if you have a lot of money, try not to gamble excessively, because gambling also absorbs a lot of time which is essentially more valuable than money.

[Sonia_123]

We always hear the line “gamble only what you can afford to lose.” Most people interpret that as: keep your bets small. But is that really the meaning?

Think about it, not everyone has the same financial status. What looks like a “small bet” for one person could be huge for another, and vice versa.

For a high roller, losing $10,000 might be nothing. For someone else, even $100 is already reckless.

I saw a post where someone lost big money and people were quick to say he was betting recklessly and “couldn’t afford to lose it.”
But who decides that? If his financial capacity is different, maybe for him that amount is affordable.

So here's what i like to ask..
[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?
[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

What do you think guys?

What you can afford to lose means that money which does not have any importance to you, even if lost from you, does not affects you, money you use for recreation such as buying of ice-cream, cigarettes, clubbing, buying unnecessary things that you don't need at that very point in time, the money could either be big or small that does not matter as long as it will be insignificant to you if been misplaced or lost , not money that is being made for a particular purpose that you can not do without or will make you to incure unnecessary expenses that will affect you or the entire family .
 Betting large sum of money does not mean that you are reckless, it means that is what you can afford at that particular point in time.

[BABY SHOES]

[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?

It means you are prepared to lose that money in gambling, whether it's a large or small amount, depending on your financial situation... Being able to lose means you won't lose everything, you still have money left or you set aside 1-5% for gambling.

[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

Yeah, it's reckless to gamble large amounts... For us, large amounts for gambling are irrelevant, but we don't know about high rollers who lose $10K... for us, losing $100 is already very reckless.

[Orpichukwu]

Then how can a life change happen if Bitcoin is stuck in a sideways trend, and you recommend investing only an amount equal to a cup of coffee? Is there some kind of secret?

People say, "Gamble with what you can afford to lose and invest what you can also afford in Bitcoin," but Bitcoin and gambling are two different things, and we should treat gambling differently.

For Bitcoin, I would rather go with the analogy "invest with what you are comfortable with," which the statement simply implies that you can invest with what you won't be needing for a long period of time; in case the price drops, you won't have to sell it below the purchased price.

[passwordnow]

So here's what i like to ask..
[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?
[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

What do you think guys?

1. Yes, if the amount that we can afford to lose is quite big for the others. That's because they have a lower amount that they can afford to lose.
2. No. If that big amount of money is what you can afford to lose, then you're not being reckless. But if you'll just be reckless and spend that on gambling, nobody cares as well if you can't afford that since it is your money that you're using, and it is your rules whatever you want to do with it.

[LogitechMouse]

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So here's what i like to ask..
[1] Is “afford to lose” about the actual number (small vs big), or about your own financial situation?
[2] Does betting a large sum automatically mean you’re being reckless?

What do you think guys?

Here's my answer to both of your questions.

The phrase means that you should only use the amount of money where it will not affect your financial situation or it will not affect your essential needs, or it will not affect your financial stability if you lose that money. If losing $100 will not affect you financially then that's the amount of money you can afford to lose. As for the 2nd one, "large" is a vague term TBH. if you will ask a rich gambler, $10,000,000 might not be "large" for them while for us average gamblers, that number is very huge already. It doesn't mean you're reckless though because like what I said, as long as the amount of money you're using for gambling will not affect you financially, you're fine to spend it on gambling.

The problem with some gamblers is that they're using some of the money that's intended for more important things like rent, bills, food, etc. for gambling. Yes, for some they can afford that to lose, but the consequences of it after you lose it is way worse. You lost your money + you didn't even paid the rent because you used that money for gambling. Anyway, gambling what you can afford to lose also means spending the money that's not intended for other important things as well.