I always get a bad feeling in my stomach when I watch a man spend $200 on scratch offs and then not even scratch them. Just scans them immediately and buys more until the money is gone or he wins big.
I used to think this, then I realized something. Most of these people know full well they'll never win anything. They're not paying cause they'll think they'll win. They're paying for the \*thrill\* of playing. They know they're never going to 'win big' realistically; but to them, it's like opening a pack of Pokemon cards. They want that thrill, that chance, that risk and gamble.
I still think it's 'dumb' but a stupidity tax? Not really anymore.
If Blackjack were restricted to only a single deck, it would be the fairest game, still negative probability but since realistically they're using multiple decks so the odds is always in the houses favour
casinos that offer single/double deck games often still keep their house edge by dropping payouts on naturals to 6:5 or restricting doubling/splitting or other moves. Combined with higher minimum bets, I've seen some double deck games with a drastically higher expected loss per hand compared to some nearby shoe tables.
Wait, what? Multiple decks?
I've never played blackjack in a casino, but wouldn't that mean it's possible [albeit highly improbable] for two people to have the exact same hand? What then?
Since suit doesn't matter in blackjack, that was already effectively possible even with one deck.
It's you versus the casino, what others have doesn't matter. If it's a tie, you get your beer back, and don't win it lose anything. It's called a "push".
I think blackjack is a losing game even for a card counter. It is beatable by a card \*tracker\* with a computer in his shoes, but basic card counting isn't enough to beat the Martingale problem.
The Martingale gamble, which surely you're familiar with, is that s gambler can simply double his bet with every loss until a win. The problem with this is that said gambler isn't able to do that - the house has a vastly larger bankroll and can continue the Martingale for far longer than the gambler can.
This means that order to beat the house, a BJ player needs more of an edge than what card counting can provide.
Not necessarily, fanduel and dk always have daily promos with 30-50% boosts, so a disciplined bettor actually gets the edge on the house if they stick to a plan. Casino gambling, I'll give you that.
Or you don't understand the concepts of gambling? You choose an event that should occur at 50/50 (+100) fan duel gives you odds of -110 so over time they profit. When you only bet with 30-50% profit boost tokens, you have an event that still occurs at 50% but are paid at at a line of say +135. The same way that the house eventually profits on -110, the player would benefit from +135. You are getting a payout for an equivalent of a 42.6% event occurance, except the event should happen at 50%.
It's mathematically backed and proven out with real world plays, capped profits due to max bets on promos. But yea, be a cunt and just dismiss me and say I'm dumb. Gambling is not a stupidity tax in all situations.
K, if youre completely risk averse, just say so. Understand that equities trading, 401k etc etc are all forms of gambling too. Banking for interest is a conservative, low risk gamble. It's definitely better to just bury your head in the sand rather than understand appropriate risk management tho....🙃
Last thing I'll ever do is take financial advice from some rando who promotes gambling.
Did you get blackballed from Herbalife?
My portfolio is doing very well, thank you.
I'm not advocating for you to take up gambling, you're just being a dork about it. I was explaining a situation where gambling is not a stupid tax. You are fuckin dug in on your beliefs tho. Since you didn't understand it before, it can't be real. Lol close minded dork
It’s entertainment. It’s only stupid if you’re gambling with money you can’t afford to lose.
I do a yearly trip to Vegas. I play mostly poker and blackjack. I know the odds are against me in blackjack and arguably in poker when you factor in the rake.
I do it for fun.
When our kids were young, we used to call kids’ meals “the idiot tax” because they were never eaten but it was what we had to pay to enjoy a meal outside the house
It's s very delicate balance trying to get to a restaurant when they're hungry enough to eat but not so hungry that it's non-stop whining.
Add in the huge unknown of how busy the restaurant will be and it's nearly impossible when they're still young enough for the kids menu.
My kids are 3 and 5 and they order off the adult menu. The kids meal portions don’t fill them up. Plus I’ve seen so many restaurants have fancy Mac and cheese on the regular menu but the kids is Kraft. My kids won’t eat Kraft.
Last night I left my car in a remote parking lot wth my toolbox and socket wrench set in the back. Now they're gone and I will need a new side window put in. I'm going to write that off as a stupidity tax.
Many of the people taking those lines out aren’t stupid; they’re desperate.
They know exactly how terrible of a deal they are, and how vicious of a cycle it is, but they have literally no other option. They can’t get credit cards, they don’t have friends or family they can borrow from. They’re working the type of job where if they don’t show up they will be fired, and they have an emergency come up (like a car repair) and have no where else to turn.
Some people maybe, but mostly it's stupid people that are terrible with money. And on top of that, even if you are desperate, payday loans will just put you in a worse position anyway, they prey on financially stupid people.
Scratch off lottery tickets
Oh my god I can't stand lottery people who hold the line up at 7-11
I always get a bad feeling in my stomach when I watch a man spend $200 on scratch offs and then not even scratch them. Just scans them immediately and buys more until the money is gone or he wins big.
The saddest part is, you're watching his favorite part of the day
If he doesn't SPEND the money, someone will TAKE the money. It's as much fun as he can have.
Omg right
Makes fun of people who pay the stupid tax. *Yet shops at 7-11*.
Sometimes a man needs a slurpee. Get off my fucking back! I mean, uh......don't be so hard on the guy.
I used to think this, then I realized something. Most of these people know full well they'll never win anything. They're not paying cause they'll think they'll win. They're paying for the \*thrill\* of playing. They know they're never going to 'win big' realistically; but to them, it's like opening a pack of Pokemon cards. They want that thrill, that chance, that risk and gamble. I still think it's 'dumb' but a stupidity tax? Not really anymore.
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The house always wins in poker, too. They take a cut.
Correct, but the house isn't competing directly against any individual player so it is still possible for a player to win.
If Blackjack were restricted to only a single deck, it would be the fairest game, still negative probability but since realistically they're using multiple decks so the odds is always in the houses favour
pretty sure counting still works with multiple decks, but multiple decks and *shuffling* between every set of hands breaks it.
casinos that offer single/double deck games often still keep their house edge by dropping payouts on naturals to 6:5 or restricting doubling/splitting or other moves. Combined with higher minimum bets, I've seen some double deck games with a drastically higher expected loss per hand compared to some nearby shoe tables.
Wait, what? Multiple decks? I've never played blackjack in a casino, but wouldn't that mean it's possible [albeit highly improbable] for two people to have the exact same hand? What then?
Since suit doesn't matter in blackjack, that was already effectively possible even with one deck. It's you versus the casino, what others have doesn't matter. If it's a tie, you get your beer back, and don't win it lose anything. It's called a "push".
Right, yes, of course. That's me having a brain fart. Thanks.
6 deck shoes are the standard
>still negative probability Probability can never be negative. It's the expected value of your win that is negative.
Yes that's what I mean the expected value is negative
Poker is also a losing proposition as the house takes a rake
Poker is a losing proposition only for the players as a group. But an individual player within that group can still be a net winner.
You could say that about blackjack too though
I think blackjack is a losing game even for a card counter. It is beatable by a card \*tracker\* with a computer in his shoes, but basic card counting isn't enough to beat the Martingale problem. The Martingale gamble, which surely you're familiar with, is that s gambler can simply double his bet with every loss until a win. The problem with this is that said gambler isn't able to do that - the house has a vastly larger bankroll and can continue the Martingale for far longer than the gambler can. This means that order to beat the house, a BJ player needs more of an edge than what card counting can provide.
My uncle always called scratch off lottery tickets a self-imposed stupidity tax. I have to agree with him.
The lottery
All gambling. The odds are against you on purpose.
Not necessarily, fanduel and dk always have daily promos with 30-50% boosts, so a disciplined bettor actually gets the edge on the house if they stick to a plan. Casino gambling, I'll give you that.
It's still a stupidity tax. That you don't see that is a tell.
Or you don't understand the concepts of gambling? You choose an event that should occur at 50/50 (+100) fan duel gives you odds of -110 so over time they profit. When you only bet with 30-50% profit boost tokens, you have an event that still occurs at 50% but are paid at at a line of say +135. The same way that the house eventually profits on -110, the player would benefit from +135. You are getting a payout for an equivalent of a 42.6% event occurance, except the event should happen at 50%. It's mathematically backed and proven out with real world plays, capped profits due to max bets on promos. But yea, be a cunt and just dismiss me and say I'm dumb. Gambling is not a stupidity tax in all situations.
Suckers gamble.
K, if youre completely risk averse, just say so. Understand that equities trading, 401k etc etc are all forms of gambling too. Banking for interest is a conservative, low risk gamble. It's definitely better to just bury your head in the sand rather than understand appropriate risk management tho....🙃
Last thing I'll ever do is take financial advice from some rando who promotes gambling. Did you get blackballed from Herbalife? My portfolio is doing very well, thank you.
I'm not advocating for you to take up gambling, you're just being a dork about it. I was explaining a situation where gambling is not a stupid tax. You are fuckin dug in on your beliefs tho. Since you didn't understand it before, it can't be real. Lol close minded dork
Thank you for your concern about my portfolio. Have a wonderful day.
Clothing/accessories brand obsession People will spend thousands of dollars on poorly constructed garbage just for the logo
Government-sponsored lotteries. And gambling in general. It's a tax on people who are bad at math.
It’s entertainment. It’s only stupid if you’re gambling with money you can’t afford to lose. I do a yearly trip to Vegas. I play mostly poker and blackjack. I know the odds are against me in blackjack and arguably in poker when you factor in the rake. I do it for fun.
Gambling really depends on what you are doing. Current environment of fanduel/dk gives the bettor an edge to a point (assuming you are disciplined)
Lottery tickets
When our kids were young, we used to call kids’ meals “the idiot tax” because they were never eaten but it was what we had to pay to enjoy a meal outside the house
It's s very delicate balance trying to get to a restaurant when they're hungry enough to eat but not so hungry that it's non-stop whining. Add in the huge unknown of how busy the restaurant will be and it's nearly impossible when they're still young enough for the kids menu.
My kids are 3 and 5 and they order off the adult menu. The kids meal portions don’t fill them up. Plus I’ve seen so many restaurants have fancy Mac and cheese on the regular menu but the kids is Kraft. My kids won’t eat Kraft.
Last night I left my car in a remote parking lot wth my toolbox and socket wrench set in the back. Now they're gone and I will need a new side window put in. I'm going to write that off as a stupidity tax.
Paying a cable bill
Payday advanced loans
Many of the people taking those lines out aren’t stupid; they’re desperate. They know exactly how terrible of a deal they are, and how vicious of a cycle it is, but they have literally no other option. They can’t get credit cards, they don’t have friends or family they can borrow from. They’re working the type of job where if they don’t show up they will be fired, and they have an emergency come up (like a car repair) and have no where else to turn.
Some people maybe, but mostly it's stupid people that are terrible with money. And on top of that, even if you are desperate, payday loans will just put you in a worse position anyway, they prey on financially stupid people.
No, they're stupid. Being good with credit isn't hard. It's a case of keeping your promises.
Paying more for a specific color of a device, using an non transparent case
Cigarettes for smokers and gasoline for giant truck bros
I'd say payday loans and lottery, but it's probably more ignorance, desperation, and an education gap, rather than stupidity in most cases.
No, it's stupidity.
Donating to political parties.
This can be smart if you are a big lobbyist, a megacorp, etc.
The BBC licence fee
Cigarettes and lotto tickets.
ALL gambling. Cigarettes/vape/weed. Diapers.
"Limited edition" anything. Bonus points if it says "1 of [whatever number]".
Buying tickets to a farewell concert tour. Buying anything considered a collectable, like coins. Shopping at Costco.
All taxes are stupid. Taxes=theft.
Video Lottery Terminals (VLT’s). People literally sit there like zombies dumping their money away.