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How much have I lost?

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willowman | 08:37 Tue 20th Dec 2005 | Quizzes & Puzzles
15 Answers

Just a question I keep thinking about - and getting different answers.


I put �5 in a fruit machine, on the last go I win �15. I put this back into the fruit machine and lose it all. Have I lost �5, �10, �15 or �20.


Please give your reasoning, use one side of the paper only and extra marks will be given for presentation - sorry that last bit is just my sense of humour!

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Using a similar example on horseracing, the way I look at it is if I put (EG) a fiver on a horse and it wins at 5/1 ive got 30 quid, if I then put that �30 on another horse straight after and it loses, then I'm a fiver out of pocket from where I started the "session" :-)
If it was consecutive days though, and you lose the �30 on the second day, then I would deem that as a loss of �30 - my reasoning is that you start each session/day with a clean slate.

Does this meet your presentation criteria ;-)
How much did you start with and how much did you end up with? That's how much you lost.
The above reasoning doesn't work for me, although I take the point,

I would always look at it from the view that five minutes ago I had �15 and now I have nothing so my actions lost me �15
Agree with coyn. (Can't be �20, never had �20)
Come, come folks. The reasoning behind this is simplicity itself. You have a fiver, you put it in the machine, you walk away with nothing. Regardless of what happens in between, you have lost your fiver.
put your fiver on GASKER MILL in the 12.40 @ fontwell
you wont win much , but you WILL make a profit !!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS..........b...b
But geo0939 you legitimately owned �15. That's what you lost!
geo0939,

let me explain my point this way, if you invested �100 in shares and three years later through your share dealings you were worth �50 million, and then you made a big mistake and lost the lot, would you say b*****ks I've lost �100?

well would you ?
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coyn - can I throw a spanner in your argument. You only lost �10 the second go because included in the �15 was the original fiver that you invested.


jonalex - you lose �5 the first go and �15 the second go , that is �20 in my book.

coyn, I think the philosophical view would be: Oh well, at least I've only really lost �100.
PS: The real mistake was putting your money in the fruit machine, wasn't it?
Willowman - The way I read your question is that you deposit �5 and withdraw �15, net profit �10. So the most you have had at any one time is �15. The �15 that you play again is your original �5 stake plus your �10 profit, totalling �15, which you go on to lose. I don't see how you can lose �20 if you've never had it in one amount. Are you then saying that your �15 win is on top of your �5 stake, i.e. �20? Please clarify!
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johnalex - sorry, just stirring things up a bit. Good question in a pub when everybody has had a few, because you can keep the argument going by throwing different ideas into the pot.

No worries willowman - bet you I can stop gambling . .

No, it's your marbles that you've lost.

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