Preferences for Different Combinations of Chance and Skill in Gambling

Abstract

GAMBLING situations range from those where the outcome is, in fact, more or less beyond the player's control to those where the outcome is more or less within his control in so far as it depends on his skill. In any particular gamble, however, the player's decisions are determined by his view of the situation rather than by its objective features. Thus he may consider the outcome as largely or entirely due to skill when the over-riding factor is chance. Many of the millions who fill in football-pool coupons grossly exaggerate the degree to which skill in completing the coupon can influence their chance of success; and even in a national lottery, such as Premium Bonds in Great Britain, the gambler may persuade himself that he is improving his chances of success by contriving to obtain certain ticket numbers and to avoid others.