How much have I lost?

[willowman]

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!

[alunrw]

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 ;-)

[geo0939]

How much did you start with and how much did you end up with? That's how much you lost.

[coyn]

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

[johnalex]

Agree with coyn. (Can't be �20, never had �20)

[geo0939]

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.

[beerbelly]

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

[johnalex]

But geo0939 you legitimately owned �15. That's what you lost!

[coyn]

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 ?

[willowman]

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.

[geo0939]

coyn, I think the philosophical view would be: Oh well, at least I've only really lost �100.

[geo0939]

PS: The real mistake was putting your money in the fruit machine, wasn't it?

[johnalex]

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!

[willowman]

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.

[johnalex]

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

[landie]

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