No matter how sophisticated our choices, how good we are at dominating the odds, how good our handicapping is, and it does not matter who we know and who knows us - randomness will have the last word.

When betting on horse racing, we must know that losing bets are part and parcel of betting and we must be mentally prepared for it (bumper harvest as well as drought ). It is best to have small wins to allow us to sustain play, than expecting to hit the jackpot. It is an enjoyable way to make a living if we bet in moderation and it can act as a business that can last a lifetime.

A punter who takes little risk in his betting would have very few disastrous outcomes. And because of that, he also doesn't get wildly rich in a short space of time. But he is wealthier according to the probabilistic method of accounting than someone who has taken a big risk by betting big and have his bet paid off. On the average of lives he could have led, he is extremely rich.

By contrast, the high-risk punter may only make it once in many lifetimes. Even in the lifetime that he struck it rich, there is a high chance of him suffering a blow-up - an unexpected movement in the market which more than wipes him out.

No matter how sophisticated our choices, how good we are at dominating the odds, randomness will have the last word.