--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stock-picking is like gambling: those who…" description: "\"Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom bet, but when they do, they bet heavily.\" — Charlie Munger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg" --- # Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom… ![“Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom bet, but when they do, they bet heavily.” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg) > “Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom bet, but when they do, they bet heavily.” [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Successful investing resembles gambling: few bets, but when placed, they are large. **In simple terms:** Investing like gambling: few, big bets. Key Takeaway Make selective, high‑confidence investments. Themes finance risk gambling strategy Mood cautious analytical Type financial strategic When to use this quote - stock selection - portfolio management - risk assessment Key Concepts probability theory behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - When should you bet big? - How to identify high‑confidence opportunities? A Different Perspective Risk of overconfidence and large losses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gambling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gambling/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [The wise ones bet heavily when the world offers them that opportunity. They bet big when they have the odds. And the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-wise-ones-bet-heavily-when-the-world-offers-them-that-opportunity/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [A few major opportunities, clearly recognizable as such, will usually come to one who continuously searches and waits, with a curious mind, loving diagnosis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/a-few-major-opportunities-clearly-recognizable-as-such-will-usually/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [It's not given to human beings to have such talent that they can just know everything about everything all the time. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-s-not-given-to-human-beings-to-have-such-talent-that-they-can-just/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [All actors who have been around for a long time, which I have, and have been skint for long periods, which I have, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/all-actors-who-have-been-around-for-a-long-time-which-i-have-and-have/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I'm always in the studio. The studio is kinda like rolling the dice every night. It's like gambling. It's like buying a lottery ticket.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nav/i-m-always-in-the-studio-the-studio-is-kinda-like-rolling-the-dice/) [Nav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nav/) > [Once you adopt a value-investment strategy, any other investment behavior starts to seem like gambling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/once-you-adopt-a-value-investment-strategy-any-other-investment/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [I would say, stay the hell away from the party scene. Anything you put in front of your goal, and especially something like that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-renfro/i-would-say-stay-the-hell-away-from-the-party-scene-anything-you-put/) [Brad Renfro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-renfro/) > [“Drugs are a bet with your mind.” “It’s like gambling, somehow. You go out for a night of drinking and you don’t know where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/drugs-are-a-bet-with-your-mind-it-s-like-gambling-somehow-you-go-out/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [Writing's like gambling. Unpredictable and sporadic successes make you more addicted, not less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/writing-s-like-gambling-unpredictable-and-sporadic-successes-make-you/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [I have never for a minute felt in was my stock picking abilities. I feel that my stock picking abilities aided- I was able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cramer/i-have-never-for-a-minute-felt-in-was-my-stock-picking-abilities-i/) [Jim Cramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cramer/) > [Whenever you have the kind of market that is taking shape now - a wildly volatile one with big pricing discrepancies - it plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/whenever-you-have-the-kind-of-market-that-is-taking-shape-now-a/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Will customers keep supporting the enormous overhead required to sustain ineffectual, unproductive stock picking across an array of thousands of individual funds devoted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holman-w-jenkins-jr/will-customers-keep-supporting-the-enormous-overhead-required-to/) Holman W. Jenkins, Jr > [The probability of ten consecutive heads is 0.1 percent; thus, when you have millions of coin tossers, or investors, in the end there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/the-probability-of-ten-consecutive-heads-is-0-1-percent-thus-when-you/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [My experience is that very few people have what it takes to be a successful investor, as I discussed in The Arrogance of Stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/my-experience-is-that-very-few-people-have-what-it-takes-to-be-a/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [Mutual fund manager performance does not persist and the return of stock picking is zero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-bernstein/mutual-fund-manager-performance-does-not-persist-and-the-return-of/) [William J. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-bernstein/) ## More by Charlie Munger > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think time and time again, in reality, psychological notions and economic notions interplay, and the man who doesn't understand both is a damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-think-time-and-time-again-in-reality-psychological-notions-and/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The tax code gives you an enormous advantage if you can find some things you can just sit with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-tax-code-gives-you-an-enormous-advantage-if-you-can-find-some/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The great lesson in microeconomics is to discriminate between when technology is going to help you and when it's going to kill you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-great-lesson-in-microeconomics-is-to-discriminate-between-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ They \[Mc Donalds\] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-them-a-first-job-which-enables/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [What good is envy? It’s the one sin you can’t have any fun at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/what-good-is-envy-it-s-the-one-sin-you-can-t-have-any-fun-at/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-way-less-certain-to-be-a-wonderful-business-in-the-future-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We have to have a special insight, or we'll put it in the 'too tough' basket. All of you have to look for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-have-to-have-a-special-insight-or-we-ll-put-it-in-the-too-tough/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I've heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-ve-heard-that-one-half-of-the-students-at-elite-schools-want-to-go/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Explore all 544 Charlie Munger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## More Gambling quotes > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“The town will never be the same. After the Tangiers, the big corporations took it all over. Today it looks like Disneyland. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-rothstein/the-town-will-never-be-the-same-after-the-tangiers-the-big/) Sam Rothstein > [I didn't want to be a slave to any passion anymore. I gave up card playing altogether, even bridge and gambling - more or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/i-didn-t-want-to-be-a-slave-to-any-passion-anymore-i-gave-up-card/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) > [Taxpayers would likely be responsible for treating addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/taxpayers-would-likely-be-responsible-for-treating-addicts/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [“My casino experience is to someone else their experience with their employer, of how the company has elected to behave solely for greed, profits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-talmage-mathis/my-casino-experience-is-to-someone-else-their-experience-with-their/) [John-Talmage Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-talmage-mathis/) > [And it´s so different for a lot of people I´ve known. One partner doesn´t love the other enough to stop drinking, or gambling, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/and-it-s-so-different-for-a-lot-of-people-i-ve-known-one-partner/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“It is impossible to make real progress in technology without gambling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/it-is-impossible-to-make-real-progress-in-technology-without-gambling/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/in-the-casino-the-cardinal-rule-is-to-keep-them-playing-and-to-keep/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [In most betting shops you will see three windows marked 'Bet Here', but only one window with the legend 'Pay Out'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-bernard/in-most-betting-shops-you-will-see-three-windows-marked-bet-here-but/) [Jeffrey Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-bernard/) > [A lottery is a salutary instrument and a tax... laid on the willing only, that is to say, on those who can risk the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-lottery-is-a-salutary-instrument-and-a-tax-laid-on-the-willing-only/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Except justice, I will not fear for any gambling dude”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/except-justice-i-will-not-fear-for-any-gambling-dude/) [Sir P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [I don't play golf competitively. I tell everybody that I cheat so they won't gamble with me. That's why you can't watch football. Everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-don-t-play-golf-competitively-i-tell-everybody-that-i-cheat-so-they/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“The purpose of Augur is simple but powerful. It will allow any Ether holder to wager money on any future event of their choosing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-reed/the-purpose-of-augur-is-simple-but-powerful-it-will-allow-any-ether/) [Jeff Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-reed/) [Browse all 981 Gambling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gambling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom bet, but when they do, they bet heavily.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlie Munger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who-win-well-seldom-bet-but-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gambling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who-win-well-seldom-bet-but-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/charlie-munger-458_gambling_stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who_1282235.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom bet, but when they do, they bet heavily.” — Charlie Munger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charlie Munger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Stock-picking is like gambling: those who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who-win-well-seldom-bet-but-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/stock-picking-is-like-gambling-those-who-win-well-seldom-bet-but-when/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```