--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He talked about luck and fate and numbers…" description: "\"“He talked about luck and fate and numbers coming up, yet he never ventured a nickel at the casinos because he knew the house had all the percentages. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/hunter-s-thompson-278_chance_he-talked-about-luck-and-fate-and-number_405886.jpg" --- # He talked about luck and fate and numbers coming up, yet… ![“He talked about luck and fate and numbers coming up, yet he never ventured a nickel at the casinos because he knew the house had all the percentages. And beneath his pessimism, his bleak conviction that all the machinery was rigged against him, at the bottom of his soul was a faith that he was…” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/hunter-s-thompson-278_chance_he-talked-about-luck-and-fate-and-number_405886.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/hunter-s-thompson-278_chance_he-talked-about-luck-and-fate-and-number_405886.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/hunter-s-thompson-278_chance_he-talked-about-luck-and-fate-and-number_405886.jpg) > ““He talked about luck and fate and numbers coming up, yet he never ventured a nickel at the casinos because he knew the house had all the percentages. And beneath his pessimism, his bleak conviction that all the machinery was rigged against him, at the bottom of his soul was a faith that he was going to outwit it, that by carefully watching the signs he was going to know when to dodge and be spared. It was fatalism with a loophole, and all you had to do to make it work was never miss a sign. Survival by coordination, as it were. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but to those who can see it coming and jump aside. Like a frog evading a shillelagh in a midnight marsh.”” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He believes that while chance seems random, careful observation and timing can let one avoid disaster and succeed despite a rigged system. **In simple terms:** Watch signs and act wisely to survive a biased world. Key Takeaway Observe patterns, act before others. Themes fate strategy survival perception risk optimism Mood cautious reflective determined Type advice philosophical motivational When to use this quote - gambling - stock trading - career planning - personal safety - sports tactics Key Concepts probability determinism agency resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve pattern recognition? - When is caution more valuable than boldness? A Different Perspective Assumes perfect information and ignores unpredictable chaos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Luck Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck-fate-1154095/) [Rigged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rigged/) [Spared Fatalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spared-fatalism-3629253/) [Talked Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talked-luck-3629254/) ## Related quotes > [The powerless worship Luck and Fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-powerless-worship-luck-and-fate/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Luck is not fate. Believe it or not, it's largely an attitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-turner/luck-is-not-fate-believe-it-or-not-it-s-largely-an-attitude/) [Willis Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-turner/) > [Life, luck has none to do with it, fate and hard work is the key, then the crowd underneath the cloud, rise above your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniyal-butt/life-luck-has-none-to-do-with-it-fate-and-hard-work-is-the-key-then/) [Daniyal Butt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniyal-butt/) > [Everything happens for a reason, luck and fate are the same thing. It just depends on how you look at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-happens-for-a-reason-luck-and-fate-are-the-same-thing-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Yes sure, I believe in luck and fate and I believe in karma, that the energy you put out in the world comes back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/yes-sure-i-believe-in-luck-and-fate-and-i-believe-in-karma-that-the/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [I think there is certainly luck and fate involved in any career of any kind. In show business, maybe it's even more true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-cole/i-think-there-is-certainly-luck-and-fate-involved-in-any-career-of/) [Gary Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-cole/) > [It's never luck or fate, it's God's perfect plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel/it-s-never-luck-or-fate-it-s-god-s-perfect-plan/) [Stephen Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel/) > [“That's the Zone for you: come back with swag, a miracle; come back alive, success; come back with a patrol bullet in your ass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arkady-strugatsky/that-s-the-zone-for-you-come-back-with-swag-a-miracle-come-back-alive/) [Arkady Strugatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arkady-strugatsky/) > [“I wondered whether it was luck or fate that had intervened. Whichever it was, I didn’t really care, I was just grateful that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kahler/i-wondered-whether-it-was-luck-or-fate-that-had-intervened-whichever/) [Katrina Kahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kahler/) > [I had been thinking about how greatness always has a hand from luck or fate. That no one ever achieves anything with their will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-avery/i-had-been-thinking-about-how-greatness-always-has-a-hand-from-luck/) [Eric Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-avery/) > [It's not a journey, every journey ends but we go on, the world turns and we turn with it, plans disappear, dreams take over,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-a-journey-every-journey-ends-but-we-go-on-the-world-turns/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe in luck and fate and I believe in karma, that the energy you put out in the world comes back to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/i-believe-in-luck-and-fate-and-i-believe-in-karma-that-the-energy-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [You create your own luck by the way you play. There is no such luck as bad luck. Fate has nothing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-norman/you-create-your-own-luck-by-the-way-you-play-there-is-no-such-luck-as/) [Greg Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-norman/) > [“When I arrived the News was three years old and Ed Lotterman was on the verge of a breakdown. To hear him talk you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/when-i-arrived-the-news-was-three-years-old-and-ed-lotterman-was-on/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that my instincts were right. I shared a vagrant optimism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/i-was-never-idle-long-enough-to-do-much-thinking-but-i-felt-somehow/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) [Alejandro Taubas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-taubas/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He talked about luck and fate and numbers coming up, yet he never ventured a nickel at the casinos because he knew the house had all the percentages. And beneath his pessimism, his bleak conviction that all the machinery was rigged against him, at the bottom of his soul was a faith that he was going to outwit it, that by carefully watching the signs he was going to know when to dodge and be spared. It was fatalism with a loophole, and all you had to do to make it work was never miss a sign. Survival by coordination, as it were. 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