--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a betting game among a certain number…" description: "\"If a betting game among a certain number of participants I played long enough, eventually one player will have all the money. If there is any skill inv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg" --- # If a betting game among a certain number of participants I… ![“If a betting game among a certain number of participants I played long enough, eventually one player will have all the money. If there is any skill involved, it will accelerate the process of concentrating all the stakes in a few hands. Something like this happens in the market. There is a…” quote by William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg) > “If a betting game among a certain number of participants I played long enough, eventually one player will have all the money. If there is any skill involved, it will accelerate the process of concentrating all the stakes in a few hands. Something like this happens in the market. There is a persistent overall tendency for equity to flow from the many to the few. In the long run, the majority loses. The implication for the trader is that to win you have to act like the minority. If you bring normal human habits and tendencies to trading, you'll gravitate toward the majority and inevitably lose.” [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Markets tend to concentrate wealth among a few participants; traders must adopt contrarian behavior to succeed. **In simple terms:** Wealth concentrates; be contrarian. Key Takeaway Think opposite of the crowd. Themes wealth distribution contrarianism behavioral finance Mood cautious analytical strategic Type advice insightful financial When to use this quote - trading strategies - portfolio management - risk assessment - investment education Key Concepts entropy path dependence survival of the fittest Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify when the crowd is wrong? - What signals indicate a shift toward minority advantage? A Different Perspective Contrarian tactics can be risky and may not work in all market regimes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accelerate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accelerate/) [Betting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betting/) [Betting Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betting-game-5357275/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Concentrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrating/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Equity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equity/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Implications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/implications/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Involved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involved/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-run/) [Long runs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-runs/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Minorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minorities/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Participants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participants/) [Persistent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persistent/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Stakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stakes/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Tendencies Trading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies-trading-5357274/) [Tendency Equity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendency-equity-5357273/) [Trader Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trader-win-5357276/) [Traders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traders/) [Trading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trading/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [I haven't seen much correlation between good trading and intelligence. Some outstanding traders are quite intelligent, but a few aren't. Many outstanding intelligent people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/i-haven-t-seen-much-correlation-between-good-trading-and-intelligence/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [The desire to maximize the number of winning trades (or minimize the number of losing trades) works against the trader. The success rate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/the-desire-to-maximize-the-number-of-winning-trades-or-minimize-the/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [One common adage...that is completely wrongheaded is: You can't go broke taking profits. That's precisely how many traders do go broke. While amateurs go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/one-common-adage-that-is-completely-wrongheaded-is-you-can-t-go-broke/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [Were it possible so to accelerate the intercourse between every part of the globe that all its inhabitants could be united under the superintending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/were-it-possible-so-to-accelerate-the-intercourse-between-every-part/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I see Maradona every time he grabs the ball and accelerates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pep-guardiola/i-see-maradona-every-time-he-grabs-the-ball-and-accelerates/) [Pep Guardiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pep-guardiola/) > [It was the Obama administration that cut a faux deal with the Iranians that will not disarm Iran of its nuclear capabilities, and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/it-was-the-obama-administration-that-cut-a-faux-deal-with-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [I really think that technology has the greatest potential to accelerate happiness of most things in the world. The companies that will ultimately do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/i-really-think-that-technology-has-the-greatest-potential-to/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [The Egyptian experience suggests that social media can greatly accelerate the death of already dying authoritarian regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-egyptian-experience-suggests-that-social-media-can-greatly/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [As IT enters the mobile-cloud era, IT providers need to be more innovative about addressing customers' fast changing needs. Over the past two years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/as-it-enters-the-mobile-cloud-era-it-providers-need-to-be-more/) [Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/) > [Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/concentration-of-wealth-yields-concentration-of-political-power-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Imagine we could accelerate continuously at 1 g-what we're comfortable with on good old terra firma-to the midpoint of our voyage, and decelerate continuously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/imagine-we-could-accelerate-continuously-at-1-g-what-we-re/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [An hour and thirty-one minutes after launch, my pressure altimeter halts at 103,300 feet. At ground control the radar altimeters also have stopped-on readings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kittinger/an-hour-and-thirty-one-minutes-after-launch-my-pressure-altimeter/) [Joseph Kittinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kittinger/) > [My final word, before I'm done, Is "Cancer can be rather fun"- Provided one confronts the tumour with a sufficient sense of humour. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-s-haldane/my-final-word-before-i-m-done-is-cancer-can-be-rather-fun-provided/) [John B. S. Haldane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-s-haldane/) > [It has never been more critical that a leader step forward to accelerate our understanding of cancer - and champion the effort to finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-dzau/it-has-never-been-more-critical-that-a-leader-step-forward-to/) [Victor J. Dzau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-dzau/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) ## More by William Eckhardt > [One common adage...that is completely wrongheaded is: You can't go broke taking profits. That's precisely how many traders do go broke. While amateurs go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/one-common-adage-that-is-completely-wrongheaded-is-you-can-t-go-broke/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [I know of a few multimillionaires who started trading with inherited wealth. In each case, they lost it all because they didn't feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/i-know-of-a-few-multimillionaires-who-started-trading-with-inherited/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [Amateurs go broke taking large losses, professionals go broke taking small profits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/amateurs-go-broke-taking-large-losses-professionals-go-broke-taking/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [Good systems tend to violate normal human tendencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/good-systems-tend-to-violate-normal-human-tendencies/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [In many ways, large profits are even more insidious than large losses in terms of emotional destabilization. I think it's important not to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/in-many-ways-large-profits-are-even-more-insidious-than-large-losses/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [What feels good is often the wrong thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/what-feels-good-is-often-the-wrong-thing-to-do/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [If the losses don't hurt, your financial survival is tenuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/if-the-losses-don-t-hurt-your-financial-survival-is-tenuous/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [It's much easier to learn what you should do in trading than to do it. Good systems tend to violate normal human tendencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/it-s-much-easier-to-learn-what-you-should-do-in-trading-than-to-do-it/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [Don't think about what the market's going to do; you have absolutely no control over that. Think about what you're going to do if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/don-t-think-about-what-the-market-s-going-to-do-you-have-absolutely/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [Don't think about what the market's going to do; you have absolutely no control over that. Think about what you're going to do if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/don-t-think-about-what-the-market-s-going-to-do-you-have-absolutely-2/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [You can be very promiscuous in your research, but not in your trading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/you-can-be-very-promiscuous-in-your-research-but-not-in-your-trading/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [The desire to maximize the number of winning trades (or minimize the number of losing trades) works against the trader. The success rate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/the-desire-to-maximize-the-number-of-winning-trades-or-minimize-the/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [The market likes to lull you into the false security of high success rate techniques, which often lose disastrously in the long run. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/the-market-likes-to-lull-you-into-the-false-security-of-high-success/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [People want to buy cheap and sell dear; this by itself makes them countertrend. But the notion of cheapness or dearness must be anchored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/people-want-to-buy-cheap-and-sell-dear-this-by-itself-makes-them/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) > [Investing is a negative game emotionally. If you're playing for the emotional satisfaction, you're bound to lose, because what feels good is often the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/investing-is-a-negative-game-emotionally-if-you-re-playing-for-the/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) [Explore all 20 William Eckhardt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) ## More Accelerate quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [It has never been more critical that a leader step forward to accelerate our understanding of cancer - and champion the effort to finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-dzau/it-has-never-been-more-critical-that-a-leader-step-forward-to/) [Victor J. Dzau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-dzau/) > [My final word, before I'm done, Is "Cancer can be rather fun"- Provided one confronts the tumour with a sufficient sense of humour. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-s-haldane/my-final-word-before-i-m-done-is-cancer-can-be-rather-fun-provided/) [John B. S. Haldane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-s-haldane/) > [An hour and thirty-one minutes after launch, my pressure altimeter halts at 103,300 feet. At ground control the radar altimeters also have stopped-on readings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kittinger/an-hour-and-thirty-one-minutes-after-launch-my-pressure-altimeter/) [Joseph Kittinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kittinger/) > [Imagine we could accelerate continuously at 1 g-what we're comfortable with on good old terra firma-to the midpoint of our voyage, and decelerate continuously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/imagine-we-could-accelerate-continuously-at-1-g-what-we-re/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/concentration-of-wealth-yields-concentration-of-political-power-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [As IT enters the mobile-cloud era, IT providers need to be more innovative about addressing customers' fast changing needs. Over the past two years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/as-it-enters-the-mobile-cloud-era-it-providers-need-to-be-more/) [Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/) > [The Egyptian experience suggests that social media can greatly accelerate the death of already dying authoritarian regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-egyptian-experience-suggests-that-social-media-can-greatly/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [I really think that technology has the greatest potential to accelerate happiness of most things in the world. The companies that will ultimately do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/i-really-think-that-technology-has-the-greatest-potential-to/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [It was the Obama administration that cut a faux deal with the Iranians that will not disarm Iran of its nuclear capabilities, and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/it-was-the-obama-administration-that-cut-a-faux-deal-with-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [I see Maradona every time he grabs the ball and accelerates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pep-guardiola/i-see-maradona-every-time-he-grabs-the-ball-and-accelerates/) [Pep Guardiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pep-guardiola/) > [Were it possible so to accelerate the intercourse between every part of the globe that all its inhabitants could be united under the superintending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/were-it-possible-so-to-accelerate-the-intercourse-between-every-part/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/the-opportunity-ahead-for-microsoft-is-vast-but-to-seize-it-we-must/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [When you consider that a steelworker who's making $40,000 a year has virtually the same tax burden as someone who's making $400,000 a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/when-you-consider-that-a-steelworker-who-s-making-40-000-a-year-has/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [When we deal in generalities, we shall never succeed. When we deal in specifics, we shall rarely have a failure. When performance is measured,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/when-we-deal-in-generalities-we-shall-never-succeed-when-we-deal-in/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) [Browse all 191 Accelerate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accelerate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a betting game among a certain number of participants I played long enough, eventually one player will have all the money. If there is any skill involved, it will accelerate the process of concentrating all the stakes in a few hands. Something like this happens in the market. There is a persistent overall tendency for equity to flow from the many to the few. In the long run, the majority loses. The implication for the trader is that to win you have to act like the minority. If you bring normal human habits and tendencies to trading, you'll gravitate toward the majority and inevitably lose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Eckhardt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number-of-participants-i-played/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accelerate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number-of-participants-i-played/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/william-eckhardt-27602_accelerate_if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number_1474279.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a betting game among a certain number of participants I played long enough, eventually one player will…” — William Eckhardt", "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": "William Eckhardt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a betting game among a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number-of-participants-i-played/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/if-a-betting-game-among-a-certain-number-of-participants-i-played/#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 } } ] } ```