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Very high risk investment
Comments
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gadgetmind wrote: »The correct metric is a sharpe ratio. We've had people here recommending backing horses but also claiming to understand probability theory, but do they know the sharpe ratio of their "investment"? One suspects not.
Professional gamblers are concerned about 'variance'. Like the Sharpe ratio it allows them to measure the risk of a particular betting activity and make sure they are suitably capitalized for it.0 -
dixie_dean wrote: »I'm looking to invest a very small amount ... in something very high risk ... I'd be prepared to risk losing it all.
What's this difference between this and roulette?0 -
The Green Zero on the roulette wheel, that's high risk and you can lose the lot.
Potential reward is 35/1 though. Or even higher risk is Euromillions.
Either way, I guess high risk, high reward requires you to gamble to lose the lot.0 -
MoneySaverLog wrote: »Potential reward is 35/1 though.
Assuming a fair wheel, over the long term, you will lose your stake and be out of the game.
You can use firecalc to compare and contrast with the long term performance of money invested in equities.
I don't gamble, never have, never will, and haven't even bought so much as a single lottery ticket. I have however invested in companies, both directly and via the stock market. Yes, there is risk, but this risk can be understood, managed and even worked to your advantage.
Each to their own, I guess, but it's important that people understand that investing and gambling are fundamentally different.I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
I gamble, but very little. I have been to the horse races 3/4 times, and i have bought a few scratch cards for the xmas stockings. I have 500 worth of premium bonds (won 150 to date). These are all gambling to me, but I don't make much of a habit of it.
The OH and sons are more gambling aficiandos (being English I guess) and like to make the odd sports bet- my 17 yr old is sitting on a profit of 100 quid at the moment (started with a 10 quid 'free' bet and having withdrawn 40 quid already), and will withdraw 50 and keep betting with the rest. and OH buys a lottery ticket each week. But not me ;-)
Gambling is OK if you know that it is likely you will lose the lot, and you only play with small sums of money you can afford to lose and make sure you are saving and investing large sums of money in other places. i don't get the 'fun' of it myself though.
But I have in the past gambled on the odd high risk share-always in smaller amts of 300-500. Some doubled and I cashed out, others bombed and I lost the cash. I don't do it these days though, as I don't have the time to spend doing the research.0 -
Gambling is OK if you know that it is likely you will lose the lot, and you only play with small sums of money you can afford to lose and make sure you are saving and investing large sums of money in other places. i don't get the 'fun' of it myself though.
This does sound like what the OP asked for, high risk with potential to lose it all.0 -
gadgetmind wrote: »Assuming a fair wheel, over the long term, you will lose your stake and be out of the game.
You can use firecalc to compare and contrast with the long term performance of money invested in equities.
I don't gamble, never have, never will, and haven't even bought so much as a single lottery ticket. I have however invested in companies, both directly and via the stock market. Yes, there is risk, but this risk can be understood, managed and even worked to your advantage.
Each to their own, I guess, but it's important that people understand that investing and gambling are fundamentally different.
Yes, totally agree. The longer you play the more chance you have of losing the lot. American Roulette is worse as there is also a double green 00 as well as the single green 0 to put the odds further into the casino's favour.
It's something to do "for fun", but certainly not for putting your life savings on.
Investing in the stock market is a form of gambling, your betting on the movement of the stocks, either up or down depending on your position in the stock whether that be buying, selling or selling short.0 -
So you want to talk about volatility. That's different. Commodities are volatile. Junk companies have a habit of just going bust, and they don't come back from that.gadgetmind wrote: »The correct metric is a sharpe ratio. We've had people here recommending backing horses but also claiming to understand probability theory, but do they know the sharpe ratio of their "investment"? One suspects not.
I wasn't suggesting taking up gee-gees in a serious attempt to make a profit out of it. I was only saying that if you don't mind losing your money you might as well stick it on a horse."It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis0 -
Christ alive, these forums have the capacity to be wonderful places where people help each other free but they don't half often turn into petty/semantic/pointless/prejudiced debates. Thanks to all those who have made good points (I won't say which I think are good and not!).
Just to add to the pointless debate (!), I know a LOT about gambling. Although not all gambling is gambling, if you take advantage of +EV situations. Good simple example is playing blackjack to basic strategy. The house edge is very small so you expect to lose £5 per £1000 staked (figures may not be correct, this is not my area of expertise and is off the top of my head). However, bookies will often run promotions where they will refund a proportion of losses - sometimes as high as 50%. You are now at a massive advantage. Although the variance is high (you would normally play 1 hand at the maximum refund level) this, to me, isn't gambling. Anyway, is home insurance gambling? Crossing the road? A bank acount? Shares? Whatever, it isn't really relevant to my question.
To the person who said tht a ftse tracker is a 7/10 I'm surprised, but thanks. To the person who queried what risk I was looking for, if you'd read my OP you would have realised that I'm only looking to invest a few hundred in high risk scheme.
Finally, for the record, I've decided to stick £200 on an X Factor winner! As this "investment" could be over tomorrow I think it's safe to say it's high risk. A good show tonight and I think I could be looking at a 65% profit (if I took it).And if, you know, your history...0 -
So who do you have to win then?0
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