The Bet

I'm not generally speaking a gambler. I'm rather risk-averse, and in relatively few things require the added spice of money on the line. Every now and then, however, I find it rather amusing to gamble. I don't gamble on games of chance, or even those which may be influenced by skill. I would say that when compelled to experience something otherwise very boring, I might be induced to place a wager with trivial stakes to make things a bit more interesting.

We're really talking a token bet. The kind of bets I would go for are those sometimes carried by Irish bookies for major sports and entertainment events. Such a bookie might offer odds on the outfit worn by the host of the Oscars, for example. They might also offer an over/under on some trivial thing. I just made and lost a bet with a friend on a rather trivial thing. If you're unfamiliar, an over/under offers a prediction for some statistic, such as a combined score in a football game. It would be selected to provoke an equal number of bets on the score being higher and lower.