I’ve been sitting with this really uncomfortable feeling lately, and I’m not sure if it’s more about the money or what it says about me. A couple of weeks ago, I had a bet lined up – just a casual sports parlay I’d been tracking all week. I was feeling pretty confident about it, had run through the stats, even stayed up late tweaking picks. Right before I placed it, a friend of mine – who’s also into betting but usually plays it safer – looked it over and suggested one small change. Nothing crazy, just swapping one leg of the parlay.
He said it as a friendly heads-up, like, “Hey, I think this team’s more solid right now, you might want to reconsider.” I thanked him, but in my head I was thinking, “Nah, if mine hits, it’ll pay out way more.” So I stuck to my gut and placed my version of the bet instead of his.
Well, you can guess how that turned out. His version would’ve hit – clean. I ran the numbers after, and it would’ve paid out a little over $5,000. Mine? Total loss. That one leg I insisted on adding tanked the whole thing.
At first, I just felt stupid. Then came the guilt. Not just about losing the money, but the fact that I didn’t even think to say, “Hey, if this hits, we’ll split it.” He gave me a solid suggestion, not trying to one-up me or anything, just genuinely trying to help. And even if I had won, I’m honestly not sure I would’ve offered to share it.
That’s the part that’s been eating at me. It’s like, I realized how quickly I let potential money cloud my judgment and push aside things like fairness and humility. The irony is I didn’t win anything, and now I feel worse than if I had just lost on my own terms.
Comments
Nothing to feel guilty about, just move on and learn. If you took his advice and won I’d definitely say throw him a little thank you but you didn’t.