Although we’ve received them from numerous sources across the years, Gambling Quotes have revealed to us much wisdom and humour and taught us much about ourselves.
Gambling is more than just a game of chance. It’s a reflection of life, where risks, rewards, losses, and victories intertwine. It’s a dance of fate and strategy, often leaving us with profound insights about life and human nature.
Thinkers, players, and observers alike have shared their wisdom and experiences about gambling through memorable quotes. Here, we’ve curated ten of the most poignant and timeless remarks on the subject.
Let’s delve into the world of gambling through the words of those who’ve understood its essence.
Table of Contents
10 Timeless Gambling Quotes
“Gambling is a disease. It’s an addiction.”
Wayne Gretzky
“The only way to beat the odds is to be smart and disciplined.”
Stu Ungar
“The only sure thing about gambling is that the house will always have the edge.”
Kenny Rogers
“Gambling is the only tax that people volunteer to pay.”
Mark Twain
“There is no gambling like politics.”
Henry Clay
“If you’re playing a poker game and you look around the table and can’t tell who the sucker is, it’s you.”
Paul Newman
“The excitement that a gambler feels when making a bet is equal to the amount he might win times the probability of winning it.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it.”
Albert Einstein
“The biggest gamble in life is not taking one.”
Anonymous
“The house always wins.”
Anonymous
10 Bonus Anonymous Gambling Quotes
“If you’re not scared of losing, you’re not gambling enough.”
“Gambling is like a love affair: if you can’t afford to lose, you shouldn’t play.”
“The only way to win at gambling is to quit while you’re ahead.”
“The only thing gambling solves is the problem of too much money.”
“Gambling is a tax on people who don’t know math.”
“Gambling is the only way to make money without working.”
“Gambling is the only sport where you can bet on yourself and lose.”
“Gambling is a way of getting something for nothing, and that’s why it’s so popular.”
“Gambling is the only way to get rich quick, but it’s also the only way to get broke quick.”
“Gambling is a disease, but it’s a disease that can be cured.”
“Gambling is a way to escape from your problems, but it’s also a way to create new ones.”
Award for the funniest gambling quote goes to number 5 in the list – “Gambling is a tax on people who don’t know math”
It’s clear that along with wisdom, just as in life, people find ways of expressing their disappointment in a witty and wise manner.
10 Songs Containing Gambling Quotes
Gamblers have always expressed their wisdom through music, so here’s a look at some of the more famous songs related to gambling. They all contain gambling quotes we can all relate to:
| Song | Singer | Year of Release |
| The Gambler | Kenny Rogers | 1978 |
| Ace of Spades | Motörhead | 1980 |
| Poker Face | Lady Gaga | 2008 |
| Waking Up in Vegas | Katy Perry | 2009 |
| The Shape of My Heart | Sting | 1993 |
| Aces High | Iron Maiden | 1984 |
| All In | Zac Brown Band | 2010 |
| Rollin’ in the Hay | John Anderson | 1981 |
| Luck Be a Lady | Frank Sinatra | 1963 |
| The Gambler | Don Williams | 1974 |
| The Devil Went Down to Georgia | The Charlie Daniels Band | 1979 |
10 Famous Gambling Quotes from Movies
Movies have long favored the gambler, an unsurprising position, given the gambler’s risk taking nature, an ingredient that is essential in a good movie.
| Quote | Movie | Year |
| Know when to walk away. | Casino | 1995 |
| The house always wins. | Casablanca | 1942 |
| You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run. | The Gambler | 1980 |
| Never count your money when you’re sitting at the table. | Rounders | 1998 |
| If you can’t afford to lose it, don’t bet it. | Ocean’s Eleven | 2001 |
| Luck is just a matter of time. | Maverick | 1994 |
| You can’t beat the house, but you can make it work for you. | 21 | 2008 |
| There’s no such thing as a sure thing. | The Hustler | 1961 |
| The only way to win is to not play. | The Deer Hunter | 1978 |
| If you want to get rich quick, you’re better off selling drugs. | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | 1998 |
| Some people gamble to win, others to lose. | The Cincinnati Kid | 1965 |
Pearls of Wisdom
There are some real pearls of wisdom in these timeless gambling quotes. While my favourite has to be the very simple, anonymous quote, “the house always wins”, you cannot ignore the wisdom in lines like “the biggest gamble in life is not taking one”.
I have to say that among the list of 10 songs containing gambling quotes, my favourite has to be the Ace of Spades by Motorhead, whose lyrics include the lines
“you know I’m going to lose, and gambling’s for fools, but that’s the way I like it baby, I’m not gonna live forever”
MotorHead, Ace of Spades, 1980
The song Ace of Spades was written and released in October 1980, the title track to the album of the same name. Since then, singer Lemmy has left us (died 2015) and the song Ace of Spades has racked up a respectable 32M views on YouTube.
Interestingly, the Ace of Spades was named favourite poker-themed song by online survey of 1000 customers of the online poker site PokerStars. The song not only won, but crushed the other finalist “Poker Face”, by Lady Gaga.
