Gambling is a profitable business because the odds are always against you. Even if you’re well ahead, given enough time, the math argues that you will lose it all.

The best gamblers minimize dealer advantage to very small numbers – within single digits (of a percentage). But compounded over time, that advantage becomes significant. So no matter what, always take small wins, or small losses.

The hypothetical situation you suggested is used to support theories such as the origin of life. In that case (keep in mind I’m not an expert here), it argues that even though the chances of life originating from a reaction in the earth’s early atmosphere are less than one percent, given an extended period of time, it becomes more likely to occur. But in that example, that percentage only needs to trigger once – in gambling, every time you lose, the chances to break even get smaller.

So, in gambling, you’re only going to lose more and more, statistically.