'Bet' it's a long story...

Lagi shart?

(Wanna bet?)

This seemingly innocuous question has led many a person to lay a wager. On the most trivial of issues.

Ranging from money to treats at the expense of the loser, such bets are known to cause glee / grief to quite a few who indulge in them.

I am no exception, and on more occasion than one, have had to to shell out bucks for a coffee treat, or on those rare occasions, clapped my hands in utter joy, upon “winning” a box of my favorite After Eights. With my recent luck though, I've just been doling out crisp hundred-rupee notes to a jubilant hubby, which probably explains my long-facedness...Bah!

For some people, laying a bet is almost a ritual.

The stakes get higher, and money is regulary seen exchanging hands, willingly or, as is pretty much the rule (in the case of the loser), reluctantly.

And here I thought people lay bets only in casinos, during matches, and on horses!

Seems that I couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

Wagers seem to be doing the rounds pretty regularly, from seemingly meaningless bets.

Despite most people knowing very well that gambling doesn’t pay on average, they gladly gamble away.

It’s akin to a person knowing that it is next to impossible to hit that aggressive deadline, knowing all the factors that are out of control, yet being overtly optimistic.

Call it illusion of control.

Or whatever you will.

They do it for a variety of reasons – money, just for fun, to make their day more exciting, or just to assert their knowledge.

There are different kinds of people who lay bets.

You have the cocksure ones.

You have the diffident ones, who place bets the way you put your foot gingerly into an ice-cold pool.

There are the ones who place wagers consciously.

There are also the ones, who are led into placing bets under the influence of spirits, when their judgment is clouded.

Then you have the ones who have done their homework thoroughly (and smile smugly).

While you have also those who haven’t quite checked the odds. The ones who often face the most disillusionment, and emerge cynical and bitter from their speculative experiences.

Whatever section they may be from, betters are your average you and me.

Are you rolling your eyes in skepticism?

Chances are, in the next fortnight, you will probably put a wager on something or the other.

Wanna bet on that?