It occurs to me that ...

[Freightman]

true, as in playing stocks, one golden rule.....it takes money to make money. what i need to get over (@64 years young) is that it doesent bother me as much to lose,...we'll say a goodly amt. tinkering with equities, but it bugs the shit out of me to lose 4/500 at bj.

The Older you get, and assuming one has been diligent in the accumulation of money for retirement, the Less the need or want for excessive risk. The mix if my retirement funds are in light to medium light risk funds, with approx 10% in medium risk. So, with reference to Married Putters very interesting post, the educated person, may well choose the lower return scenarios simply because excessive risk for higher return is not needed.

I suppose the same philosophies could be intelligently directed towards AP activity. Interesting topic - maybe someone will start a thread on it.

[marriedputter]

So, with reference to Married Putters very interesting post, the educated person, may well choose the lower return scenarios simply because excessive risk for higher return is not needed.

Which is why those close to retirement put more and more money in US Treasuries. Woe to those who had most of their life savings in the stock market as they were approaching retirement in 2008.
Let's play with these numbers more, shall we? If instead of numbers like $4,000 and $3,000, let's say we were talking about $4 and $3. If it were a one-time offer, you'd probably just go for winning the $4. But if it were $4,000,000 vs. $3,000,000, I too would take the $3,000,000 because that is all that I would need. I wouldn't even need to play the "long-run" game anymore.
Certainly there can come a time when percentages and odds don't matter anymore. If a big payout is all you need, and the one-time offer covers it, go for the sure thing.

Ever see Brewster's Millions? I probably would have taken the million.