Risk of ruin is a concept in gambling, insurance, and finance relating to the likelihood of losing all one's investment capital or extinguishing one's bankroll below the minimum for further play.[
citation needed] For instance, if someone bets all their money on a simple coin toss, the risk of ruin is 50%. In a multiple-bet scenario,
risk of ruin accumulates with the number of bets: each repeated play increases the risk, and persistent play ultimately yields the
stochastic certainty of
gambler's ruin.
