Roulette is not a positive sum game, though. If you keep playing, eventually you will lose everything to the house.
A positive sum game is where repeated plays will average out to a net gain. The secret is having enough initial capital to keep you alive if your initial gambles don’t pan out. People living paycheck to paycheck don’t have that
Time management is different for everyone, and when you’re on a deadline, or just dealing with a one-off situation, the extra research has no value.
Sometimes you don’t need to know how the clock works, you just need to know what time it is.