Howard Marks’ “You Bet”: Process, Probability, & Proposition Applied to Junior Mining Speculation

Mining Stock Education · May 21, 2026 · 25m

MSE host Bill Powers applies Howard Marks’ January 2020 memo “You Bet” to junior mining speculation, emphasizing that decision quality and outcomes aren’t the same because both luck and process drive results. Drawing on Annie Duke’s book “Thinking in Bets,” Powers urges probabilistic thinking, accurate assessment of one’s own skills and being comfortable uncertainty. Marks’ framework distinguishes games by hidden information, luck, and skill. Powers argues junior resource markets are less efficient “alpha markets” where skill does matter. A key lesson is evaluating the “proposition” (odds…