Before the mid-seventeenth century when a developing understanding of probability transformed gambling, English gaming took place in the community rather than in dedicated institutions like casinos and so represented and interacted with more general social behavior. Different communities gambled differently; they had different status under the law. This article considers gentlemen's gambling, arguing that in the absence of other constraints, notions of honor had a key role in shaping that activity. Contemporary accounts such as Sir John Harington's “Treatise on Playe” suggest that high-stakes wagering fell into the anthropological category of deep play, whereby gamesters staked excessive sums to win renown for their daring; secondly, it appears that such behavior was seen as a young man's activity, with older men condemning immoderate wagering as their ideas about what was honorable shifted as they matured and became integrated into the community. In addition to age-related changes of attitude to gambling, a tension existed between Elizabethan ideals of gentlemen's gambling behaviors and individual gamesters’ real circumstances. Some had limited money for wagering, others little time; youths from gentle families were sometimes indentured as apprentices or otherwise in situations that altered their relationships to time, money, and regulation. Consequently, even within this single sector of Elizabethan society, attitudes to gambling acquired a high level of complexity.

在十七世纪中叶之前，对概率的理解不断发展改变了赌博，英国游戏是在社区中进行的，而不是在赌场等专门机构中进行的，因此代表了更普遍的社会行为并与之互动。不同的社区赌博方式不同；他们根据法律享有不同的地位。本文讨论了绅士赌博，认为在没有其他限制的情况下，荣誉观念在塑造这种活动中发挥着关键作用。约翰·哈灵顿爵士（Sir John Harington）的《玩家论》（Treatise on Playe）等当代记述表明，高风险投注属于深度游戏的人类学范畴，即玩家下注过多的金额，以因其大胆而赢得声誉。其次，这种行为似乎被视为年轻人的行为，而年长的男性则谴责无节制的赌博行为，因为随着他们的成熟和融入社会，他们关于什么是光荣的观念发生了转变。除了与年龄有关的赌博态度的变化之外，伊丽莎白时代关于绅士赌博行为的理想与个别赌徒的真实情况之间也存在紧张关系。有些人的投注资金有限，有些人则没有时间；来自贵族家庭的年轻人有时会被当作学徒或以其他方式签订契约，从而改变他们与时间、金钱和规则的关系。因此，即使在伊丽莎白时代社会的这个单一部门内，人们对赌博的态度也变得高度复杂。