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You're essentially referring to Pascal's Wager which basically stated that believing in god was preferable to atheism simply because the risk of being wrong was too great. In Pascal's mind it was better to believe and be wrong then not to believe and be wrong. It's a compelling argument...
If it wasn't bullshit. To wager on the existence of god isn't gonna get you anywhere in either case. Dogmatically, just about every major soteriological religion says that belief, in and of itself, is not enough for salvation. You have to buy it hook, line, and sinker or not at all. If you're going to believe in god it would seem to me that something as superficial as a philosophical wager is more a comfort for those struggling with oblivion and not a foundation for religious conviction.
Also, if you're willing to accept such a wager, you are by extension, also accepting the 50/50 odds that god does not exist. Again, not a solid foundation for faith in some mysterious afterlife. It's a mental plaything and nothing more.
Either way, whether you decide to believe in god or not, it has to be done with some measure of real conviction. He either exists or he doesn't and Pascal's Wager simply allows you to sit on the fence.