Why would anyone who's a "gambler" approach the bet that way?
Taking the strokes early maximizes the chances that they win the bet. It assures them that they get ALL of their strokes.
No "gambler" is going to be playing without presses
That's a different thing, and I've known plenty of people who will play without presses. I think presses are dumb - you can beat someone for 8 or 16 holes or whatever, but "tie" because they win one hole? Dumb.
, and how "smart" would it be to have NO shots on the last 6 holes of EACH side, when playing against someone who's supposed to be giving you 8?
That's two things.
First, they're dumb to give up two shots. But they do it, all the time, because they seem to think the "choice" power makes up for it. It does not.
Second, if they were somehow dumb enough to take that bet, the best thing they could do is take them as early as possible.
Now I might the bet as the 8 with the three shots on the LAST 3 holes of each side
That too would be dumb, as the odds are you wouldn't even get to 16 before you lost. At eight shots, distributed evenly, you'd have likely already gotten six or seven shots before you get to the last three holes, but you're willing to go into the last three having only gotten three? You may be four down after 15.
The point is that the distribution of shots is almost completely irrelevant so long as the number is correct, and so long as something extreme (like a big chunk early, which favors the higher handicapper, or a big chunk late, which favors the lower handicapper) isn't done.