Increase Your Chances of Winning a Lottery

Everyone wants to win the lottery, but most of us don't even have a single lucky number on our ticket. So how do you increase your chances of winning? Well, usually, by chance. The more tickets you purchase for a specific drawing, the better your chances. But there are a few people who believe there's more to it than that.

Steps

Implement Strategies

  1. Purchase more than one ticket. The more tickets purchased will increase your odds of winning.
    • Consider that an average state lottery has jackpot odds of about 100,000,000 to 1 -- it's often even worse: The multi-state "Powerball" lottery has jackpot odds of about 185,000,000 to 1. Holding fifty tickets only would improve your odds to 100,000,000 to 50.
  2. Join a lottery pool. Get a group together at your office, school, church, activity center or any place where others are willing to share a winning ticket.
    • The payout that you receive will be less because you will be sharing it, but your chances of winning are slightly increased.
  3. Understand that the other tickets do not affect your tickets in most lotteries.
    • Many people erroneously think that they have better chances of winning when fewer people play, but this is not true unless you are entering a raffle wherein a winning ticket is pulled from all the entries.
    • The odds of the lottery's random numbers matching your ticket's numbers are not affected by the number of people who have tickets. Think of it this way: If only one person bought just one ticket for the lottery is that person guaranteed to win? No.
    • However, the fewer people who play, the lower the odds of multiple winners are.
  4. Play less often, but buy more. This increases your chances for that specific play.
    • This strategy does not affect your odds of winning in your lifetime but can affect what jackpot you win, if you win.
    • Instead of buying a ticket every week save up the money you would spend and use it to buy tickets when the jackpot reaches large amounts. This maximizes the return without increasing your financial risk.
    • You don't need to use the same numbers every time - it does not increase your odds of winning. Previous draws have no effect on future draws - each draw is a clean slate - so feel free to change your numbers each time.
    • People who play the same numbers every week can become 'addicted' to the lottery over fears that their usual numbers will come up if they do not buy a ticket. Using different numbers each week can help you stay in control of your gambling, and does not affect your odds of winning.
    • In lotteries where a winner is drawn from a raffle, you increase your odds of winning by playing the week after a huge jackpot - as typically fewer people play the lottery after a big cash prize has been won.
  5. Check and double-check your tickets. Sometimes, there are several ways to win. Make sure not to assume you lost and thoroughly look over your tickets.
  6. Quit while you're ahead. Getting a series of winners will only add up if you cease buying.
    • Set a budget and stick with it. If possible, use the lottery money you've won to purchase future tickets. That way, you dip less frequently into your main income.

Decide on Quick Picks vs Self Picks

  1. Weigh your odds. The jury is still out. More people win via quick picks (in Powerball)-- but more people use quick picks. Statistically, the odds are the same that any combination of numbers will be picked. So, it doesn’t matter if you choose lucky numbers or let the machine choose for you.[1]
    • Though it may seem illogical, 1-2-3-4-5-6 is just as likely as a random selection of 6 numbers.
    • The only drawback of self picks is that humans are all generally programmed the same. That is, your favorite numbers are probably someone else's favorite numbers. So, if you win on 7-14-21-28-35-42, you may have to share.
    • Richard Lustig, 7-time lottery winner, highly advises against quick picks.[2] He argues that picking your own numbers keeps you from getting combinations of recent winners (so long as you've done your research!), thus increasing your chances.[3].
      • If you are playing your state's lottery, don't bother checking to see if old winning numbers are available online. Just because a number recently came up, that doesn't alter the odds of it coming up again. Today's randomly selected numbers aren't affected by any other day's randomly selected number.

Buy Scratchcards

  1. Invest in smaller payouts. Smaller reward — more likely to win? Maybe. Mohan Srivastava, a statistician living in Toronto, says he broke the code. His story certainly involves a lot of time for a rather small payout. [4]
    • A typical scratchcard has odds between 1:5 and 1:2.5. Consider this when picking out your scratchers.
    • Ask the clerk which ones have been bought the most and returned the most winners. Pick a game that has seen mostly losses -- that way, a win should be coming up. If the odds are 1:5, purchasing 5 cards should allot you 1 winner.

Tips

  • Keep your tickets in a safe place that is protected against moisture, heat, and creatures like bugs or rodents.
  • Define to yourself what you mean by 'win'. If you wish to win the jackpot only, then your chances are as given above -- i.e. 'n' tickets purchased will give you 'n' more chances of winning. However, if there are smaller prizes (e.g. three numbers out of six as in UK Lotto), then you should structure your entry to ensure that no three numbers are repeated in any selection on any of your tickets. 6C3=10 -- i.e. there are ten combinations of three from 6 on one ticket. If you purchase ten tickets, and ensure no three numbers repeat on any, your chances of winning a small prize increase from 10 to 60; however, your chances of winning the jackpot remain unaltered (improving by a factor of ten for ten tickets).
  • If the jackpot is very large, you may wish to contact a lawyer to help you redeem your ticket.
  • If you join an office pool, make sure that you receive a photocopy of all the tickets purchased from the person buying the tickets. Be sure that this person is trustworthy. Be sure to check your photocopies against the published winning numbers.
  • Get your winning ticket to the claims center as quick as possible. If you mail your ticket do it via certified and insured mail. Better yet, if possible, hand deliver your winning ticket to the claims center.
  • If you're in the UK, you need to be at least 16 to play the National Lottery and claim any prizes.

Warnings

  • Never spend more than you can afford on the lottery, it will only leave you worse off.
  • If you're in the United States, you need to be at least 18 or older to play the lottery and claim your prize.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.investinganswers.com/personal-finance/smart-consumer/5-common-sense-lotto-realities-everyone-ignores-3050
  2. ↑ www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/richard-lustig-7-time-lottery-winner-how-to-win-powerball-jackpot_n_2203717.html
  3. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57575828/seven-time-lottery-winner-shares-secret-to-winning-powerball/
  4. ↑ http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_lottery/
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