What if you could get the edge over the competition with your scratch-off lottery tickets? You may think to yourself that everyone has the same odds. But if you know the right scratch-off secrets, you can seriously boost your odds of winning a major prize.
So before you buy your next ticket, read on to discover our best secrets for scratch-off success.
Why Research Scratch-Off Secrets?
Below, we have some of our top scratch-off ticket secrets for your reading pleasure. Before we dive in, though, we need to answer a basic question: why is it important for you to research scratch-off secrets?
The short answer is that every scratch-off lottery ticket is a competition. You aren’t playing against those who have organized the lottery. Instead, you are playing against everyone else who is buying tickets!
And most players simply grab the first ticket they see and just randomly start scratching. By knowing certain scratch-off tips and secrets and employing certain strategies, you can gain the kind of edge over everyone else that will help you bring a bigger payday home.
1. Sneaky Reprints
Ever hear the phrase “the house always wins?” Honestly, the lottery is a lot like that. For as much money as you stand to win, entities like the lottery commission and scratch card printing companies take certain actions that actually hurt your chances of winning.
One of the best examples of this is reprinting scratch-off ticket cards. Most players don’t know about this practice, and they know even less about how this impacts their odds of winning.
When these tickets are first printed, the odds of winning are truly random. Nobody knows exactly which tickets are winners. And the batches of tickets are shipped and stored in the same order to maintain this sense of randomness and fair play.
But the lottery commission gets nervous at the idea that savvy players will notice major prizes getting sold at the beginning of the printing and stop buying tickets. So they will effectively double the number of tickets by printing reprints.
These reprints are stored behind the original batch. But here’s the thing: none of the prizes from that second batch will be awarded until all of the ones from the first batch are recorded.
If you get a reprint too early, your card is worthless. But if you sign up for our free reports, you can get the scoop on top prizes remaining in your state and even sign up for a Best Games to Buy report that warns about reprints!
2. Never Scratch Off in the Store
Some of our secrets are simpler than others. And one of the best scratch-off ticket secrets is to never scratch your tickets off inside the store!
Why is this important? As we said before, you are effectively playing against other players when you play the lottery. And your scariest competition comes from the retailers who are selling you tickets.
That’s because retailers have every edge you can imagine. They can monitor how many tickets have been sold by studying players in the store and even watching security videos.
How does this impact you? By keeping track of which tickets haven’t had a winner lately, retail workers can improve their odds of winning with each scratch-off ticket they buy.
Regarding this practice, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you will never have the same advantages that these retail employees have.
The good news is that you can partially equalize the playing field by never scratching a ticket off inside the store. This gives them one less advantage they will have over players like you!
3. The Secret to Collecting Your Winnings
The basics of scratch-off tickets seem pretty simple. You scratch, win, and then collect a prize. But many players encounter unexpected difficulties when they go to collect!
There are certain actions you can take (or fail to take) that may compromise a winning ticket. But our tips below will help make sure you bring home every penny of what you have earned.
First, don’t scratch too hard. If you do, you may damage the ticket and be unable to redeem it (though some lottos allow you to mail the card in for verification).
Second, avoid folding or creasing your tickets. This may make winning scratches unreadable, which is the same as just throwing your money away.
Third, never wait too long to claim a prize. Every scratch-off ticket has a “last day to claim” date. Past that point, it is impossible to claim your winnings, even if you have won a major prize.
Finally, don’t ask the retailer how much you won; ask the lottery officials directly. That’s because retailers are limited in how much they can pay out and may even lie about the amount.
4. Control the Roll and Play the Waiting Game
One major factor to scratch-off tickets that you may not realize is timing. When you play the lottery and how you play the lottery can have a major impact on your odds.
That’s why we recommend you go to the store when business is slow and then buy one ticket at a time. This helps you “control the roll” and makes you likelier to win.
Of course, you can’t always count on the store being slow enough for you to fully control the roll. In that case, it’s time for you to play the waiting game!
When there is a line for lotto tickets, buy one ticket at a time and get back in line. Now, check to see who is buying the same tickets as you and ask them if they won or lost (most of the time, just watching their face will give you the answer).
If they lost, you should buy from the same roll because your odds just improved. If they won, though, you should move on to another game.
What’s Next?
Now you know some of our favorite scratch-off secrets. But what if you could have this awesome insight throughout the year?
To get regular information about state lottery tips and scratch-off secrets, all you have to do is sign up for a free account today!