The average American consumer spends about $1,038 per year on lottery tickets. While this is a surprising sum, it makes sense when you consider that everyone wants to indulge in the fantasy of getting rich quick.
However, you can turn this fantasy into a reality by learning some lotto tips that can lead to beating the odds. Read on to learn some expert strategies that will maximize your chances of rolling out a winning number next time you play.
Choose the Right Lottery
Selecting the right lottery to play will require some analysis and mathematical calculations. Our Cookie Dough Countdown winner underwent this process and proceeded to beat the odds based on his findings. Read on to learn how successful lotto players can choose the right lottery to play and why winning isn’t just about blind luck.
Consider Scratch-Off Odds
The ‘odds’ of a lottery refer to how often you’ll win, but they have nothing to do with how much money you will win. A game where you will win $10 every 1/10 times you play has high odds but low payout. On the flip side, a game where you win $1000 every 1/500 times has low odds despite its high payout.
Odds are the first thing you should consider when playing the lottery as a beginner. You want to win something- anything!- above all else. It’s more likely that you’ll win with a lottery that has higher odds and therefore you won’t need to worry about wasting the cost of the ticket as often.
If your objective is to get a quick payout and instant serotonin, scratch-off tickets are a pretty good bet. They have a low payout but significantly higher odds than big games like Powerball.
Expected Value (And Why It’s Important)
However, a lot of people live by the mantra of ‘go big or go home,’ which makes sense for risk-takers and thrill-seekers. If you want to win a bigger sum of cash, you will need to think about the ‘expected value’ of the lotto ticket that you buy. This term refers to the average amount of money you could potentially win if you played the game over and over again for the rest of your life.
Larger lotteries have an overall higher expected value because one large payout (that you would eventually inevitably stumble on if you played infinite times) gives you more money than dozens of small scratch-offs. Let’s say you played a $1 ticket with 1 in 10 odds, If you played it 10 times, you’d only make a net profit of $2.50.
On the other hand, a $2 Powerball ticket might eventually make you a million dollars, in which case you’re $999,998 richer. Though the odds may be one in 10 million, you’d stumble on it if you played over and over for eternity.
Since this is unlikely to happen within either your lifetime or budget, however, you should probably consider the odds over expected value when playing.
Play Unpopular Games
If you play unpopular lottery games, you’ll have fewer people competing against you for the winnings. This makes your odds of winning higher than they would be if more people were playing.
When more people play a game like Powerball or your state lottery, you’re going to be head-to-head with thousands of other players. Even if you do win something you likely will need to share the winnings. Usually, if a lottery pulls a number that has no winners, they’ll do a re-draw and you’ll get another chance to win.
Select Numbers Likely to Win
Once you choose the lottery that you want to play, it’s time to begin selecting numbers that are more likely to win.
This might sound strange to you. After all, aren’t numbers drawn at random?
They are, you’re correct. Every number in the lottery has an equal probability of being chosen as the other numbers do. However, many people have similar habits when it comes to choosing their numbers, and by standing out you increase your odds of winning.
Many people use their birthday numbers of those of a loved one when purchasing their lotto tickets. This means that most people have numbers 1-31 on their ticket. If you choose numbers outside this range and go for 32 or higher, you won’t increase your odds of winning. However, if you do win, you won’t need to share with as many other winners and can take home a larger prize.
Choosing consecutive numbers can also boost your chances of winning the jackpot. People don’t usually choose consecutive numbers like 117, 118, and 119 because they don’t think that these come up often, but they have just as much a chance of appearing as any other sequence has. You won’t need to share with other winners if you win with consecutive digits.
Purchase Multiple Tickets
In the end, the best way to increase your chances of winning the lottery is to purchase multiple tickets at once. Buy 3-5 scratch tickets or a few Powerball/Mega Millions number combinations at once when you’re feeling lucky. After all, getting 3 lotto tickets means that your 3x more likely to win that draw than if you only were to buy 1.
This does have the downside of spending more money on tickets than you otherwise would. It becomes a large investment pretty quickly. However, when you win as a result of the greater odds, the payout will compensate for that spending assuming that you choose your lotto and your numbers the right way.
Start Beating the Odds Today
Now that you have some scratch lotto winning tips, it’s time to actually start beating the odds and making bank. Sign up for a ScratchSmarter subscription and begin collecting lottery reports, analysis, and rewards. We offer subscription packages for 45 different states so that you can select the option that will help you win in your area.
May the odds be ever in your favor!