Lottery Winners Play Like Professionals

Winning the jackpot is a long shot, but the odds don't stop frequent lottery players from taking the chance. In fact, ticket sales are increasing every year. With more money funneling to public works projects, education, and charities, buying a ticket is like donating to a worthy cause. As the prizes grow exponentially in value, lottery players are figuring out ways to improve the odds.

A smart player employs simple strategies to move odds in his favor. It's the reason professional lottery players win multiple times. Let's explore a couple of ways a ticket buyer may improve his chances of winning.

Buy Extra Tickets

It makes sense that the more tickets a player purchases, the better his chance of winning. Tickets cost $2. The lottery is a numbers game. Depending on the rules, a player may figure out how many tickets he'll need to purchase to win. For example, the odds that an individual ticket buyer wins the US Mega Millions game are long. With only one winner in 302,565,350, chances are most players are simply donating to charity when buying a ticket.

However, one lucky ticket buyer may improve his chances by purchasing ten or more tickets. After buying 20 tickets, a player's odds of winning increase to 1 in 15,128,768. Buying 100 tickets increase the odds to 1 in 302,575. After purchasing one thousand tickets, the odds of winning are 1 in 30,257.

With 10,000 Mega Millions tickets in hand, a player has a one in 3,025 chance of winning. How great is it to win at least $20 million after only spending $20,000? Since the starting jackpot for Mega Millions is $20 million, a player can win at least the minimum prize. Even though there is no surefire way to guarantee a win, it's possible. Improving the odds gives a player a better chance.

Fortunately, the jackpot is not the only prize for Mega Millions. In fact, there is a 1 in 24 chance of winning one of the lower prizes. Buying 24 tickets ensures that a player may win something.

However, winning less than $10 after spending $48 is not a fiscally sound way to play. It's important for a player to review his budget to ensure he can afford to purchase multiple lottery tickets online. As with all gambling, players should only spend disposable income, which won't impact their quality of life. (e.g., A player should not spend rent money on lottery tickets.)

Choosing Number Combinations

The most important aspect of playing the lottery is deciding which numbers to pick for the ticket. Lottery winners often have some of the same strategies in common for picking numbers.

Rule Out Patterns

Administrators usually draw random numbers. Patterns rarely appear during the drawing. Players who choose numbers in a pattern decrease odds. Picking numbers from both the low and high range to mix randomly improves a ticket holder's chances. A player choosing a pattern number has a 1 in 1000000 chance of winning. Alternatively, there is a 1 in 10000 chance that the winning number is random.

Play the Same Number

Every time a player buys a winning ticket with the same number, he has a chance to win the lottery. The odds don't change much. However, with more than 300 million combinations for Mega Millions, a number may win eventually. Even numbers that administrators have already drawn repeat more often than people realize. So, playing the same number improves a ticket buyer's chance of winning.

Buy Tickets Often

Buying a ticket is the only way to win. A professional ticket buyer plays the lottery systematically and consistently to improve his odds of winning.