The lottery is a form of legal gambling that involves drawing lots for a prize, usually monetary. It has existed since the 15th century and was banned in many countries until the 1960s, when governments used it to raise revenue for public projects without raising taxes. It has since been one of the most favorite pastimes of many individuals, young or old, as everyone is hoping to win the lucrative prize it usually offers.
In the United States, lotteries are done per state. About 44 of them, including three territories, operate some kind of state lottery. In January 2016, Powerball, one of two almost-national lotteries, broke the record for the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history with an estimated jackpot of 1.5 billion US dollars.
Winning the lottery can be a life-changing event. Many previous jackpot winners used their winning to buy their dream houses, to own multiple cars, and even to set up a business. One of the youngest lottery winners in the US is Jay Vargas. He won the SC Education Powerball lottery when he was 19 years old.
What’s more surprising is that it was his very first lottery ticket, and it had already won him 35 million dollars – in cash. He then proceeded to use it to finance an all-female wrestling TV show. Imagine what even a million dollars can do to you and your future.
Lottery is not just a game of luck. The chances of winning in a lottery, especially the jackpot, vary widely depending on how the lottery was designed. Several factors such as the count of possible numbers, the count of winning numbers drawn, the order in which the numbers are read, and whether drawn numbers could be returned for another drawing are factored to raise one’s chances of winning. While there is no guarantee of winning the lottery, here are some inventive methods of boosting your chance to win the lottery.
23. Make Your Priorities Clear
Even before winning your millions, make sure that you have a clear plan on where you will use your winnings. Most winners fall into the trap of endless spending, thinking their winnings will not run out.
Also, some winners get confused with such large sums of money, often being victims of opportunists and scams. Clarify your goals and make sure you stick to them. Will you be quitting your job and starting a business? Will you be using the money to get finally married and buy a house?
22. Scratchcards and Small Winnings
If you want to give yourself a break from lottery jackpots, try buying scratchcards. They are relatively cheaper than regular lottery tickets and often pay smaller prizes.
Nevertheless, they are one way of winning. One strategy is to ask which type of scratchcard has the most number of losers. That means a winning card is most likely to be bought by you.
21. Do Not Go All In
Betting your life savings on a set of numbers, no matter how confident you are of them, is not a good idea. The lottery is a game of chance and luck.
Yes, you might win and would never have to work for the rest of your life. But you also might not win, losing your livelihood and any chance of buying a ticket to win again.
20. Know The Rules and Know When To Discard Them
It’s nice to know all the rules and strategies in increasing your luck in winning the lottery. But these are to be used merely as a guideline in your plays.
Unless you’re a hardcore mathematician, thinking too much about the math of lottery can be time-consuming and often frustrating. Know that playing the lottery is a game of luck. And anyone, anywhere can win even if the most unlucky circumstance.
19. Take Good Care of Your Tickets
Keep your tickets in a safe place, protected from moisture, heat, insects, or animals.
Getting the right number combination for the jackpot is nothing if you can’t prove it.
The only thing you have to prove it is so is your ticket so make sure you keep it in good condition.
18. Less Often But More Tickets
Some people use this method when the jackpot for a particular lottery is exceptionally large.
They buy large sums of tickets since the payoff is more.
They might play their lucky numbers on regular season lottery with small jackpot prize.
17. Overdue Numbers
Another strategy you can employ to increase your luck is to pick a set of numbers that have not come up for a while.
This trick works on the premise that if a set of numbers have not shown up for a while, it is probably overdue.
16. Sets Of Numbers
It might sound obvious, but we advise you against picking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 as your lucky numbers. In 2013, around 10,000 people used this set of numbers on the lottery.
That meant that if those numbers won and you are one of the 10,000 people, you will be sharing the winnings with the rest of them! A 10 million jackpot would only give you 1 thousand in winnings.
15. Play Regularly
There is nothing more frustrating than seeing your lucky numbers win but realizing you forgot to buy a ticket. It has happened to a lot of people so don’t let it happen to you by playing more often.
Some lottery services offer subscriptions where they bet the same numbers (or via Quick Picks) for you at a certain interval (maybe weekly or monthly). That way, you don’t have to manually bet each time.
14. The Same Numbers Twice
Sounds impossible but it has happened. Mike McDermott, as 50-year-old electrician won the lottery using the same set of numbers twice!
He was betting on the same numbers out of habit and he has continued doing so even after winning his first lottery.
The ultimate surprise came as he was contemplating what to do with his money as he saw on the television that he won again!
13. Try To Use Quick Picks
Quick Picks is letting the system pick random numbers for you. If you haven’t decided what your lucky numbers are, use Quick Picks to select numbers for you.
One advantage of Quick Picks versus self-pick is that humans think the same way and your favorite numbers might also be someone else’s favorite.
Quick Picks removes this chance by generating entirely random numbers for you.
12. Check Your Tickets
Thankfully in the lottery, there are several ways to win.
Don’t assume you already lost and throw your tickets away – some lotteries actually honor 2 or 3 correct numbers. Check with your local lottery service.
11. Set a Budget and Stick To It
People often forget that while there are ways to increase the chances of winning the lottery, there will still be times that you win nothing.
It does not necessarily mean you should stop altogether – it just means that you have to set a strict budget within your means to buy lottery tickets.
Make sure you have your basics covered and not bet everything you have on tickets. If possible, use the money you have won in a previous lottery to buy more tickets. That way, you don’t have to use your primary income.
10. Move to a Lucky Place
You don’t have to uproot your current home to move to a “lucky city” but consider buying your lottery tickets from there. In the United States, the state of Pennsylvania has had 16 jackpot-winning tickets since 2003.
The highest, next to Indiana with 11 and Lousiana with 8. Living in the United Kingdom? Consider buying tickets at Dumfries, Birmingham or Romford. Dumfries in Scotland boasts of the most lottery winners per 1,000 people compared to anywhere in Britain.
9. Time Your Bets
As luck would have it, most lottery jackpot winners bought their tickets on Friday evenings.
Some of them believe that the time at which you place your bet or buy a ticket has something to do with your probability of winning. Why not? Try to pick up a ticket or two before heading out to the pub.
8. Avoid the number 13
The number 13, considered as unlucky by many, has been drawn much less than other numbers in some major lotteries.
To side with probability and statistics, avoid this number. Here are some of the other numbers which appear less often than others: 16, 20, 21, 37, and 41.
7. Numbers Appearing More Frequent Than Others
Certain numbers do come up more often than others. Try adding one or two to your set of lucky numbers to increase your chances of winning.
The top 7 numbers to come up in the United States National Lottery since it was launched in 1994 are 23, 30, 33, 38, 40, and 44. You can even bet on these numbers and make them your own.
6. Try Setting Up A Syndicate
No, this is not the usual organized crime group. The syndicate we’re talking about here is legally known as a lottery pool. Try building a group of individuals who’ll contribute a small amount each week for the lottery.
While your payout might be less since you’ll be sharing it with others in the pool, you’ll increase your chances of winning significantly by having more funds to buy tickets for the lottery. It is not surprising that most of the largest lottery winnings of all time are won by syndicates that purchase a lot of tickets.
If you do decide to join a lottery pool or syndicate, make sure you get a photocopy of all the tickets purchased by the group. Also, make sure that the person managing the pool is a trustworthy individual. Be sure to check the winning numbers against your photocopies and don’t expect to get notified if the numbers win. Do the checking yourself.
5. Choose Numbers Over 31
Try to play numbers that are over 31. This method is often used by veteran lottery players.
It does not necessarily increase your chances of winning, but it will likely increase how much money you win. Why?
Research show that most players pick numbers based on important days of the month like birthdays or anniversaries. By choosing numbers over 31, you lessen the chances of other people winning and splitting the prize with you.
4. Keep It To Yourself
Whatever method you use for coming up with your numbers, make sure you keep it to yourself. If the time comes that you win your jackpot, someone with the same number as you is going to have a share of your money.
3. Do Some Research
Once you have your own set of lucky numbers, do some research. Does the order of the numbers matter? Has it won before?
Do the numbers statistically appear more often than others? You may ask yourself these questions and tweak your numbers accordingly.
2. Stick To Your Lucky Numbers
I remember one time, my grandfather decided to deviate from the usual numbers he bets on, which were the birthdays of his daughters.
That week, his lucky numbers were picked, and he did not win anything. Had he stuck to his usual numbers, he would have won, and we would have been millionaires.
It is statistically more probable to win in the lottery by using the same numbers every time than changing it each time you bet. Remember that patience is a virtue.
1. Know Your Lucky Numbers
People determine their lucky numbers by using numbers that have special meanings to them. Some use the combined birthdays of their loved ones, maybe the plate number of their first car, or the zip code of their house as a kid.
Doing so makes it easier to remember as it has personal significance to you. Some consult their horoscopes for their lucky numbers. Others were even handed down a set of lucky numbers kept by the family. Whatever your methods of defining those lucky numbers, make sure you maintain a record of it handy so that you have them whenever you need to make a bet.
BONUS: Buy A Ticket!
It doesn’t matter if you have the most statistically sound combination of numbers if you don’t play. Make sure you employ some of the strategies listed here to increase your chances of winning.