First thing’s first. Don’t play the lottery. It’s a tax on people who are bad at math. Spend your money on something else that brightens your day, or put it in a savings account and go on a vacation every few years on what you will save. However – if you feel pressured into joining an office lottery pool, or if you just cannot resist the urge for some low risk gambling, here are the ONLY ways you can help your chances.
You cannot increase your chance of winning. Period.
This important. The numbers you pick, no matter what they are, have no better or worse chance of winning, no matter what they are and no matter what numbers came up last week. But you can increase the amount you will win, if you do win. Many lottery jackpots are shared between multiple winners, and many smaller prizes are determined by the amount of winners at that level. In both of these cases, you have the opportunity to choose numbers that are less likely to be chosen by others. How many people will choose the numbers 20,21,22,23,24,25,26? Most people tend to think that it would be super unlikely for those numbers to show up. But the truth is that they have just as good of a chance as any combination.
The fact is that a lot of people use “quick pick” options to choose their numbers, but many office pools choose their own numbers, and use them every week. Also, many superstitious people like to pick their own number. The key is that those numbers are very often related to numbers that have personal meaning. Like dates. This is key. The numerical range of dates does not have the same distribution as the possible lottery numbers. There are no months with 32 days – 32 is a good number to start with when picking numbers for the lottery.
So. If you must play the lottery, pick high numbers, and group them in ways that look like they would never be picked.
i should forward this article to some friends of mine that would spend 20 bucks a week on lottery tickets and scratch offs
I always tell people that they might as well play the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6, as they’re just as likely to come up as any other combination. I never considered your perspective, that there may actually be an advantage to playing those numbers ;-)
I used to do the same thing until I realized the advantage of playing numbers that others instinctively would not play. But then I thought that if I played those numbers and won, I would be splitting a cheque with 50 other “clever nerds”. :-)
So true. The lottery preys on those who don’t have that much money to begin with. I guess if they aren’t getting it through taxes, then push the lottery on them so the good ole govt can collect from everyone. Suckers!! lol Actually it’s kinda sad, but what can ya do. I just choose not to give them my money.
either that or you’d be disappointed when the numbers came out 20,21,22,23,24,25,27 lol
Do the people at mega millions know you cracked the code? :)
I do think playing the lottery is worth it, but you need to be smart about spending your money on it. If your finances are already overstretched, then skip a week and play again another time. Don’t stress over it, then it makes it no fun.
[...] How to Win More Money in the Lottery Harley Davidson's long history with the police. Loud Pipes Save Lives!Up-coming and ongoing events in and around Monterey and Santa Cruz Published under Sports | send this post Tags: Office Pools [...]
No, it’s not worth it. If playing the lottery was actually “worth it” for the player, it would not make any money for the provider. If you are saying it’s worth it for the fun, well then that’s another story. I like to gamble once in a while too, but I’d rather get a bunch of buddies together for a poker game. I may still lose money, but at least my money is going to a friend.