Thread: Increasing the Odds of Winning the Lottery

Hello Friends:

With all the hoopla lately in the news about huge lottery jackpots, some people are evidently dreaming of winning. A friend of mine has told me that it is possible to increase the odds of winning and that I should research how it can be done. As far as I know, the only way to increase my chances of winning the lottery is to buy more tickets. It seems to me that if any lottery is legitimate, then the only way to be more likely to win is to buy more tickets.

Anyway, does anybody here know of any ways that I can be a winner aside from investing (and losing) a lot of money buying tickets? Are claims of increasing the odds of winning flim-flam?

Jagella

Well, you can rig the lottery itself, but they tend to frown upon that.

Unless you are prepared to buy a ticket for every possible number combination, there really is no way to guarantee a win. And even then you would lose, since the "house" takes a big slice off the top.

Originally Posted by MeteorWayne

Well, you can rig the lottery itself, but they tend to frown upon that.

Unless you are prepared to buy a ticket for every possible number combination, there really is no way to guarantee a win. And even then you would lose, since the "house" takes a big slice off the top.

I have mixed feelings about lotteries. I think they rip off people who buy the tickets, but here in Pennsylvania the proceeds go to rent rebates among other ways to redistribute the wealth. Guess who gets a rent rebate every year.

Jagella

If anyone knew a way to increase the odds to make an advantage from the lottery, like every £5 win £10, you could then make a wheel of those 6 numbers each time and because you get 3 known numbers every 5 Lottos you could potentially win the Lottery. So even winning £10 from £5 is quite an achievement so long as you can do it all of the time. Nobody has ever got such a score however, and if they did they would not be posting on here.

Having said that, it's almost impossible to think of every computer system possible. So I never say no 100%, I say maybe.

"and if they did they would not be posting on here. "

hey that sounds good

Well, you can begin with this über-fascinating real-life story of how a mathematical genius cracked the scratch lottery codes.

The only way I know of skewing your odds is to NOT PLAY for the big jackpots, and to PLAY the first few jackpots after the big jackpots win. This is because an inordinate amount of people will play for the big jackpots, thus diluting everyone's winnings (and lower the "expected value" of your ticket), and much fewer people play for the, let's say, $100,000 jackpots that follow the big wins (and raise the "expected value" of your ticket) for two reasons: #1) they blew too much money on the big jackpots and are strapped for cash, and #2) they are discouraged because it's "only" $100,000 compared to the previous $500,000,000 (or whatever) jackpot. When you do play, don't bet on obvious number sequences or patterns, which are very popular among players (and lower the "expected value" of your ticket).

Overall, however, the best way to beat the average player is to not play the lotteries at all.

Originally Posted by jrmonroe

Overall, however, the best way to beat the average player is to not play the lotteries at all.

The lotteries are designed to take money from ticket buyers not give money away. As I see it, people are buying hope when they buy lottery tickets. You may sell people hope by convincing them that you can help them win.

Maybe we should just learn to be satisfied with our economic lots.

Jagella

Maybe we should just learn to be satisfied with our economic lots.

Agreed. It's the insane appeal of so much money that just makes you think "Oh, I have to do this" even if you know the odds are extremely, extremely tiny.

I'm pretty sure the lottery entities make an enormous amount of revenue off our gullibility.

Originally Posted by brody

Maybe we should just learn to be satisfied with our economic lots.

Agreed. It's the insane appeal of so much money that just makes you think "Oh, I have to do this" even if you know the odds are extremely, extremely tiny.

I'm pretty sure the lottery entities make an enormous amount of revenue off our gullibility.

I think an examination of the lottery may involve psychology as much as mathematics. Could it be that a lack of mathematical knowledge opens the door for zealous hopefuls to waste money on lottery tickets not realizing they will surely lose? I remember hearing of a woman who sold her house to buy lottery tickets. Not surprisingly, she lost the lottery and her house. If she sold the house for enough money to buy 100,000 tickets, and her odds of winning with one ticket were 1 out of 1 million, then her chances of winning with her tickets purchased with the sale of her house were still only 10 percent.

Jagella

Originally Posted by Jagella

I think an examination of the lottery may involve psychology as much as mathematics. Could it be that a lack of mathematical knowledge opens the door for zealous hopefuls to waste money on lottery tickets not realizing they will surely lose? I remember hearing of a woman who sold her house to buy lottery tickets. Not surprisingly, she lost the lottery and her house. If she sold the house for enough money to buy 100,000 tickets, and her odds of winning with one ticket were 1 out of 1 million, then her chances of winning with her tickets purchased with the sale of her house were still only 10 percent.

Jagella

That's terrible ... and extremely stupid of her. That's the worst gambling I've ever heard of.

I'm not sure it's exactly the ignorance of the mathematical significance, but just the sheer attractiveness of so many millions. One day my math teacher said "Mathematicians usually don't play the lottery. They know the odds. But if it's 300 million dollars, who wouldn't try it?" And I'd have to agree.

That's the thing most Americans seek... a life of luxury and freedom where you can do anything you want, drive anything you want, eat anything you want, go anywhere you want, live wherever you want. And to have that you need money, and lot's of it.