Is it worth buying a large number of tickets once a year?

Reply #46

RJOh — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:15:33 GMT

I was hoping that someone could explain to me what a 1040 tickets is are. Any help you can provide, I would greatly appreciate it. Much thanks.

You read the post wrong, that was 1040 tickets not a 1040 ticket. (20 tickets per week X 52 weeks per year = 1040 tickets per year

Reply #45

weshar75 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:12:24 GMT

No.-weshar75

Reply #44

Flymaster06 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:02:48 GMT

I was hoping that someone could explain to me what a 1040 ticket is. Any help you can provide, I would greatly appreciate it. Much thanks.

Tim

Reply #43

rundown99 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:40:24 GMT

You are absolutely correct on this one! That is why I believe that quick pick is a better strategy to use. Aside from the known fact that the lottery is totally random anyway, there are so many possible combinations in powerball (146,107,962 combinations) that no matter what strategy you have, in order to actually win the jackpot, you would have to be extremely lucky.

Reply #42

lottolaughs — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:49:32 GMT

I think it's better to space it out and keep yourself in the game all year long instead of one big purchase. Just because you buy a lot of tickets at once doesn't mean a thing.

Reply #41

Elizabeth03 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:35:30 GMT

I'll buy tickets in advance for weeks ahead of time, that way I don't worry about missing a weekly draw.

Reply #40

JordanT1021 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:43:22 GMT

excellant point. well taken

Reply #39

tapper7606 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:31:24 GMT

Look at it this way - the odds of winning the grand prize in any Powerball drawing is 1 in 146,107,962. That's how many number combinations there are for that game. Using an earlier posted example, the player was thinking of buying $1,040 worth of tickets. So, 146,107,962 minus 1,040 means he has left 146,106,922 possible combinations uncovered. Even if one was to spend $107,962 on the purchase of tickets for one draw there would still be 146,000,000 combinations uncovered. Winning is dumb... [ More ]

Reply #38

fja — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:17:43 GMT

Currently I am running a simulated game on MM. I have 15 lines that I score from (same 15 all year, using 39 wb's and 15 mb's), I actually play the top 5 lines after I adjust them based on previous draws. For 2007 in the simulated game I would have spent $1395 and my return so far is $334 or 24%. Only in the month of September did i fininsh above what I spent when I actually hit on a 4+0 for $150. For actual money spent I have $465 invested and $284 in cash returns or 61%.

I also run the... [ More ]

Reply #37

RJOh — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:12:14 GMT

As you can probably tell from most of the responses, you aren't going to buy luck by simply buying a lot of tickets. You're probably going to have to have a strategy for picking that many numbers to maximize your chances of a win too. I'm sure other LP members are testing and trying to develop such a strategy since they have the tools to do so, but so far none have presented a strategy that shows any promise.

I looked at the top predictors and there is a mix of members who post over 2000 p... [ More ]

Reply #36

RJOh — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 01:58:51 GMT

I ran a similar test using the 543 drawings of the old Ohio Super Lotto Plus as a play file with the new Ohio Classic Lotto (131 drawings so far) and got the follow results.

TOTAL MATCHES

MATCH 0 = 31081

MATCH 1 = 29311

MATCH 2 = 9490

MATCH 3 = 1183

MATCH 4 = 67

MATCH 5 = 1

Reply #35

KY Floyd — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 06:50:22 GMT

Assuming it was for a typical jackpot game it sounds like that was enough to let you come pretty close to what probability suggests. The expected payout may be 50%, but even with 500,000 chances you're unlikely to win the jackpot. If 30 cents goes to the jackpot that leaves 20% for the other prizes. On PB and MM those would still be long shots, so you couldn't expect to get back the percentage that goes to the second tier prizes. Betting more money should mean winning more money, but most of the... [ More ]

Reply #34

RJOh — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:14:55 GMT

The program I have can check 5,000 combos in a few seconds but the largest file I can create and check with the data base and check against itself to avoid duplication is 500. To do more I would have to completely rewrite the program and 500 is a lot more than I'm likely to ever play for real even if I was in a lottery pool.

When picking combos to play, I've gone beyond the 10-20 that I play and picked 500 to see how much better I could do if I played more lines and there's usually a match... [ More ]

Reply #33

fja — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:49:55 GMT

I used the same combos for every draw,,,,,It was taking too long to check the lines out and score the ones that had a 3+0 or better.....even with format conditioning....

Reply #32

RJOh — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 04:51:42 GMT

Did you use the same 5,000 combos for every drawing or did you pick a new set after each drawing as you updated your database

Reply #31

fja — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:38:46 GMT

I did that once,,,,Over 5,000 combos I simulated,,,,at the end of a year I had a 14% return on my original investment......$500,000 spent and $70,000 won....I play 5 bucks a week

Reply #30

KY Floyd — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 07:19:03 GMT

It's probably apocryphal, but I heard a story along those lines from the owner at the first place I ever bought a ticket, somewhere around the early to mid 80's. My recollection is that it was in Maryland, and they supposedly sold their house to buy tickets. As I recall they had the very stupid idea that there were only 16,000 (or perhaps 60,000) combinations and that their investment was a sure thing.

Reply #29

AuntiePat — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:22 GMT

Been a lotta years but I think it WAS PA. Didn't know they came close to breaking even--Interesting

Reply #28

tntea — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:47:52 GMT

I think it is best to buy tickets for multiple draws weekly.

I have 7 pools started. I will get another line today for another pool.

At any given time we will have a string of number still good... and a few playing out. I am cashing in on pool #1A today to play a pool #1B for the five of us in this pool.

Reply #27

Coin Toss — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:37:28 GMT

AuntiePat

Wasn't that Pennsylvania? The couple sold everything they had and played it all in tickets, and then just about broke even? (Or so the story went)

Re: Playing weekly or once a year, I can't think of anyone on this board who would play one day out of a year and that's that.

Reply #26

RJOh — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:04:23 GMT

I don't think playing more than 50 play slips at the same place would be the problem. If it done during the slower period of their day, most retailer would be happy to have someone buy a $1000 worth of lottery tickets. The problem would be if you didn't win big they're would remember you as the fool who had a thousand dollars and lost it all buying lottery tickets for one game.

That alone may be a good reason to go some where they don't know you and you have no plans to return soon.... [ More ]

Reply #25

time*treat — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:09:10 GMT

Taking the largest gap between drawings, the plays could be spread out over 4 days (counting the day of the drawing, too) @ 52 playslips per day. From there, it depends on how many places you want to split your purchases among.

Lots of work. If you're lucky, you'd only need to do it once or twice (plus, it'd make a great story).

Reply #24

Stack47 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:11:56 GMT

There are probably many people that buy 10 Mega Millions or Powerball tickets twice a week hoping to catch a jackpot or a large secondary prize. Other people might wait until the jackpot reaches $100 million and their yearly lottery budget averages $20 a week. I doubt people using either strategy would stop playing for an entire year and bet it all on one drawing.

You can justify spending $1000 on one drawing by saying it's the same as buying 20 tickets a week but if you're looking for MUCH b... [ More ]

Reply #23

RJOh — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:03:09 GMT

Years ago I was in a lottery pool that played 500 lines in the Ohio Super Lotto game which was a 6/49 game. The lines were picked by a computer program based on previous drawings and I with another co-worker was assigned the responsibility of making out the play slips and buying the tickets. I made out 50 play slips which took over two hours and near the end I started to make mistakes because of my lack of concentration. I decided then that I would never do that again. I can imagine the head... [ More ]

Reply #22

BobP — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:49:45 GMT

What's fixed is the total number of lottery combinations.

If there are 13.9 million combinations we like to say the

odds are 1 in 13.9 million because one dollar buys one

combination giving the purchaser one chance to win.

Fly to a state where you get two combinations for a dollar

the total number of combinations haven't changed, but the

odds of 1 in 13.9 million are 1 in 6.9 million because now

you have two combinations in hand for one/dollar.

In the same sense, buying two ticket... [ More ]

Reply #21

time*treat — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:10:41 GMT

I guess my point being that theory is great but how it works functionally is more important (especially for the person attempting it) in the long run.

Whenever you try to discuss the physical practicality of one of these ideas, the response is to change the initial conditions, or say that we shouldn't be so literal.

Reply #20

AuntiePat — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:47:20 GMT

Am I the only old f*rt old enough to remember the story of the couple in the early years of state lotteries who tried to do this very thing with about 10X the money you're talking about investing. . .I guess my point being that theory is great but how it works functionally is more important (especially for the person attempting it) in the long run.

Anyway in the days when a 10M jackpot would almost cause rioting in lottery lines. . .this young (had to be young to believe that this atte... [ More ]

Reply #19

bobby623 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:17:30 GMT

Most states required lottery play slips to be filled in by hand.

In Texas, there are 5 plays per ticket. Thus, 1040 plays equals 208 slips.

I wouldn't want to try this the day of the drawing!!

Seems the only option would be to buy quick picks - and where is the fun in that

Reply #18

RJOh — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:21:05 GMT

If you are only going to play once a year then you'll have plenty of opportunities to simulate playing 1040 lines and checking the results to decide if this is the way to go.

Reply #17

BobP — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:38:57 GMT

If you only play once a year what will the quality of your number picks be like? I suspect we're talking about 1040 Quick Picks or a big wheel which wouldn't even guarantee 4if6 playing all the numbers, just multiple 3# prizes from Pick-6.

My personal opinion is the optimal play is wheeling 12 numbers whether it be 2 lines, 6 lines, 22 lines or 38 lines per draw. The 2 line wheel guarantees 2-3# prizes. The 6 line wheel guarantees a 4# prize. The 22 line wheel wins either a 5# prize or 9-4... [ More ]

Reply #16

KY Floyd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:13:18 GMT

As far as the probability and payout goes there's a definite advantage to buying all of the tickets for a single drawing. Buying 1040 tickets for one drawing offers a better chance of winning the jackpot than buying 10 tickets for each of 104 drawings. How much better depends on the game. For pick 3 you would have a 100% chance of winning compared to 65%. For PB or MM the improvement is very small, but you would have the option of playing for a bigger jackpot. You'll never know ahead of time whi... [ More ]

Reply #15

Coin Toss — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:34:44 GMT

Between the options given I'd say $20 a week, and here's why....

I call it Slim Fast syndrome - I'm sure there's people here who can realte to this - you're trying to take off a few pounds and decide to go the Slim Fast route. So you're going to subtitute a meal or two a day with Slim Fast - ho ho!

What really happens is you eat anyway- but now you've already had the Slim Fast - so on top of what you're eating you've added a can of two or Slim Fast a day.

In other words, you set out... [ More ]

Reply #14

pumpi76 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:06:39 GMT

520 tickets is not even 0.5% of 14 million combinations (lotto6/49), let alone 150 million combinations (Powerball)...It wouldn't even do a scratch...LIke how i said before, it will be like an ameoba trying to knock out a person...

The Truth is Out There from movie The X-Files

Reply #13

Stack47 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:07:41 GMT

At the end of the year you would have 520 tickets from each draw and you could check them to see if any of the combination would have matched another drawing. Would you rather buy 5 tickets a draw and look at a ticket for a March drawing that matched all the numbers drawn in December or have 520 real chances in one draw

Reply #12

pumpi76 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:22:27 GMT

The best option I think is to spend 20 dollars per drawing...5 dollars for Powerball and 5 dollars for Lotto6/49 if you have one in your state or to spend it on Pick5 (lotto5) (even if pick5 is played everyday, you only play it twice a week with 5 dollars)....Doing that twice a week you will have your chances optimized....And i think i am correct...

All this is assuming you was buying quick picks...

The Truth is Out There from movie The X-Files

Reply #11

pumpi76 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:12:16 GMT

I believe the best way is to spend 20 dollars each week though it will be better if it was 20 each drawing....But like how i was saying is better to spend 20 dollars each week, this way your odds change from drawing to drawing and who knows the jackpot may come your way...

Despite that 1052 is a large sum, is merely an ameba compare the the astronomical odds Powerball, Ca Superlotto plus, or PIck6/49 has...1,000 dollars is not even 1% of a Lotto6/49 total combinations...This is why you should... [ More ]

Reply #10

Raven62 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:07:15 GMT

04/15=The Last Day to file: Income Tax Form-1040!

The number of Tickets you're going to buy

Reply #9

justxploring — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:17:24 GMT

It depends on whether or not you play for the fun, the challenge and if you have a system. If you buy numbers well in advance of the drawing that would mean you aren't choosing numbers based on recent information, such as previous draws. I play several combinations, so I would never want to invest that much money all at once. I would only buy advanced plays if I plan to be away or very busy for a long time and might miss a drawing.

There is a small disadvantage to getting advance plays,... [ More ]

Reply #8

rundown99 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:15:05 GMT

04/15 ?!?!?! WHY 04/15 ?!?!?!?!

What is that supposed to mean

Reply #7

derek7 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:01:42 GMT

I say choice A, but often I think about exact thing you posted. And there are days I would say choice B. After all though: choice A.

Reply #6

tnlotto1 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:50:58 GMT

my vote was choice A. i play more when i make it up to kentucky or down to georgia for my megamillions futures.

Reply #5

time*treat — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:43:36 GMT

I said $20 per week. That's from a system point of view.

If I were going to play quick picks, then I'd say a one shot deal is best, but for a system (knowing they run hot/cold), I think spreading the plays out gives a better chance of being in the game when your system is HOT

Reply #4

Raven62 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:09:38 GMT

And you'll buy this block of tickets on: 04/15

Reply #3

Jack Pot — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:42:06 GMT

I voted to buy $20 lotto tickets weekly, for the following reasons.

My understanding is that each ticket will have a 1 in 175,711,536 million odds of winning (megalotto). No matter how many tickets you buy, the odds of winning for each ticket will remain the same (please note: I am a math-challenged person -- - my eyes go this way when I do mental math).

The joy of anticipation of winning the lottery is spread out throughout the year. (Wow- I've just realized that I am now a pathologic gam... [ More ]

Reply #2

benmas — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:18:55 GMT

My thoughts: Of course if you buy more tickets for one drawing you will incresase your chances but still there are no guarantees. IT depends what you want to play for: The jackpot amounts will be really high only two or three times a year. If you want to take your chances and hit it big you can wait for the high jackpot and go all out there. Personally i would spread it out because you never know when luck will hit you. If you put all your eggs in one basket and lose then for the rest of the yea... [ More ]

Reply #1

aaaok — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:55:33 GMT

i had just got done talkin about this to a co-worker today. i asked him if he buys powerball tickets every week. he said yes and i said well i dont play the powerball i dont like the odds. then i said if i were to buy powerball tickets i would buy one lump some at a time and thats it for the year. then he got defensive and said that he only spend $1 on the tickets. so i said yea for that reason id rather wait till the end of the year and spend $52 and try to win. i think he is starting to think... [ More ]

Is it worth buying a large number of tickets once a year?

rundown99 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:50:19 GMT

I wanted to ask all of you for your opinion, since I truly believe that the smartest and most talented lottery players browse through these forums ......

I was thinking of flying somewhere for vacation. I haven't bought any lottery tickets in almost a year, and I had considered buying a large number of tickets during a vacation once a year. If you spend, let's say, $20 a week on lottery tickets, is it worth saving all that money to play 1040 tickets ($20 x 52 = $1040) once a year annua... [ More ]