One reason it's difficult to win...

Reply #8

Ralphie762 — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 02:59:36 GMT

New York is historically bad and it's only getting worse with the more expensive tickets. You know it's bad when the odds of winning only $500 are one in 1,848 on a $25 ticket!

Yes, that is exactly how the game is designed, probably by the same person who came up with the Lay's potato chip slogan: 'You can't eat just one'.

They're designed to throw us a bone every now and then, more then than now.

Oh wow, I can't tell you how many times I've heard the same thing, people who claim they'v... [ More ]

Reply #7

Soledad — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 02:54:19 GMT

My friend, hello, and first of all. One quick way to figure out better odds is to yes look at the number of the ticket that has winners. Such as ticket #3 etc.. Other chances are what's on the face value of the ticket, is there anything that's catching your eye about the ticket. Another chance is to think about the store that you're going to go to, and think about it for a moment. Which scratcher are you thinking about buying vs which scratcher is telling you to buy it. Your instinct. Is the sto... [ More ]

Reply #6

Dracos — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 02:23:49 GMT

Wow, 11 $25 losers in a row? That's criminal. The worst I've seen here in Florida was 12 losers in a row on a $20 ticket, comparably bad.

Agreed. Also, the game is designed to offer breaks to the player here and there only to entice them. My favorite is hearing from someone I won $100! on a $25 ticket after they purchased 4, and 3 of the 4 were losers.

Can we please get a Lottery players be like video started? We can also include memes from retailers as well.

Reply #5

Ralphie762 — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 02:20:24 GMT

Feeding into the losing ticket trap is the nature of the business and one that the lottery highly depends on to sustain itself. If you buy one ticket and lose on it, chances are you're going to buy the next ticket.

After all, who wants to buy an instant ticket only to lose instantly? You've already lost a dollar or ten, why not take a chance if you can make up for the loss with the next ticket purchase. And you're not going to leave until you win something, even if you spend a hundred bucks a... [ More ]

Reply #4

MrGray — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 01:25:18 GMT

I have one rule: Never, never buy into a losing roll.

I also almost never follow that rule.

It's so easy to get caught in the trap of I just bought five losing tickets, something's got to give! Which includes also I just bought all the losers, now someone else is gonna come buy just one and hit big. Yet, I'd say 90% of the time, even when I find the eventual winners on rolls that start for me by stacking losers, they're junk.

If I don't get anything within three tickets, I've... [ More ]

Reply #3

Ralphie762 — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 00:37:08 GMT

I find it's best to purchase a few from the same roll as the probability of winning increases. But getting a losing streak doesn't always guarantee that the winning ticket will be a big win.

Recently purchases five of the $25.00 tickets, all losers. Went back to the store and purchased five more, all losers.

Went back to the store again and this time scratched one at a time until a winner came up, 12 tickets and $300 later, won a grand total of $40!

Bought the next ticket and it was a l... [ More ]

Reply #2

Dracos — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:20:09 GMT

The main reason chasing losers is a bad idea is the flawed notion that a big winner is coming up. Yes, statistically if you encounter a large streak of losers...a winner is more likely to come up. That doesn't mean the winner coming up is going to be big , it can very easily be small (or enough just to hit the book's minimum payout calculation).

Let's look at a Florida Lottery book for example, the $20 Super Millions game. The overall odds are 1 in 2.97, and a book comes with 30 tickets.... [ More ]

Reply #1

Dragonsofra — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:33:13 GMT

That probably has more substance than any other strategy I can think of (buying after a series of losers), but how much of an edge can you give yourself even if you knew exactly who had been playing and what they lost?

(In certain states they have Scratcher books that have a minimum payout per roll, which could more easily be manipulated. Especially by the clerks).

I've personally experienced and heard identical reports from others, about how chasing losses is a bad idea.

On a... [ More ]

One reason it's difficult to win...

BT3100 — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 06:27:27 GMT

I am an Engineer by trade and spend some time with the hobby of scratch offs.. Most people think that the lottery is a tax on those who have poor math skills. In my case that's not true :)

I buy my tickets mainly in the PA suburbs and have noted a trend. I have purchased 30-40 whole books this year (mostly $10, $20, and $30) and about the same over the past few years. One trend that is real is that winning tickets rarely follow each other. They do at times; but mostly after a winning ticket a... [ More ]