Do people have more luck just buying one scratch ticket at a time as opposed to buying 2 or more?Prev Topic Next Topic

New Topic New Poll

shyguitar

United States
Member #122,462
February 1, 2012
530 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 8:27 am

Hi,

I'm just curious if people have more luck buying just one scratch ticket at a time or buying 2 or or more of the same one hoping that if the first one isn't a winner the others might be. I had been buying at least 2 scratch tickets in a row hoping for that scenario but lately I had noticed that both tickets would end up being losers so I've gone back to just buying one scratch per ticket. It seems I've had more luck recently when I've been doing that and not losing as much money if both tickets are losers. On the 2 dollar tickets I've even tried buying 4 in a row of the same ticket but have found all losers so that wasn't a winning proposition. I do think that when a new game comes out it seems to have more winners but after a few weeks it's back to the loser tickets again.
rcbbuckeye

100

Texas
United States
Member #55,887
October 23, 2007
17,832 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 8:50 am

Quote: Originally posted by shyguitar on Sep 25, 2012
Hi,

I'm just curious if people have more luck buying just one scratch ticket at a time or buying 2 or or more of the same one hoping that if the first one isn't a winner the others might be. I had been buying at least 2 scratch tickets in a row hoping for that scenario but lately I had noticed that both tickets would end up being losers so I've gone back to just buying one scratch per ticket. It seems I've had more luck recently when I've been doing that and not losing as much money if both tickets are losers. On the 2 dollar tickets I've even tried buying 4 in a row of the same ticket but have found all losers so that wasn't a winning proposition. I do think that when a new game comes out it seems to have more winners but after a few weeks it's back to the loser tickets again.

I don't play scratchers much, but occasionally I buy 2 of the same kind in case one is a winner. I happened to win $100 on a Powerball scratcher this year and I was buying 2 at a time then. Lately, (last Sunday) I bought just one and they are coming up losers.

Some people like James1 are winning some serious money on scratchers, but they are spending serious money too. I allocate most of my money to draw games.

CAN'T WIN IF YOU'RE NOT IN

A DOLLAR AND A DREAM (OR $2)
shyguitar

United States
Member #122,462
February 1, 2012
530 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 8:57 am

Quote: Originally posted by rcbbuckeye on Sep 25, 2012
I don't play scratchers much, but occasionally I buy 2 of the same kind in case one is a winner. I happened to win $100 on a Powerball scratcher this year and I was buying 2 at a time then. Lately, (last Sunday) I bought just one and they are coming up losers.

Some people like James1 are winning some serious money on scratchers, but they are spending serious money too. I allocate most of my money to draw games.

Hi rcbbuckeye,

Thanks for your response. Congrats on winning 100 dollars on a Powerball Scratcher, I'm in Mass and we don't have those (just regular PB). You do have a point about some people who do win a lot on scratchers are probably spending a lot as well (I can't afford to do that). How are the draw games going for you?
goherd14

Douglasville, GA
United States
Member #126,598
April 12, 2012
923 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 9:01 am

You have to play the odds. If the game say has a 1 in 4 chance of winning you buy one first. If that is a loser expect to have to buy at least 3 more to almost guarantee a winner. Still buy them one at a time though unless there is a line. Ticket 2 or 3 could be your winner. I have done this a couple of times and gotten $100 wins that way. There are also times I have bought 7 tickets that were $20 games and finally the 7th was a winner of the big prize of a Free Ticket! That really made my day!
shyguitar

United States
Member #122,462
February 1, 2012
530 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 9:20 am

Quote: Originally posted by goherd14 on Sep 25, 2012
You have to play the odds. If the game say has a 1 in 4 chance of winning you buy one first. If that is a loser expect to have to buy at least 3 more to almost guarantee a winner. Still buy them one at a time though unless there is a line. Ticket 2 or 3 could be your winner. I have done this a couple of times and gotten $100 wins that way. There are also times I have bought 7 tickets that were $20 games and finally the 7th was a winner of the big prize of a Free Ticket! That really made my day!

Hi goherd14,

I agree about the odds. On a few occasions I have tried buying one ticket (when there were not a lot of people buying tickets) scratching it and then if I win something will not buy anymore but if it's a losing ticket would by one more. Most of the time I prefer to buy my scratch tickets and take them home and wait a few days before scratching them (it helps to keep me on budget).
ronnieh

Tyler Texas
United States
Member #130,918
July 28, 2012
84 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 10:38 am

I like to buy $100 worth of tickets at one time and typically buy in $20 increments. Four of the same $5 ticket, two of the same $10 ticket etc. I spend way too much and win way too little. On a real good day I may collect $120-$150 on that $100 spent. Most days I will get about $40-$50 back and then spend it back on whatever tickets did not win originally. Sometimes I get big hits doing that but often leave broke. A lady at work often buys 1 or 2 tickets at random and hits $50- $100 fairly often.
shyguitar

United States
Member #122,462
February 1, 2012
530 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 12:13 pm

Quote: Originally posted by ronnieh on Sep 25, 2012
I like to buy $100 worth of tickets at one time and typically buy in $20 increments. Four of the same $5 ticket, two of the same $10 ticket etc. I spend way too much and win way too little. On a real good day I may collect $120-$150 on that $100 spent. Most days I will get about $40-$50 back and then spend it back on whatever tickets did not win originally. Sometimes I get big hits doing that but often leave broke. A lady at work often buys 1 or 2 tickets at random and hits $50- $100 fairly often.

Hi Ronnieh,

Thanks for your response. It seems like it's random with whether you have some good days or bad days with the scratch tickets. I'm sure you are very happy to have a good day but not so happy when it's a bad one. I think for many people it's very easy to spend too much and win far less back. That's exactly what these state lotteries are hoping for. It looks like your co-worker seems to have luck on her side since she just buys the random 1 or 2 tickets and gets hits on them. I go back and forth on what to do with scratchers. I'm not sure which is the best way in terms of getting wins since it's all so random. I was even wondering about some stores being more lucky than others. Many months ago there was a Shell station in a town over from where I live which had a 1 million winner on a scratch ticket so I went to that Shell and bought a few tickets, got into a brief discussion with a clerk there who told me it was total random luck that they had a 1 million winner on a scratch ticket since the most someone had won on a scratcher there had been 1,000. It made me really think that it's truly a needle in a haystack for someone to win a jackpot on a scratch ticket. Even though the odds are stacked against me I still feel that the odds are way harder on a PB or MM ticket.
ONEDAY

OHIO
United States
Member #5,328
June 30, 2004
1,282 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 4:21 pm

I usually buy 3 tickets in a row..i like to think the first one was the ticket before me, then the actual ticket I buy, and then the ticket after me, which may be the winner!

I use the machine, sometimes and buy one, then another til I win..this is called chasing!
I sometimes get a nice $100 winner out of this, but sometimes I get a face vaule prize..very frustrating after say buying 7 in a row..

I alos use to buy every ticket in the machine..just one of each..most of the time I lose big this way..once I only won like $3 doing this..that was the worse feeling..I did not play the machine for a month!

Another time I bought all the machine tickets (one of each) and was $75 over what I spent..

All in all..if you want a almost guranteed win buy a few in a row..otherwise its like playing slots..you never know what the first spin will be!

have a great winning day!
Jon D

Los Angeles, California
United States
Member #103,809
January 5, 2011
1,530 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 9:54 pm

"I alos use to buy every ticket in the machine..just one of each..most of the time I lose big this way.."

If you buy just one ticket, you are at a significant disadvantage.

Many players chase wins: playing until a win and then stop. Or some people (and clerks) are ticket hawks: waiting to see a customer hit a string of losers and then pounce on the roll to try and snag a win.

If you play at a store with lots of people like that, and you come in and buy just one ticket, it is more likely to be a loser than buying a single ticket under more fair and random circumstances.

You can minimize this by buying more tickets, specifically at odds or twice odds. Like a 1-in-4 odds ticket, buy at least 4 or 8. I usually do this. Adjust your ticket price based on this amount of tickets. Scratchers are like slots, if you can only play a few pulls, go down to a lower denomination, don't play the $2 slots, play quarter slots . It is also competitive, you are competing with other players in the store for the same wins. So you can try different stores, or ones with high traffic and ticket turnover that minimize the advantage of win chasers and ticket hawks.(or become one yourself...)
JAB5

Tampa, FL
United States
Member #133,281
September 25, 2012
11 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 10:48 pm

Buying the number of tickets per odds hasn't worked for me so far. A week ago I bought five $2 scratch offs from the Florida Lotto because the overall odds were 1-in-4.39. All five tickets were duds, not even a free ticket. Grandfather plays lotto a lot as well. He bought four $10 tickets and all were losers. I'm really not sure if there is a particular strategy when it comes to scratch offs.
Jon D

Los Angeles, California
United States
Member #103,809
January 5, 2011
1,530 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 11:06 pm

Quote: Originally posted by JAB5 on Sep 25, 2012
Buying the number of tickets per odds hasn't worked for me so far. A week ago I bought five $2 scratch offs from the Florida Lotto because the overall odds were 1-in-4.39. All five tickets were duds, not even a free ticket. Grandfather plays lotto a lot as well. He bought four $10 tickets and all were losers. I'm really not sure if there is a particular strategy when it comes to scratch offs.

You are correct. Buying at odds is not very good. Buying at twice odds or more will likely get you past the fist few stinkers to a winning ticket or better day. I usually buy 8 or more, or 4 on one roll and 4 on another. But you will still lose money most days, the math of the lottery requires it.

The main thing I was saying for this thread is that if you buy just one ticket, you are likely to lose more money than buying a bunch.
weshar75

Mcminnville, Oregon
United States
Member #3,013
December 13, 2003
6,173 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 11:15 pm

I bought scratch-its tonight at my local circle k and got hung up on aces and 8's so I chased to no avail and lost $20 bucks. They were two dollar tickets and I won $12 but just put it back into more tickets trying for a nice win. Good luck to you and your scratching.-weshar75
bigboy90000

Alabama
United States
Member #125,059
March 24, 2012
210 Posts
Offline

Sep 25, 2012, 11:35 pm

I usually only buy $20 or $10 tickets depending on the odds .I go once a month to buy scratchers limiting myself to $300 .My reccomendation is go to stores with high volume turnover that way you will always get fresh tickets .I use 6 different stores and I study the state lotteries website to see what jackpot tickets are still in play.The Georgia Lottery is very good at updating there totals at a clip of ever 4 days or so .$5 tickets are usually the worst for me atleast.
elynch2218

ma
United States
Member #133,204
September 23, 2012
26 Posts
Offline

Sep 26, 2012, 9:44 pm

Quote: Originally posted by shyguitar on Sep 25, 2012
Hi rcbbuckeye,

Thanks for your response. Congrats on winning 100 dollars on a Powerball Scratcher, I'm in Mass and we don't have those (just regular PB). You do have a point about some people who do win a lot on scratchers are probably spending a lot as well (I can't afford to do that). How are the draw games going for you?

I live in mass too. I usually buy 5 of the same for 2 and 5 dollar tickets. BUT ive tried buying a few singles at random and have one that way too..but only small amt's. I dont buy 20 dollar ones unless Iwin on a 5 dollar one then I roll it into a 20 dollar ticket hoping for a big prize. Ive hit on the mass gold a couple times, the newer pay day ticket, and price is right. And ive won on the new 10,000 a week for life today..100 and 200. I try to set a budget of 25 or 30 and only roll winnings into more tickets and take the rest in cash. Sometimes I might spend another 10 or 20 but that's it bec we have bills. I always ask the clerk if anyone hit anything good on whatever roll im interested in..if he says no I then ask what number it is on and go from there..the last few tickets usually have a decent prize but not all the time. The very beginning as well and the middle. Good luck to ya!
shyguitar

United States
Member #122,462
February 1, 2012
530 Posts
Offline

Sep 27, 2012, 10:50 am

Quote: Originally posted by ONEDAY on Sep 25, 2012
I usually buy 3 tickets in a row..i like to think the first one was the ticket before me, then the actual ticket I buy, and then the ticket after me, which may be the winner!

I use the machine, sometimes and buy one, then another til I win..this is called chasing!
I sometimes get a nice $100 winner out of this, but sometimes I get a face vaule prize..very frustrating after say buying 7 in a row..

I alos use to buy every ticket in the machine..just one of each..most of the time I lose big this way..once I only won like $3 doing this..that was the worse feeling..I did not play the machine for a month!

Another time I bought all the machine tickets (one of each) and was $75 over what I spent..

All in all..if you want a almost guranteed win buy a few in a row..otherwise its like playing slots..you never know what the first spin will be!

Hi Oneday,

So you buy 3 tickets in a row, like your way of thinking. I've only used a machine a few times though, once a couple of years ago I won a $100 on a 5 dollar ticket that way. I'm not a chaser because I buy my tickets and take them home to scratch for another day (to save myself from buying too many at a time).

There was a time when I was always asking the clerks what the number was on the bottom of the ticket and felt that the lower numbers were better for me. The last 6 months or so I've realized it doesn't seem to matter so much especially when I bought a few tickets in a row that were 000 and 001 and won nothing.

I seem to go back and forth about either buying one at a time or a few in a row. It's upsetting to buy more than a few in a row and win nothing on any of them (then I feel like I really did just throw my money down the drain). At the same time buying one at a time is a total crapshoot since I have no idea if someone just won on a ticket before the one I bought.

New Topic New Poll

Subscribe to this topic

Do people have more luck just buying one scratch ticket at a time as opposed to buying 2 or more?Prev TopicNext Topic

Do people have more luck just buying one scratch ticket at a time as opposed to buying 2 or more?Prev Topic Next Topic