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Kate

Executive Dog Petter

California/New Jersey
United States
Member #205,179
March 17, 2020
96 Posts
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Aug 20, 2021, 2:06 pm

Hello Lottery Post!

We’re curious about what sorts of scratch-off games you gravitate toward. For example, when you’re at the store in front of the ticket cabinet, what sorts of things are you evaluating before making a purchase, assuming you don’t know how may prizes are left in a game?

Personally, I like to find a game that checks off the most boxes on my list – a reasonable top prize for the value of the ticket, ones that look like they take a little longer to play but are not too involved, and ones that I don’t recognize or look relatively new. Lastly, I love to indulge in some sort of novelty ticket from time to time – even though a pretty design doesn’t affect your odds of winning, sometimes it does feel good to walk out of the store with an interesting ticket in my hand.

How important are the following to you?

- How visually appealing the game is, or the theme/novelty of the ticket

- The cost of the ticket

- The top prize/types of prizes

- A game that is similar to playing a puzzle

- A game that is quick and easy to play
- How new or old the game is
- What other things do you look for?

https://www.instagram.com/itskatenorthrop
cottoneyedjoe

United States
Member #197,022
March 28, 2019
1,749 Posts
Offline

Aug 20, 2021, 2:28 pm

Though I rarely buy them, I gravitate toward the crossword style scratchers, even though there's no skill involved. It's kind of funny to reveal the oddball words they've chosen. $2 is the most I'd spend on it.
Big Joey

United States
Member #191,884
August 27, 2018
994 Posts
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Aug 20, 2021, 2:35 pm

I normally buy a whole $5.00 book for $250.00 at a grocery store, or liquor store.
ashleyaddams

New Bern, NC
United States
Member #159,082
September 13, 2014
4,915 Posts
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Aug 20, 2021, 2:41 pm

In NC

I like to get the new tickets on the day they come out (Here its the 1st Tuesday of the month) you win relatively small 20$ to $60, especially if they cost 10$ to $20 dollars. After about 5 days of release they can start winning bigger $100 to $500 payouts.

when they 1st come out 1-10 are the better numbers to grab (bottom of all tickets have a number) after they have been out the 20 through 29 seem to have higher payouts. Then if they have been out a while 11-19.

I ONLY purchase a $30 ticket on Friday's (usually a payday) not sure why but I tend to win more on those on a Friday.

Now if they are a set amount ticket which we have WIN $50 or $100 or WIN $100 to $200 These ONLY hit big the 1st month they come out usually numbers to go for when they 1st come out are 11 thru 19. I HATE these tickets they have BAD ODDS. they pay awesome for 1 month then they stop hitting for like 3 to 6 months then they'll start hitting again. My theory on this is they switch to a different county with the winners to rotate the wins.

I NEVER win anything of value on a lower cost ticket. One time I won $50 on a $5 ticket mostly I just break even.

This year I have won $1,000 on a $10 scratch off in February and I won another $1,000 in April on a $30 ticket. $500 3 times all on $10 scratch offs 2 the same 1 different. Several $200 $100 winners on $20 tickets and $250 to $400 on our 1 and Only $25 ticket.

That's my 2 cents on scratch cards

The score never interested me, only the game Mae West
Think

Marquette, MI
United States
Member #20,540
August 20, 2005
1,384 Posts
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Aug 20, 2021, 4:09 pm

I really don't play scratchers much anymore. However, even though I know the math behind them is all the same some of them do catch my eye.

There were some $5 ones in Michigan...I believe they were called something along the lines of "Twice Lucky double play" and "Break The Bank double play" and they had scratch tickets on the front and rip tickets on the back. Otherwise there was a $3 ticket that had circles on the front that I played even though I don't like the $3 prize structure that much.

The primary reason I would play any of them now is because of the prize levels like the $5 and $10 Cash For Life scratch tickets. I stop playing the Cash for Life tickets when the first top prize is won because Michigan usually does not like to pay out more than one big prize on those on each run of the ticket. They have already paid out on the $5 and $10 once each this time so I have not been buying scratch tickets.

In 2019 or 2020 I sent the Michigan Lottery a suggestion for a real Kick butt 50 year celebration ticket for the 50th anniversary next year and pointed out how it is doable. I believe that they should do it at least once every 50 years. It would be a $20 ticket and have really great top prizes and lots and lots of great second prizes. I won't say anymore cause I'm hoping they do it. The $20 tickets will have been out 20 years next year and Michigan has not had any special $20 tickets yet (like $20 Cash for Life or $20 Tax Free Cash). To date all the Michigan $20 Scratchers have been regular ones (BTW My suggestion was Not for either $20 CFL or $20 TFC but for something better)
parlayman

50

bliss
United States
Member #176,314
July 31, 2016
26,503 Posts
Offline

Aug 20, 2021, 4:27 pm

Hi Kate, glad you joined the team here! I'm enjoying your articles. Good Job!

About Scratchers - My truth is that my family buys $10 worth of $1 tickets every week. We really aren't trying to get rich off scratchers, we're just using them for a little weekly entertainment. Our state switched over to automated machines where the entire front of the machine is an electronic display. On that display, I look for the tickets that have a little "NEW" banner on them. We like the new scratchers because we believe that they front-load the tickets with some winners. We understand that they aren't going to put the big winners in there, but, again, we are doing this for a little entertainment, not because we think we are going to win enough to buy that Lamborghini Huracan we really want. lol. We buy all 10 tickets at once noting that hits often come in sequence or one ticket apart. I'm pretty sure we are very atypical scratcher buyers but that's actually why/what we've been doing for many years, excepting during the lockdown.

-p
lottologix

United States
Member #139,771
March 3, 2013
627 Posts
Offline

Aug 20, 2021, 7:53 pm

Quote: Originally posted by ashleyaddams on Aug 20, 2021
In NC

I like to get the new tickets on the day they come out (Here its the 1st Tuesday of the month) you win relatively small 20$ to $60, especially if they cost 10$ to $20 dollars. After about 5 days of release they can start winning bigger $100 to $500 payouts.

when they 1st come out 1-10 are the better numbers to grab (bottom of all tickets have a number) after they have been out the 20 through 29 seem to have higher payouts. Then if they have been out a while 11-19.

I ONLY purchase a $30 ticket on Friday's (usually a payday) not sure why but I tend to win more on those on a Friday.

Now if they are a set amount ticket which we have WIN $50 or $100 or WIN $100 to $200 These ONLY hit big the 1st month they come out usually numbers to go for when they 1st come out are 11 thru 19. I HATE these tickets they have BAD ODDS. they pay awesome for 1 month then they stop hitting for like 3 to 6 months then they'll start hitting again. My theory on this is they switch to a different county with the winners to rotate the wins.

I NEVER win anything of value on a lower cost ticket. One time I won $50 on a $5 ticket mostly I just break even.

This year I have won $1,000 on a $10 scratch off in February and I won another $1,000 in April on a $30 ticket. $500 3 times all on $10 scratch offs 2 the same 1 different. Several $200 $100 winners on $20 tickets and $250 to $400 on our 1 and Only $25 ticket.

That's my 2 cents on scratch cards

I have not baught a scratcher in years. However there was a spreadsheet floating around the net for scratch offs. All it did was show you which ones had the better odds of hitting something based on the prizes won and the number of prizes left with the total number of tickets to be printed. The thing is it could be reproduced but it only gave the player better odds to the right of the decimal point. The part the sheet creator did not tell you is that you half to buy your tickets at the outlet that sells the most tickets in the state at any given time in order to really have a chance. Right now the busiest spot in NC ... the store that has sold more scratch tickets than any other store in NC is the Marathon in Calabash NC. For anyone interested enough to pursue this further.
GiveFive

Florida's West Coast
United States
Member #92,603
June 10, 2010
7,148 Posts
Offline

Aug 21, 2021, 7:52 am

As for me personally, I only buy scratch-offs during the Christmas holidays. Usually two or three new holiday scratch-offs come out and I buy those as Christmas gifts for family members. G5

Play Smart! That's IF there is such a thing as playing smartly!!
reddog

Durham, North Carolina
United States
Member #1,616
June 5, 2003
4,760 Posts
Offline

Aug 21, 2021, 8:29 am

I used to buy scratch-offs in N.C. and used to have real good luck with them. Starting about three years ago NC started printing a gazzilion cards of the same new ones that would come out. So in saying that, prizes won came far and in-between. So now I don't buy them anymore.

Taking it one day at a time, because there's no way to know what might have been.
rcbbuckeye

100

Texas
United States
Member #55,887
October 23, 2007
22,270 Posts
Offline

Aug 21, 2021, 8:34 am

I rarely buy scratchoffs. So far this year I bought 15 tickets, none over $5. I watch my spending carefully and if I'm buying even a $5 ticket every day that adds up pretty quickly. I check Texas's lottery website to see where the winning tickets have been sold and I watch a couple You Tube guys that post videos scratching tickets, (favorite one is Fixin To Scratch).

I think the biggest draw to scratchoffs is the instant gratification. That does nothing for me. I like buying a ticket for a draw game and the anticipation of the draw coming up.

JUST LOOK AT THE ODDS OF ANY JACKPOT GAME, THAT WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Lottomeister

Germany
Member #174,814
May 14, 2016
690 Posts
Offline

Aug 21, 2021, 11:09 pm

Waste of money!!

It's always possible that I'm wrong~

But that's never at the top of my list of possibilities.
lakerben

50

New Mexico
United States
Member #86,094
January 29, 2010
30,556 Posts
Offline

Aug 21, 2021, 11:47 pm

The last scratcher I won and I bought it for $3 .

Not bad.

Win!
GiveFive

Florida's West Coast
United States
Member #92,603
June 10, 2010
7,148 Posts
Offline

Aug 22, 2021, 8:06 am

Quote: Originally posted by rcbbuckeye on Aug 21, 2021
I rarely buy scratchoffs. So far this year I bought 15 tickets, none over $5. I watch my spending carefully and if I'm buying even a $5 ticket every day that adds up pretty quickly. I check Texas's lottery website to see where the winning tickets have been sold and I watch a couple You Tube guys that post videos scratching tickets, (favorite one is Fixin To Scratch).

I think the biggest draw to scratchoffs is the instant gratification. That does nothing for me. I like buying a ticket for a draw game and the anticipation of the draw coming up.

The thing about scratch-offs is they're a "you get what you get" kind of thing. They're just like QP's in that a player doesn't get to chose anything. I never buy QP's either.

The other thing I dislike about scratch-offs is unless you've checked the most recent report issued by your state's lottery that shows how many of the top prizes are still available, players don't know if they can win the top prize or not when they buy the ticket. Even if they have checked the report, that's no a guarantee the top prize is still available.

When the last top prize for any given scratch-off has been claimed, state lottery's require retailers to remove that particular scratch-off from their display case. But what about this: Somebody bought the scratch-off that won them the last top prize available, and put it in the glove compartment of their car, forgot all about it, and has been riding around with it for the last six months? Until that ticket is claimed the state has no idea if the ticket has been sold or not, therefore the top prize will appear on their report as being available when it's not.

I had a co-worker that went into a store and bought a scratch-off. He was running late so he didn't scratch it. Instead he threw it into the glove box of his car, and took off to the appointment that he was running late for. Months later, he was cleaning out his car because he had traded it in for a new one, found the scratch off, and scratched it. It was a loser, so he threw it out.

I can clearly remember him saying to me; "My God! What if that thing was a million dollar winner? I think I bought that ticket seven or eight months ago!" G5

Play Smart! That's IF there is such a thing as playing smartly!!
MillionsWanted

Norway
Member #9,517
December 10, 2004
1,954 Posts
Offline

Aug 22, 2021, 8:14 am

Play scratch-offs a couple of times a week. Usually wins back 50-70%. Enough to keep me going for the larger prizes later.
rcbbuckeye

100

Texas
United States
Member #55,887
October 23, 2007
22,270 Posts
Offline

Aug 22, 2021, 12:05 pm

Quote: Originally posted by GiveFive on Aug 22, 2021
The thing about scratch-offs is they're a "you get what you get" kind of thing. They're just like QP's in that a player doesn't get to chose anything. I never buy QP's either.

The other thing I dislike about scratch-offs is unless you've checked the most recent report issued by your state's lottery that shows how many of the top prizes are still available, players don't know if they can win the top prize or not when they buy the ticket. Even if they have checked the report, that's no a guarantee the top prize is still available.

When the last top prize for any given scratch-off has been claimed, state lottery's require retailers to remove that particular scratch-off from their display case. But what about this: Somebody bought the scratch-off that won them the last top prize available, and put it in the glove compartment of their car, forgot all about it, and has been riding around with it for the last six months? Until that ticket is claimed the state has no idea if the ticket has been sold or not, therefore the top prize will appear on their report as being available when it's not.

I had a co-worker that went into a store and bought a scratch-off. He was running late so he didn't scratch it. Instead he threw it into the glove box of his car, and took off to the appointment that he was running late for. Months later, he was cleaning out his car because he had traded it in for a new one, found the scratch off, and scratched it. It was a loser, so he threw it out.

I can clearly remember him saying to me; "My God! What if that thing was a million dollar winner? I think I bought that ticket seven or eight months ago!" G5

When I get the itch to scratch (get it? LOL), I always check how many top prizes are left, the overall odds on the ticket, and the guaranteed prize amounts in a pack (ie: $500 pack, for me it has to have guaranteed at least $250 prizes in a pack). My biggest problem with scratchers in Texas is the state is huge. If a game only has 4 top prizes, there's a lot of real estate for those top prizes to be in. So, I usually just stick with draw games.

JUST LOOK AT THE ODDS OF ANY JACKPOT GAME, THAT WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

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