Most of us have ambitions to reach a point of financial freedom. That is, of course, why most people play the lottery.
While the chances of hitting jackpot are notably unlikely, there are ways you can increase your odds of winning.
Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about how to pick lottery numbers.
Table of Contents
1. Buy More Tickets
The easiest way to increase your odds of winning the lottery is to simply purchase more lottery tickets.
While you’ll be spending more money with this method, the payoff is worth it. Mid-tier and high-tier winnings will easily cover the amount that you spend on tickets.
Depending on the lotto game, even some lower-level winnings could cause you to break even on your purchase.
As long as you make sure that the amount you could potentially win will be worth the increased ticket purchases, you’ll drastically increase your odds of receiving a notable payout.
2. Join a Lottery Pool
If you find (or create) the right pool, this is one of the most efficient ways to significantly increase your winning odds.
The concept is simple. A group of people vows to split their winnings equally with the rest of the group’s members.
When larger sums are won, every member of the group would receive an amount of money that is potentially life-changing.
The difficulty here, though, is finding a group of people that you can trust. This makes online lottery pools (like ones you’d find on Facebook) somewhat unreliable.
Although you’d only be taking home a percentage of your own winnings, having multiple people splitting the prize means your odds increase dramatically due to having access to more winning numbers.
3. Play a Different Lottery Game
If you haven’t been having much luck at the lottery games you normally play, try playing a different one.
While it may sound like an insignificant change, there’s a decent chance that the game you switch to could have better odds than the ones you’ve been playing– especially if you’ve been consistently doing poorly.
Similarly, you should try and play a game that most other people aren’t playing.
When thousands of people flock to the same lottery game, it dramatically lowers your chances of winning anything significant. This, of course, can easily result in you wasting both your time and money.
Even if less-popular games have far lower payouts, having a better chance of winning at least some cash if better than having a near-zero chance of winning a large sum.
4. Take Advantage of Your Second Chance
While this doesn’t always occur, it’s not impossible for the winning numbers to not be drawn. In this case, the game continues. You (and the members of your pool) have another shot at winning one of the larger prizes.
Other times, the winner may not claim their prize. This is especially common if the ticket is lost or misplaced.
So, always keep the lottery tickets you purchase until you’re sure that you don’t have a chance at all of winning. Otherwise, you could miss out on a prize that’s potentially worth millions of dollars.
To stay on top of whether or not a game’s winner has been chosen, make sure you know the schedule for lottery drawing days.
5. Keep an Eye out For Scams
As previously mentioned, some types of lottery pools aren’t entirely reliable.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who are actively looking to cheat others out of their lottery winnings.
Other common scenarios where people encounter trouble include:
- Purchasing lottery tickets from non-certified vendors
- Playing a lottery game with shady terms of service (or no terms at all)
- Opening suspicious lottery emails and clicking fraudulent links
This last situation occurs more than you may think.
For example, a scammer may comb through the roster of a lottery pool until they find someone who looks vulnerable (often members who are elderly or who have immigrated from another country and may not be familiar with online scams).
Then, they’ll attempt to locate their email info and send them a fraudulent message declaring that they can claim a share of their pool’s winnings. From here, they unknowingly give the scammer their personal information (sometimes even their bank info).
6. Understand The Lottery
This sounds simpler than it actually is, but it’s important to have a decent grasp of how the lottery works in order to maximize your chances of winning.
The more you understand about lottery games, the easier it will be for you to recognize which games have the best odds. You’ll also ensure that you’re aware of all the possible winning options a game provides.
It’s particularly important to know when you’ve won since multiple small prizes can quickly add up. Many people immediately discard their tickets after realizing they aren’t going to receive one of the top payouts.
An easy step you can take toward understanding the lottery better is to simply read the terms and explanation of each game. From here, you’ll begin to notice consistencies between games and immediately have a feel for new ones you play.
Knowing How to Pick Lottery Numbers Can Seem Difficult
But it doesn’t have to be.
With the above information about how to pick lottery numbers in mind, you’ll be well on your way to getting the highest odds possible.
Want to learn more financial tips that can help you out in the future? Make sure to check out the rest of our blog.
