Sorry to disappoint you, but full disclosure; there is absolutely no way to guarantee a win when you play lotto. There is simply no magic formula that will make you an overnight millionaire. Many have tried, and all have failed, to find a foolproof way to crack the lottery.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to give yourself a fighting chance. By employing some key strategies and knowing what common traps to avoid, there’s no reason why you can’t carry an advantage over other players the next time you play lotto online.
What Won’t Work
In the past people have taken extreme measures to try and game the system when playing lotto online. The closest to a “sure thing” that anybody has come up with so far is the technique of “blocking out” as many tickets as possible in a lotto draw.
This involves an army of people buying tickets for as many lotto number combinations as possible, in an effort to make sure the winning numbers are covered. This was used by an Australian-based syndicate in 1992 to win $27 million, from an investment in lotto tickets of just $5 million. Not a bad return!
A similar tactic was used in the US by a couple, Jerry and Marge Selbee from Michigan, that won $26 in a lottery in multiple state lottery games. Jerry bought his first lottery ticket in 2003 for a Winfall lottery game.
Having a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from University of Western Michigan and work experience at various number-crunching roles in Battle Creek at Kellogg’s cereal headquarters, he had a strong background to figure out a legal loophole in the game. The first time he played, he played with $2200 and got $1150 back. After calibrating his math he started winning, $6300 for $3600, almost doubled his money with $8000, and so on.
The couple soon began to play with hundreds of thousands of US dollars and have stacked record books with chronicles of their victories. The last time they played Winfall was in 2012. when the game was discontinued.
Another example is Australian mathematician, Stefan Mendel who legally won the lottery jackpot 14 times and took home $30 million in total. Mendel is originally from Romania, where he figured out and tested a winning scheme while working as an economist.
After two wins in Romania he migrated with his family to Australia, where he scored 12 wins before authorities started taking measures. It seemed like there was nothing wrong with his methods, but they were regarded as not in the spirit of the game. New rules were then introduced to prevent this scheme from working.
The problem now is that this strategy can only work when the conditions are perfect, and most lotteries have since taken steps to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Common Misconceptions
“Hot” numbers are numbers that have appeared frequently in recent draws, which can lead people to think they are likely to continue to come up in future draws.
At the opposite end of the scale, “cold” numbers are numbers that haven’t appeared recently, which some people believe makes them “due” to be drawn soon.
“Lucky” numbers are those that players feel may give them an edge, whether they be favourite numbers, numbers that have won them a prize in the past or simply numbers that they like.
And while people can and do win prizes with hot, cold and lucky numbers, so do people who opt to go with random numbers. The fact is that no numbers are more, or less, likely to win a prize than any others.
That being said, if there are numbers you have an affinity with, there is no harm at all in playing them and they have just as much chance as any other numbers; just don’t expect them to guarantee you a win.
We do advise, however, to try and avoid common numbers, particularly birthday numbers from 1 to 31. This isn’t because they’re less likely to be drawn; it’s because more people pick them, therefore it’s more likely you’ll have the jackpot prize all to yourself if you win with less common numbers.
It All Comes Down To…
More games equal more chances to win. It’s as simple as that. The odds of winning the lottery are usually based on having a single lotto game in a draw, so the more games you have purchased, the more your odds of winning improve and the greater the likelihood that you’ll win a prize. While there are no guarantees, this is the only practical step you can take to get an advantage.
To demonstrate this, let’s say the lottery you wish to play has odds of 1 in 5 million of winning a prize. If you buy 2 games in a draw, the odds improve to 1 in 2.5 million. If you buy 10 games, they improve to 1 in 500,000.
As you can see, the odds keep getting better with every additional game you enter into a draw.
Understandably, not everyone wants to buy bulk lotto tickets every draw. Fortunately, there’s a great option to help with the cost that comes with increasing your chances. Participating in a lottery syndicate is a great way to spread the cost of tickets across a group of people. Syndicates can allow people to have a share in dozens (or more) of tickets for a fraction of the full cost.
As you know, the more tickets, the greater the chance of winning. Players share the cost and share the winnings. Lottery syndicates are especially good when the jackpot for a draw is massive, allowing all members to take home substantial prizes in the event of a division 1 win.
So there you have it. Now you know the facts on what it takes to increase your chances of winning a lotto jackpot prize.
These tactics don’t guarantee a win, but they will give you the best possible shot at the grand prize.
