How can win the lottery

These games often have better odds and are more likely to pay out. Look for games that pick from a smaller set of numbers or fewer balls.

On the downside, these games pay less in prize money than the most popular games. Regional lottery games have better odds than big games like Powerball and Mega Millions. For example, try a state pick-3 game. You only have to pick 3 numbers to win instead of 5 or 6. Purchase scratchcards for a quicker and simpler way to play. Many regional lotteries offer scratch-off games. These cards are instant and have better odds of awarding money than big lottery drawings.

Most lottery commissions have a number of different games to play. You could get cheap cards or play pricier games with bigger prizes. A typical scratchcard offers odds at best, meaning that 1 in every 5 cards is a winner. It depends on the game. Check your tickets for alternative ways to win.

Everyone has their eyes on the jackpot, but many lottery games offer smaller prizes as well. Read up about the rules of the game. You can win a small prize by picking the number on the red ball.

You could also win by picking 3 or more white ball numbers. No, as you would then only have one chance at winning. Choosing several different groups of numbers would increase your chances. Not Helpful 4 Helpful If I elect the payment Power Ball option not the immediate payout and I pass away, will the remaining payments go to my heir? The first thing before claiming is to retain a lawyer, one specialized in financial law cases and setting up trusts, blind trust, wills, and family estates.

Before claiming your ticket you'll also want to find a trustworthy and highly-rated certified financial adviser CFA and come up with a plan on how to live on a budget and not go broke like many people who come into big money tend to. Be sure the budget allows enough to be invested in low-risk, interest-bearing options, and be sure to diversify! That depends on what state you live in and who you buy the tickets from.

You can get them online or through a third party in New York, California, and Georgia. Not Helpful 8 Helpful No, it does not matter, as long as they sell the same tickets and let you do quick picks. It can be helpful to find one with friendlier workers, who can tell you which lottery tickets had more wins, however. Not Helpful 40 Helpful Can I use my non-winning tickets for a tax-write off if I win a large lottery pay off?

Yes, you may deduct all losses losing tickets are considered proof of purchase from income in a tax year. Not Helpful 39 Helpful There is no way to improve your Pick 3 odds better than a completely random guess.

However, if the lottery has a "Sum Up" bonus feature, pick any combination of numbers that adds up to 13 or This gives you a 1 in 13 chance of winning the Sum Up bonus. The old quick pick number has no effect on the next winning numbers. It is completely random. Not Helpful 36 Helpful Power Play increases the amount of payout if you win an amount.

Not Helpful 21 Helpful Not Helpful 41 Helpful No, it's still a fresh random draw every time. All numbers have the same odds. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Winning the lottery is far from guaranteed no matter how many tickets you buy. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Lottery games are all about probability, and understanding probability can help you determine whether or not to play.

Keep your tickets protected from heat, moisture, and creatures. Always read the rules of a lottery game before buying a ticket. Find out what you need to get to win and how many people on average play. If you win a very large jackpot, consider contacting a lawyer to help you redeem your ticket. Get winning tickets redeemed as soon as possible. The best way to do is by going to a redemption center in person, although many lotteries allow you to mail the ticket through certified, insured mail.

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Gambling is a serious issue that can lead to significant financial problems. Unfortunately, many scammers try to take advantage of people's dreams of winning the lottery.

Here are a few tips to protect yourself and avoid lottery scams:. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads.

Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Sandra Grauschopf. Sandra Grauschopf has been working in the contests industry since She is a passionate sweeper, with tens of thousands of dollars worth of prize wins to her name, and she has been sharing advice about how to be a winner for over a decade.

Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated September 29, Featured Video. Want to Play the Mega Millions Lottery? Here' How. Want to Play EuroMillions? Here's What You Need to Know. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for LiveAbout.

At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. And on the off chance you do hit it big, you could come to regret your good fortune. Powerball is available to players in 45 states, Washington D. Virgin Islands. Powerball reserves smaller prizes, if still quite hefty, for tickets matching some of the winning numbers.

To put it mildly, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are not in your favor. Nor are the odds of winning a smaller Powerball prize — or any significant lotto payout, for that matter. Want numbers? The odds of winning any prize at all were about 1 in One way to think about your absurdly long odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is to compare them with your chances of dying in a car accident on the way to your friendly neighborhood lotto retailer.

So, on a 2-mile round trip to the store, your odds of dying in traffic are more than 6 times higher than your odds of taking home the winning ticket. Scratch-off games technically have better odds than Powerball and other high-jackpot drawings, but only relatively speaking. As a random example, the Texas Lottery Commission puts the odds of winning any prize in its Triple scratch-off game at about 1 in 5.

Even with interest rates near historic lows , compound interest is a minor miracle. How much would you have in the bank at the end of the period? Vanishingly low odds notwithstanding, people do win the lottery. And a few win big — really big. Every time you see a headline about a lucky Powerball or Mega Millions winner, you witness a life forever changed.

That much is for sure. What these changes mean for any given lottery player is not so clear cut.