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Life-changing -

For many, the dream of winning a big sum of money is a life-changing concept. Even if you don't hit the jackpot, a large cash sum can make a big difference.

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Lottery -

When all else fails, you throw caution to the wind and buy a lottery ticket. It's a small price to pay for a chance at winning big!

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Lottery -

The sizes of jackpots have increased a lot, but at the same time one's chances at winning become smaller as the jackpot gets bigger. Still, that doesn't stop people from trying.

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Trying their luck -

In 2020 alone, Americans spent US$91 billion on lottery tickets. That was more than what was spent on cigarettes or smartphones!

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Trying their luck -

For many people, playing the lottery represents one last shot at the "dream," and they're willing to try their luck.

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A field of study -

Perhaps because of the popularity of lottery lore, some mathematicians have weighed in, writing books about the tactics that work best in the context of lottery wins.

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Using mathematics -

The math we need to think about when calculating a lottery win is concerned with odds and probability. Sometimes these are used interchangeably, but they're actually two different terms.

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Probability -

Probability is the measurement of the likelihood of an event’s occurrence. A simpler word for probability would be percentage.

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Probability -

A percentage is used to represent the "chances" of something happening, i.e. its probability, as a mathematical calculation.

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Odds -

Odds are different to probability. They refer to a ratio of two events, and there are two ways odds are expressed: odds against, and odds in favor. In other words, odds are the success-to-failure ratio.

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Odds -

Taking the Mega Millions jackpot as an example, the odds are about one in 302 million that you'll win. You are more likely to get struck by lightning, die in a plane crash, or be attacked by a shark!

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Lucky numbers? -

Some people think they can improve their odds by playing their "lucky numbers." These numbers are typically the dates of birthdays or anniversaries.

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Lucky numbers? -

Others might only ever choose a Quick Pick, where the results are chosen by a machine at random. However, even with the tactics of using dates or always having your numbers chosen by a machine, your odds remain stratospheric.

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Significant dates vs. random numbers -

One Harvard statistics professor, Mark Glickman, recommends selecting random numbers or buying Quick Picks rather than choosing specific numbers based on dates.

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Significant dates vs. random numbers -

His argument? "If you win Mega Millions and Powerball, you have to split the prize with anyone who had the same numbers. People like to pick their children’s birthdays or ages so there is a greater chance of more than one person picking those same numbers."

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Sharing the prizeload -

So, even if picking your numbers this way doesn't technically increase your chances of winning, it does increase the likelihood of sharing your prize if you do.

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Location -

There seems to be a popular belief that where you buy your lottery ticket matters. In reality, that's not the case.

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Location -

What's really happening when there are clusters of lottery winners in certain locations is that there are a lot more ticket sales taking place in those areas.

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A smaller draw? -

One way to increase the probability of winning something is to enter daily games or less popular games, or games only available to state/provincial residents.

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A smaller draw? -

But if a lottery is extremely obscure, it will also have much smaller prizes—so you probably won't win a life-changing amount.

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Patterns -

Lottery numbers are picked completely at random, so trying to uncover a pattern amongst the numbers that are drawn probably won't get you too far.

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Winning -

There is a way, however, to increase your chances of winning: buying more tickets. This is one of the only ways to close the gap on those odds, but it still won't be by much. And you should never buy more tickets than you can afford!

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Strategy -

If the only way to increase your odds of winning big is to buy more tickets, you might enjoy learning some unscientific strategies to decrease your chances of splitting a jackpot.

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Choosing your numbers -

Most people choose between numbers 1-31, due to their correlation with dates. Staying away from these numbers, as well as numbers like 42 that have cultural recognition, can help reduce the potential you'll have to split the prize in the event that you win.

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Choosing your numbers -

Lottery players also tend to spread out their numbers. To help create a more unique combination, it follows that picking two consecutive or near consecutive numbers might be a strategy.

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Bonus -

People who have chosen numbers between 1-25 might also consider choosing the bonus number from within this range, as fewer people pick the same bonus as one of their white ball picks.

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Booster bets -

Avoid booster bets, as non-jackpot payouts are low in comparison to the jackpot itself. When the jackpot is large, the money spent on booster bets is better spent on tickets for the actual jackpot, as these actually increase your chance of winning.

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Chances of winning -

Unfortunately, while strategies can potentially improve your number selection process, they can't predict specific winning combinations.

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May the odds be ever in your favor! -

When it comes to winning the lottery, it's a game of luck, random selection, and being the exception. But perhaps those moments spent imagining what you would do with the cash offer a welcome break from reality...

Sources: (USA Today) (New York Post) (Lotterycodex) (Scientific American) (Davidson College) (Art of Problem Solving)

See also: These lottery winners lost it all

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