Balance the Odds of Winning a Big Lottery Prize

Lotto Payout:

You can choose from a wide range of options when it comes to playing the lottery. Dependent on where you live, you can choose from one of the monster payout lotteries such as Power Ball, Mega Millions or Euro Millions. Alternatively you can play a local version of Lotto, which will have a sizeable prize in the unlikely event that you win. You can pitch for even smaller payouts with lotteries like Pick 5, Pick 4 and Pick 3 and similar games.

Balance the Odds of Winning a Big Lottery Prize

This question was highlighted recently because some lucky Indiana resident won the Power Ball prize of 5 million and another lucky Indiana resident won the Hoosier lotto prize of million. Which winner would you rather be? Is it better to buy a Power Ball or Mega Millions ticket or a Lotto ticket? There is no immediately obvious answer. The Power Ball and Mega Millions prizes are significantly higher but the odds against winning are proportionately higher as well.For example the odds against winning the Power Ball lottery are 195 million to 1 whereas a 6 from 48 lotto is only 12 million to 1.

It seems to me that this is a personal choice based on what sort of life changing event you are looking for. If all you dream about are riches of extraordinary proportions then you have to go for the huge Power Ball or Mega Millions prizes, knowing that you are extremely unlikely to win. (Remember the guy in Benjamin Button who claimed to have been struck by lightning seven times - not very believable). If two or three million dollars would be beyond your wildest dreams, then better to go for Lotto as your chances of winning, although slight, are greater (like being struck by lightning once).

Some people would cope with riches of the 5 million variety; others would be completely over-whelmed. There is plenty of evidence of lottery winners subsequently getting into financial difficulty after winning one or two million. This should not happen. Good financial advice, admittedly hard to find in this day and age, is essential. Some people argue that the lottery is evil because it makes winners unhappy. This seems very condescending. Jack Berry, a renowned British racehorse trainer, wrote a great book in response to the sort of people who complain that it is tough at the top. He titled it  "It's Tougher At The Bottom".

Stories abound of big lottery winners who spend it all in a short period of time. Some people suggest that this is a valid reason for not playing the lottery. This is a strange point of view. Surely the answer is to act wisely and prudently in the event of a big win. You are put in a position of being able to do much good and you have a responsibility to yourself and others to act wisely. You should also remember a very important point about money. If you have money, the world is full of people dedicated to taking it from you so constant vigilance is required.

Should you buy a lottery ticket at all given the huge odds against winning? I think so because there is a chance you will win whereas without a ticket you will definitely not win. I think it is difficult to justify buying more than one ticket per draw. Does it matter what numbers you choose? For Power Ball and Mega Millions numbers are not so important although I like to follow sensible rules to improve my chance of hitting a rollover week and to avoid multiple winners (happens once in a blue moon). Number picking for Lotto and other games is more important and here again I follow rules on number selection and rollovers.

Work hard, be smart, have fun and be lucky. In any event, remain positive and optimistic and spend as little as possible on lottery tickets. One ticket is enough to be "in it to win it".