7 Tips to Improve Your Chances of Winning Scratch Off Cards

Scratch off ticket games are games of chance. But perhaps you could increase your chances of winning more often. Different strategies abound when it comes to scratch off ticket wins, and while many have tried methods that seem to work for them, we’ve provided a more statistical approach.

Check out some of these strategies if you take your scratch card games seriously and want to increase your winning ratio. If you’re lucky, one or two of them might just work for you, whether you play online or at the local store!

Winning Scratch Off Cards

Source: LottoGo

Do Your Research on the Pool Size

Each scratch off lottery game has its own designated winnings pool. Before you decide on the game you want to play, go and do some research on which pool size is the biggest according to what you can afford. The larger the pool, the more expensive the ticket will be. But if you always opt for cheaper scratch off tickets, your chances of winning large amounts of cash will be limited.

scratch off game

Source: My Lotto Guide

Choose a scratch off game where the tickets are more expensive, but your chances of winning are increased. Not only will the jackpot be larger, but the number of winning opportunities will be more with the best scratch off tickets that cost slightly more. Look up the various games being offered in your country and choose the one with the highest chance of winning.

Check for Past Wins

Another bit of research you can conduct is finding out how many winning tickets have been purchased at a certain group of outlets respectively. If you have 6 scratch off ticket vendors in your area, you can begin to find out which of them has sold the most winning tickets.

Statistically speaking, vendors that have sold the least amount of winning tickets are more likely to sell winning ones in the future. Try buying your roll of tickets from the vendor that has sold the least winning tickets in the past, and your chances of winning will be statistically higher according to the law of distributive random chance.

This style of playing is similar to the little old lady who waits at a losing slot machine until the player leaves. She then hops on and hits a win, because the win is due. Here’s a quick hypothetical table to explain how to do this:

Vendor Winning Tickets Sold in The Last 12 Months Total Wins Chances Of Selling a Winning Future Ticket
Jim’s Gas Station 6 Small Wins / 2 Large Wins 8 Low
Grocery Store 4 Small Wins / 3 Large Wins 7 Low
Corner Shop 7 Small Wins / 0 Large Wins 7 Low to Medium
Bulk Buy Retail Store 3 Small WIns / 1 Large Win 4 High
Denver’s Snack Shop 3 Small WIns / 3 Large Wins 6 Low to Medium
Shop n Win Store 3 Small Wins / 2 Large Wins 5 Medium

Hypothetically speaking, Bulk Buy Retail Store and Shop n Win are due for distributing a winning ticket any day now. Create a similar chart for yourself and play your scratch off games the smart way.

Survey Old Tickets

Never throw away your tickets if you play scratch off games religiously. You can organize these tickets according to the dates you played them and create a survey of your win ratio. With this information on hand, you can determine what strategies worked for you in the past, and which didn’t.

Play One Game for at Least a Year

Stick to one game for at least a year before giving up and moving on to another one. Remember that scratch off tickets work in a similar way to slot machines. The longer you play, the higher your chance of striking it lucky! Don’t give up on your scratch off game just yet. Keep buying those tickets according to what you can afford and be patient.

Enjoy the Game

If you’re not having fun playing your scratch off ticket game, then what’s the point? Remember that in order to have fun, you must play responsibly. Do this by:

  • Sticking to a budget and being strict with yourself about how much you can afford to spend on scratch off tickets each month.
  • Having fun while playing by making it a game (for example, only buying tickets on certain randomized days of each month; like the 4th, the 9th, the 11th, the 18th, the 20th, and the 27th–kind of like a Powerball lottery ticket)
  • Befriending the cashier at your favorite outlet and getting to know them.
  • Making a realistic list of things you would spend the money on if you did win.

The Joys of Bulk Buying

Purchasing large consecutive rolls of scratch tickets is believed by many to be a good strategy of winning. The theory goes that manufacturers hide winning tickets within the rolls, so buying in bulk increases the chance of hitting a winning “area” within that roll of tickets.

If you have a good budget for scratch off tickets, you may want to try and purchase an entire month’s worth in one go and see if your chances of winning increase. Keep track of this strategy and check back in about three months time to see if it worked better than buying single tickets.

Submit All Your Tickets

Do due diligence by submitting all tickets even if they are losing tickets. Sometimes you can miss a win amongst a large number of tickets, so claim scratch off tickets anyway just in case you’ve hit a win and didn’t see it. By submitting these tickets, you may be in for an unexpected surprise!

Final Thoughts

Remember that scratch off tickets work the same way as other games of chance and lotteries like Mega Millions. While these strategies make the game more fun, they are not guaranteed to increase your chances of winning. Try them out and see which ones work best at winning your next cash prize!

Also remember that you can purchase scratch off tickets from online lottery sites too. Many of these sites like Lotto Agent will guide you on how to buy your scratch off cards and how to play them.

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