You must have played the lottery many times. And also might have won a few, or some lucky might have won a jackpot too! But most of us are not so lucky, and our money spent on lotteries seems a waste if we do not earn a win. To win a lottery, proper strategy and planning are also part of the game of chance and luck.
As you know, the lottery is a popular entertainment and leisure activity among Australians. Over 80% of Australian adults engage in such games. Several lottery games are syndicated across Australia. The Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Lotto from the Tats group, Lucky lotteries from NSW, OZ lotto, soccer pools, Super66, and Powerball are the most popular.
According to Gerry Devine, Tattersalls Lotteries representative who tells people they have won the Division One prize, have been family birthdays, the jersey numbers of your favourite football team, the numbers where the pages stopped when flicking through a woman’s magazine, the digits from a bounced cheque, clairvoyants and tarot cards.
After 30 years in the job, Devine’s tip to maximise returns is to select higher numbers because many people use their birthdays when marking up entries. “Recently, all the winning numbers were below 40, and there were 28 winners in the first division.”
Whatever system you use, the odds of winning the Lotto appear astronomical. If you played an eight-game OZ Lotto entry (the most popular), your chances of winning all six numbers are one in 1.02 million.
According to NSW Lotteries product manager Gai Swords, Lotto offers a comparatively strong chance of winning. “The standard 14-game entry and a systems entry where you can choose more numbers are the best statistical ways of improving your odds.”
The most frequent numbers drawn in the national Saturday Lotto are seven, 40, 36, 32, five and eight. The least drawn numbers are 44, 16, 30, 11, 18 and nine.
It’s all about what you do with your chosen numbers that gives you the best chance of scooping the jackpot. Most people focus on winning the first prize, the six-number prize, when the focus should be on winning the smaller prizes that only require four or five numbers. The strategy you should know is that every game you play still gives you a chance to win the big prize.
Most players win a prize every two and four weeks when playing regularly. They may spend $50 and earn a $15 prize. But it is still a prize. And that taste of winning motivates keep them going. You should only spend as much as you are willing to lose.
Numbers in Lottery
In a lottery, it is about combining your numbers. Some strategies involve playing with those numbers and using them in a particular way so that any four or five will be guaranteed to fall together at least once.
Ken Russell, an associate professor of statistics at Wollongong University, says any set of numbers has the same probability of being drawn as other sets.
“In terms of winning, you can’t improve your odds with a single six-number combination by choosing one rather than another.”
However, there may be another way. If you nominate numbers one to 10 and ask Lotto to give you all the possible tickets consisting of six numbers from those 10, he says there are 210 sets of six numbers generated from those 10.”If the gambler is fairly convinced that the six numbers will come from those 10, then he or she will have coverage, and if the hunch is correct, then they will get a first prize for sure and a lot of five-number prizes. However, the probability is still small.
Many believe in systems and put in seven because it is a lucky number.
The Odds
In Saturday Lotto, the odds of winning a Division One prize with the most popular entry, a 12-game entry, are 1 in 678,755.
In OZ Lotto, the odds of winning a Division One prize with the most popular entry, an eight-game entry, are 1 in 1,018,133.
In either Saturday Lotto or OZ Lotto, you can shorten these odds by taking a system entry, giving you more than the standard number per game. The odds of a System Eight entry winning a Division One prize on either night are 1 in 290,895, and the odds of a System Nine entry winning a Division One prize are 1 in 96,965.
Some Tips to Win
- Use a system that focuses on winning the lower division prizes.
- Don’t get caught up in a system that purports to have lucky charms or numbers.
- Use all of the numbers, one to 45. People often don’t like using their 40s because fewer exist. But they have just as much chance of being pulled out.
- Don’t get caught up in using odd rather than even numbers. Because 23 odd is more likely than 22 even, some entrants choose more odd numbers.
- Divide the 44 numbers in the NSW Lottery into two groups of 22. This guarantees that all 8 winning numbers are somewhere in your entry.
- Play a system that ensures all 4-number combinations are covered for each set of 22 – and you must start with at least 4 winning numbers together every single week you play.
- When you select your lotto numbers, try to have a relatively even mix of odd and even numbers. All odd or even numbers are rarely drawn, occurring only one per cent of the time. The best mix is 2/4, 4/2 or 3/3, which means two odd and four even, four odd and two even, or three odd and three.
- One of these three patterns will occur in 83% of the drawings.
- Winning numbers are usually spread across the entire number field. If we take a number field and cut it in half, we have the low half and the high half. In a 45-number game, numbers 1 to 22 would be in the low half, and numbers 23 to 45 would be in the high half. All high or low numbers are rarely drawn, occurring only one per cent of the time. The best mix is 2/4, 4/2 or 3/3, which means two high and four low, four high and two low, or three high and three low. Winning number groups with these three patterns occur in 80% of drawings.
- Look at a list of past winning numbers for the Lotto game you play, and you’ll see, more often than not, that one or more of the number groups is not represented. For example, in the combination 5-14-17-32-38-42, there are no 20’s. Tracking and studying Number Groups can help you decide which group to omit and which group to give extra heavy play.
- In NSW Lotto 6/45, on average, one lottery number will be a repeat hit from the last drawing 59% of the time.
Mega Millions Lottery in Australia
The Mega Millions lottery is one of the most anticipated and rewarding lotteries. It is an American lottery where the players have to choose five main numbers and a Mega Ball and match them exactly to win the jackpot. Oz Lotto, Monday Lotto, Wednesday Lotto, Saturday Lotto, and Australia Powerball have Mega Million Jackpots in Australia.
- When you select your Mega Millions best-playing numbers, try to have a relatively even mix of odd and even numbers. All odd numbers or all even numbers are rarely drawn, occurring less than 3 percent of the time. The best mix is 3/2 or 2/3, which means three odd and two even or two odd and three even.
- In a 75-number game like Mega Millions, numbers 1 to 38 would be in the low half, and numbers 39 to 75 would be in the high half. All high or low numbers are rarely drawn, occurring only 3% of the time. The best mix is 3/2 or 2/3, which means three highs, two lows, or two highs and three lows.
- Look at a list of past Mega Millions winning combos, and you’ll see that every number group can’t be represented. More than the minimum 3 of the number groups are often not represented. For example, in the combination 5-8-32-43-66, there are no 10’s, 20’s, 50’s, or 70’s. Tracking and studying Number Groups can help you decide which group to omit and which group to give extra heavy play.
What you should do if you win a ‘Big Prize’
Many times, you must have dreamt of winning a lottery. But think if this happens to be true and You win (which you might someday), what would you do in case of a win?
- The first important step is to get hold of the lottery ticket you have won, sign the back of the ticket, and have a photo taken with it. A lottery ticket is a bearer instrument, meaning whoever signs the ticket and presents a photo ID can claim the prize.
- Be Anonymous- You can go for being anonymous if your state rules permit it. You must be aware that money makes the world move, and if you have money, people, be it your friends, relatives, or anyone, hover around you like a bee to a sweet. Suddenly becoming wealthy, you will be badgered by requests for handouts from everyone from charities to long-lost friends and relatives–not to mention all the financial “experts” who will be vying for your business. So check state rules to see whether you can dodge them all by remaining anonymous.
- Mega Millions is a national lottery, but rules on winner publicity vary by state. In New York, winners’ names are a public record. Elsewhere it may be possible to maintain your anonymity by setting up a trust or limited liability company to receive the winnings.
- Depending on where you bought the ticket, prize winners have between 180 days and one year from the drawing date to claim their prize. To find out what the state rules are and plot a course.
- See a tax pro before you cash the ticket. You can choose between taking the prize money all at once or paying it out in instalments over the years as an annuity. With a lump sum payment, you must immediately pay tax on the entire amount; with an annuity, you are taxed only as you receive the payments. People who have trouble controlling their spending might prefer the discipline of receiving the money as an annuity. But you will want to compare the effective yield of the annuity with what you could earn by taking the money as a lump sum, paying the taxes and investing the proceeds.
- If taking an annuity will leave your family without the cash they need to pay estate tax if you die before the set period of installment over the fixed years, you can opt for buying life insurance policies to cover the estate tax bill.
- You have 60 days from the time you claim your lottery prize to weigh the pros and cons. During this time, ask advisors to crunch the numbers and help you decide which type of payment suits you best.
- Avoid sudden lifestyle changes. Remain calm for the first six months after you win the lottery. Don’t indulge yourself in things like quitting your job or buying a costly home or a luxury car. You can set aside a fixed amount for this indulgence and celebration. Save the big purchases for later and plan your budget accordingly.
- Pay off all your debts. Whether it is credit card debt or a mortgage, your rate of return equals the interest rate on the loan. When you’ve paid down a dollar of debt, that’s a dollar you no longer owe. When you invest a dollar, you can’t be sure whether it will grow or shrink.
- Gather a team of legal and financial advisers. You have to cautiously judge who is helping you and trying to use you. Rather than signing on to a group of advisors that someone else has put together, have your lawyer, accountant and investment advisor, and have them to work together. Check broker records at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. For attorneys and insurance agents, see whether any complaints have been filed with state disciplinary authorities.
- If you live in a small community and don’t want lawyers there to know your business, seek out a professional in the nearest large city. You can search in the nationwide lawyers’ directory by location and area of practice, and on the internet.
- Invest responsibly, putting money in safe, short-term investments. You can ask your advisors to put together an investment portfolio divided half-and-half between equities (such as stocks) and fixed-income (like bonds). Don’t fall for investments you don’t understand or that sound too good to be true.
- Live within a budget. Discipline yourself to preserve your winnings and not go on a wild spending spree.
- Protect your assets. People who are worth a lot of money must guard against losing assets to creditors. They include everyone from disgruntled spouses and ex-spouses to people who win lawsuits against you.
- Plan charitable gifts. You can offset the additional income from your lottery winnings with a charitable deduction.
- Review your estate plan. If your winnings have made you suddenly wealthy, this may be the first time you must plan for estate tax.