You’re more likely to become the president of the United States, get struck by lightning, or get killed by a vending machine than win the Powerball or Mega Millions lottery. Still, if you have the discipline to stick to proven lottery strategies, your odds of winning can improve considerably.
The word “lottery” comes from the Middle Dutch verb lotinge, meaning “action of drawing lots.” The oldest recorded use of a lottery is a keno slip dating to the Chinese Han dynasty between 205 and 187 BC. More modern examples include commercial promotions in which prizes of goods, services, or property are awarded by a random procedure, military conscription lotteries, and the selection of members of a jury from lists of registered voters.
People who play the lottery often choose numbers based on sentimental or personal connections, such as birthdays or anniversaries. Although this won’t hurt your chances of winning, it will decrease them if you and several other players have the same strategy. It’s also best to avoid playing numbers that are close together, as others may have the same lucky number.
In addition to choosing your own numbers, you can increase your chances of winning by purchasing more tickets. However, you should strike a balance between your investment and the potential returns. A recent lottery experiment found that buying more tickets did not compensate for the additional expense. For scratch-offs, chart the outside numbers to note any that appear only once; buying tickets with those numbers can double your odds.