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Lottery theory


Mojoe

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So I came up with a theory on the lotto a few years ago. With all the talk lately, I thought I would share.

 

So we are all required to carry insurance on our cars. For me, I have never filed a claim, but I still pay because I have to. I may never benefit from having insurance. But I know I never want to be in a situation where I need it and went without it. So, I pay something like $2000 a year for the car's and the bike.

 

There are 52 weeks in a year. There are two Mega millions drawings a week. So if you were to play $5 per drawing, $10 a week, $520 a year is all it would cost if you did not win. Playing the same numbers would be ideal from what I figure to better your odds.

 

 

This plan is like an insurance premium for getting rich. Less than the cost of smoking.

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So I came up with a theory on the lotto a few years ago. With all the talk lately, I thought I would share.

 

So we are all required to carry insurance on our cars. For me, I have never filed a claim, but I still pay because I have to. I may never benefit from having insurance. But I know I never want to be in a situation where I need it and went without it. So, I pay something like $2000 a year for the car's and the bike.

 

There are 52 weeks in a year. There are two Mega millions drawings a week. So if you were to play $5 per drawing, $10 a week, $520 a year is all it would cost if you did not win. Playing the same numbers would be ideal from what I figure to better your odds.

 

 

This plan is like an insurance premium for getting rich. Less than the cost of smoking.

 

My dad has been doing this for years, he has won small amounts here and there but nothing above 1k.

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how many numbers do you have to hit to win mega millions, and what is the range of numbers? like 01-99 or 00-99?

 

It's a 1:176,000,000 million chance. Forbes.com had an article the other day about how if you were the only one playing (this drawing since its so high) it would make financial sense to actually play all 176 million combinations, you would win and triple your money.

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Better than smoking (tobacco), I'll agree with that.

 

But you'd be so much better off taking your weekly "lottery money" and saving it for an annual trip to the casino. If you shop carefully, some games in a casino have close to an even payout. That's much better odds than any state lottery game will offer you.

 

State lottery = tax on people who don't do math well

 

However, if you get a big thrill from playing the lottery, consider it as an entertainment expense rather than an investment, and spend what you can afford from your entertainment budget.

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I used to grab a scratch off ticket like once a month or every other week. I had an excel sheet showing my spending vs winning last summer. I had invested less than $50 and won nearly $500 for some time there. After I got about 2:1 I quit playing (because it was a huge loss streak). I find the tickets are hotter in the ghetto during the summer, and decline by how nice the area and if it's cold out. Weird.
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It's a 1:176,000,000 million chance. Forbes.com had an article the other day about how if you were the only one playing (this drawing since its so high) it would make financial sense to actually play all 176 million combinations, you would win and triple your money.

 

Wait, perhaps I'm having a brain fart here or something. How much is a lotto ticket, and what would the payout need to be to buy that many lotto tickets and still break even (after taxes derp)?

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Better than smoking (tobacco), I'll agree with that.

 

But you'd be so much better off taking your weekly "lottery money" and saving it for an annual trip to the casino. If you shop carefully, some games in a casino have close to an even payout. That's much better odds than any state lottery game will offer you.

 

State lottery = tax on people who don't do math well

 

However, if you get a big thrill from playing the lottery, consider it as an entertainment expense rather than an investment, and spend what you can afford from your entertainment budget.

 

 

This.

 

Or you could play poker, and invest in your actual ability.

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Waste of time and money. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning. Save the money for a casino. Last time I played in vegas I broke even. That was good enough for me I had a great time and free drinks :p
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You may want to rethink that, my good friend ..... ;)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_fallacy

 

There's a lot said there. Makes me wonder if anyone has ever checked for repeat winning numbers.

 

I do enjoy the entertainment of gambling. I play poker and blackjack. Both have balanced out for me in winnings. Perhaps there is entertainment in playing the lotto. I see it as a chance to win. I guess that is a little exciting. I don't smoke and I'm a light weight drinker, not a big lose of funds going there. I don't have kid's or large obligations. I have some investments I contribute to. So within reason, I like to play.

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176million options, even at $1 per sequence your only gaining 4million after the gov takes 1/2 of the cash payout.

 

It'd probably take more than a week for a place to print out 176 million tickets anyhow and even if you bought that many you probably wouldn't get every number sequence. I'd assume it'd repeat eventually b/c the machine doesn't know you're the same customer.

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It'd probably take more than a week for a place to print out 176 million tickets anyhow and even if you bought that many you probably wouldn't get every number sequence. I'd assume it'd repeat eventually b/c the machine doesn't know you're the same customer.

Just fill out 176 million of the little bubble cards. Better bring a truckload of #2 pencils though...

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Just fill out 176 million of the little bubble cards. Better bring a truckload of #2 pencils though...

 

Yeah you would have to do it yourself. Just because something is random doesn't mean it wont hit the same thing twice. Then there's also the problem that machines can't ever be truly random.

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It's a 1:176,000,000 million chance. Forbes.com had an article the other day about how if you were the only one playing (this drawing since its so high) it would make financial sense to actually play all 176 million combinations, you would win and triple your money.

 

It'd probably take more than a week for a place to print out 176 million tickets anyhow and even if you bought that many you probably wouldn't get every number sequence. I'd assume it'd repeat eventually b/c the machine doesn't know you're the same customer.

 

Just fill out 176 million of the little bubble cards. Better bring a truckload of #2 pencils though...

 

Ok, so you're fast at filling out the lotto cards. Let's say you can do three sets of number per minute. That's fastttttt!!

 

Even at that rate, you still need 111.6+ years to fill out your 176 million cards:mad:.

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