Admit it, you’ve had the odd fantasy about what it would be like to suddenly be millions of dollars richer. You’re not alone.
The allure of striking it rich is strong enough to entice billions of dollars in lottery ticket sales – sometimes just for one draw!
As fun as it is to take part in lottery draws, the National Weather Service suggests you’re 20,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than win.
Be that as it may, it doesn’t stop us from participating, does it? But is winning the lottery all down to pure luck or is there some degree of skill involved in scooping a mega jackpot?
Powerball – Luck or Skill?
Here’s an interesting fact. Powerball winners mostly bet on their numbers without the sole aim of bringing home the grand prize. Yet, many people strike it lucky with their Powerball numbers. These are the people who typically bet on pick 3 or pick 6 – the tiers that don’t carry the main jackpot prize.
So, how are they winning?
Let’s do the math. Most players, it seems, bet on the Powerball jackpot prize, yet previous winners say they’d much rather win smaller prizes, of say, $200,000 each. That means 20 smaller wins would leave your $20 million richer. It’s not a bad approach, is it? If you have to win the main jackpot, you might end up sharing it with other players, so smaller wins may just be the way to go.
It’s this kind of approach that’s turned lottery winners into millionaires without them ever scooping a jackpot. Their winning strategy made them a fortune from a handful of small wins which, over time, added up.
When we think of it like this, it’s pretty much the concept of probability. You need a system that brings you the greatest number of chances of winning. So, that’s a skill.
But, what about luck?
It’s Still a Numbers Game
We know people commonly choose dates of importance for their lottery numbers, like anniversaries and birthdays. The trick is to be consistent, but these are personal numbers, which means if they do come up, it’s sheer luck!
On the other hand, lottery experts consider “hot numbers” lucky, too. These are the numbers that appear more often than any other numbers.
Regular Powerball players consistently take note of hot numbers to use them in their personal number choices. Think of hot numbers like you’re A-team for a draw.
Cold numbers, though, are the numbers that rarely come up, and the ones regular players tend to stay away from.
Can You Win with Hot Numbers?
Some say that picking random numbers like significant dates is pointless. Those same people argue that there are only two kinds of numbers to care about if you want to win, and those are the hot numbers to play and the cold numbers to avoid.
If you have your heart set on combining special dates with hot numbers, we say go for it. The trick is to spread out your dates with hot numbers and aim to create multiple number sets. We’d say that’s a skill and luck combined!
Can You Really Increase Your Chances of Winning?
Many players invest in lottery tickets week in and week out without really understanding the odds. For some, buying a lottery ticket is an investment, for others, it’s a form of entertainment.
No matter your reasons for playing, you need to understand that lotteries are games of chance. The odds of winning, really, are determined by a whole list of factors, like how many people are taking part in a particular draw and how many winning combinations you need to get.
What’s more, the more players there are for a draw, the less likely you are to grab a massive chunk of change.
The odds of striking it lucky in a Powerball draw are a dismal one in 175 million. But that’s not to say it’s entirely impossible – plenty of people have scooped life-changing amounts of cash.
All things considered, we think it’s safe to say that winning the lottery is pure luck. You either have it or you don’t. But it won’t stop us buying our Powerball tickets this week!