Whether you are playing a large national lottery like Powerball or Mega Millions in the US, or a smaller lottery, you should understand the difference between “odds” and “chance” before you invest your hard-earned money. Keep reading and we will show you exactly how to drastically improve your chances of winning, increase your odds of winning the lottery, all without laying out one penny more than you usually spend. Let us first take a look at how odds and chance factor into the equation.

Without getting into a bunch of boring mathematics, your odds when playing any lottery are easy to figure. Basically, if there are 100 possible combinations of drawing a series of numbers, then your odds are 1 in 100. However, when dealing with lotteries, you are generally looking at odds that are fairly astronomical. The two popular lotteries mentioned above deliver odds of roughly 1 in 175 million. That means there are about 175 million possible number combinations.

Now let us talk about chance. Your chance of winning any lottery jackpot, no matter what the odds, increases exponentially with each ticket you purchase. It is easy to see that a player purchasing 10 tickets in a particular lottery has a 10 times better chance of winning than a player who purchases just 1 ticket. But since your cost of playing has increased 10 times, you had to spend 10 times more money than that player! That is why at least one major study claims you do not improve your chances with multiple purchases, because your cost per ticket whether you buy 1 ticket or 100 tickets is exactly the same. This directly dictates the strategy of using mathematical odds of winning lottery games.

So, since the lottery odds are a set number and cannot be changed regardless the number of tickets you buy, how can you give $1 the same purchasing power as, say $10? There are two simple ways to drastically lower your cost per ticket and give you more chances at winning, and you can enjoy both without waiting in long lines or scrambling at the last minute to beat a lottery deadline. In December of 2011, the United States Department of Justice declared that it is legal to play the lottery online. This gives you instant access to the biggest lottery jackpots without leaving the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Many online lottery retailers will actually discount your purchase, giving you a reduced price tag per ticket, or offer you buy one get one free options. This means you get more tickets for the same amount of money you would spend at a physical location. Also, when you join a lottery syndicate you join other players who have also purchased tickets as a part of a group, and this astronomically increases your chances of winning without increasing your cost. Discounts and lottery syndicates give you extra ticket power in a lottery, without raising your financial outlay. While these aspects do not change the actual odds of picking the winning numbers, they improve your chances by giving you more bang for your buck.

Odds Of Winning Popular Lottery Games

Powerball Odds Of Winning: The odds of winning Powerball varies a little bit. The overall odds of winning a prize of some type is 1:31.85, however the odds of winning the jackpot prize is 1:175,223,10,000, much steeper. Remember, you are not playing against other players, but against the odds of matching the winning number combination. Buy Powerball Tickets Online

Mega Millions Odds Of Winning: The odds of winning Mega Millions lottery games also span a wide range. The overall odds of winning a prize of some type is 1:40, and the odds of winning the grand jackpot are 1: 175,711,536, very similar to the odds of winning Powerball.Buy Mega Millions Tickets Online

Florida Lottery Odds Of Winning: The odds of winning Florida Lottery are significantly more favorable, but then again, the prize is typically much smaller than the Powerball or Mega Millions lottery games. The odds for winning the Florida Lottery still include quite a span, with overall odds of winning a prize of some type starting at 1:67.36, with 1:22,957,480 odds for the overall jackpot prize. The overall odds for Florida Lotto with Xtra come out to 1:7.61. Buy Florida Lotto Tickets Online

New Jersey Lottery Odds Of Winning: The odds of winning NJ lottery are even more favorable than the FL Lotto odds, starting at 1:57 odds for winning a prize totaling $3, and odds totaling 1:13,983,816 for the jackpot prize. The NJ Lottery is also known as the Pick 6 Lotto. Buy New Jersey Pick 6 Lotto Tickets Online.

New York Lottery Odds Of Winning: The odds of winning NY Lottery are similar to the other state lotteries, with overall odds of winning a prize of some type starting at 1:46.02, and topping out at 1:22,528,737 for the jackpot prize. Buy New York Lottery Tickets Online