In the proud state of Tennessee, they finally passed a law that can allow people to play the lottery. Heck, I am a strong supporter of the right of any adult to play such games. How is it the governments' job to babysit grown people?
I support those who wish to play it, but still must speak out as a warning, the lottery is a sucker's game and a voluntary tax. If you can deal with it, have fun playing, enjoy the game. Personally, I like playing the free version. I make a guess, write it down on paper, and see the results of the Kentucky lotto. I don't win or lose money, but have fun in the guessing game.
Why would I say this is a sucker's game? The odds are against you to ever win the big money and chances are you won't break even. I like the honest UK symbol for their lottery - crossed fingers.
Take a Pick 3 lotto game. It sounds easy on the surface to pick 3 numbers. But really look at what you are doing for just the 3 numbers.
If it were only a pick 1 number from 0-9, you have a 1 in 10 chance of being right or 10%. If you wanted to guarantee a winning card, you would have to buy 10 tickets which odds are likely would cost more than the prize itself.
Take it up the next level and pick 2 numbers from 0-9. You are not simply doubling the math. There will not be just 20 numbers to pick, but 100 possible number combinations. This just bumped your odds of picking 2 correct numbers to 1 in 100 or 1% chance of winning. To guarantee a winning, you would have to buy 100 tickets.
Now for the basic Pick 3 lotto. Pick 3 numbers from 0-9, but know that just because you picked one number does not mean it won't show up again in sequence. That means you have a pool of 1000 possible number combinations that could be the winner. 1 in 1000 or a .1% chance of winning. Are you going to buy and fill out the forms for 1000 possible combinations for the chance of winning about $500? Who is crazy enough to spend $1000 only to collect $500? If you buy even one ticket, it really is pretty much the same thing.
People feel if they play the same numbers every day, their number is bound to come up or they have a sure to win formula to pick a winner. There is no logic to the lotto, but mere luck of the draw so to say. Each of the balls have the same chance of coming up. If you pick the number 000, you have the same exact odds of winning as someone who picks 687, 547, or 123.
And just because one set of numbers come up one day does not make it more or less likely to come up again. It may seem like an eeiry coincidence that the same combinations can come up within a week or days apart, but that is where random chance comes in. Every ball has equal odds of coming up each day.
If you think you are guaranteed to win a Pick 3 game combination because you play it every day and expect to win it within 1000 days, you could be sorely mistaken or very lucky. A person could in theory keep the same number and play daily and never win in a period of 10 years before they give up. A person could also play the same number in 10 years and have won on it several times. But both people have the same exact odds of winning from a mathematical standpoint.
If you venture into the Pick 4, traditional Lotto, or Powerball games, your odds of winning are even worse.
So, before you venture into playing the Lotto, don't say you weren't warned. If this is fun for you and you don't mind supporting the cause, proceed and have fun. However, if you are desperate for money and think this is your ticket to the life of the rich and famous, you probably should come up with a different plan. There are better and more sound ways to get rich.
