The Pick 4 Lottery is certainly one of the
most popular lottery games for an individual to play
because even though the prizes are smaller, the odds
for winning are much better than other games. Many
people simply choose a favorite birthday, address,
or license plate, and play it until it comes in.
Some might get lucky an average of 3 or 4 times a
year at best playing that way.
If you enjoy winning that way, by all means
continue, but if you want to win consistently, 3, 4
times a month or more, and win larger prizes, then
you need to use a system for winning. A winning
system actually starts with preparation.
There are several ways to increase your odds of
winning the Pick 4 Lottery, but before we get
into the systems for winning, there are a few
secrets you need to take to prepare you for that new
level of winning.
Getting
Ready!
Pick
4 Lottery Secret 1 - Pick Your Game And Stick With
It!
Find
a lottery game that will give you the best odds for
your dollar. Don't buy all different kinds of
tickets and spend a lot of money, find one game with
good odds and concentrate on it, study it, and stick
with it. Let's take a look at actually how to
play the different games .
Types
of Lottery Games
There are many
different types of lottery games. Lotto,
Little Lottos, Daily Picks, Multi-State Games (Powerball,
Mega Millions) and Instant or Scratch-Off Games. The
Scratch-Offs are pre printed while the other games
give you computer generated tickets.
Let's look at the various games lottery players love
to play, beginning with Lotto, which has become the
most popular of all lottery games, having the
largest prizes but the worst odds for winning.
Lotto
In Lotto, six
numbers are drawn from a range of numbers (such as
42, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52 and 54). Illinois, for
instance, has a 6-out-of-52 game (6/52), meaning
that six numbers are drawn from a possible 52.
To play Lotto, indicate your six chosen numbers by
marking the numbered squares on a play slip. Then
take the play slip to a lottery retailer (or agent).
The agent enters your selection in the on-line
terminal, which produces your game ticket. The
computer generated ticket is the official receipt
and must be presented and validated in the event of
a win. Always check to make sure that the correct
date and numbers are on the game ticket before you
leave. Lottery agents are usually found in
convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery
stores.
The cost for one chance at Lotto is still $1 in many
states. So for one chance, or play, at Lotto, you
would pay $1. For five plays -- that is, to play
five sets of numbers--you would pay $5. Illinois
offers a bargain: two plays for $1.
Typically, Lotto drawings are held twice a week,
usually on Wednesday and Saturday nights. However,
this may not be true for every state. Illinois Lotto
plays three days Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
The lottery officials
use special ball-rotation machines, and the balls
are numbered. The machine randomly selects six
balls; these balls display the winning numbers for
that evening's lottery drawing. If all six of your
numbers exactly match the numbers drawn, you win the
jackpot. In Lotto, your numbers don't need to be
listed in any particular order, as long as they
match those drawn. If two or more persons correctly
pick the six numbers, the winners split the prize
money. If no one wins, the prize money rolls over
and the jackpot becomes increasingly larger.
Now that you know how to play Lotto, you probably
want to know how much you can win. The amount of the
prize depends upon several factors. Lotto is a
pari-mutuel game, meaning the amount of the prize is
determined by the total sales for each drawing and
the number of winners. Or, if there is no winner,
the prize rolls over, with an increased amount
compared to the previous game. The more populous
states, such as Texas, New York, and California,
will usually have larger jackpots. Shortly after
each drawing, your state lottery announces the
estimated grand prize amount for the next drawing.
Even if you don't match all six numbers, you can
still win a prize by matching three, four, or five
of the numbers. While the payoff for matching three
out of six is small, the odds are better.
Little Lotto
Little Lotto games
have better odds and are played more often. The
method of play is similar to that of Lotto, but the
number of balls drawn and the playing fields are
usually lower. For example, in Indiana's Lucky 5
(5/36), the player tries to correctly pick the five
numbers drawn from a field of 36. This game plays
twice a day. In
the Illinois' Little Lotto (5/39),
you must correctly pick the five numbers drawn from
a field of 39.
To play a Little Lotto game, select five numbers
from your state's field of numbers and mark your
play slip. Take the play slip to a lottery agent,
who will then give you your game ticket. The game is
played the same way as Lotto, with the machine
selecting five balls instead of six. If all of your
numbers exactly match the numbers drawn, you win a
Little Lotto jackpot. As in regular Lotto, your
numbers do not have to be in the same order as the
winning numbers.
In most states, the drawings are held more often
with Little Lotto than Lotto. Generally, they are
held six or seven days a week. The amount of the
prize money for Little Lotto games works the same as
Lotto. But since there are fewer "picks"
(five) than in Lotto (six), your odds of winning
these games are much better. You can also win
smaller prize amounts if only three or four of your
numbers match.
The Daily Games,
Pick 3 And Pick 4
If you like to
playing every day or are just looking for better
odds, then the Pick 3 and Pick 4 might
be the games for you. In most states, you can play
them twice a day, six days a week, often once a day
on Sundays. For Pick 3, players choose any
three-digit number from 000 to 999, and for Pick 4
(or Cash 4), any four-digit number from 0000 to
9999. These have their own special play slips,
offering several types of plays. The basic plays in
most states are: exact order (straight), any order
(box), (straight/box), or combination.
Typically, the cost is: exact order -- 50 cents; box
-- 50 cents; straight/box -- $1; and combination --
$3.
If you mark any order, you win if your three numbers
are drawn -- no matter in what order. If you choose
straight/box and your three digits are in the exact
order drawn, you win the prize for straight plus the
prize for box. Or if you choose the correct numbers,
but not in the correct order, you still win the
smaller payoff. If you mark combination, you are
covering all bets.
Unlike Lotto, the payout on most states' daily games
is not determined by the pool of players. Pick 3
and Pick 4 usually have fixed prize amounts
geared to the odds. In fact, these games are
associated with a different set of mathematics than
Lotto. The odds in the Dailies are much lower than
in Lotto, and so is the payout in case of a win. The
odds of picking three digits in exact order on one
play are 1,000 to one; the odds of picking four
digits in exact order on one play are 10,000 to one.
In the Illinois Pick 3 game, if you correctly
picked the three digits in the right order, and had
placed 50 cents on "straight," you'd win
$250. If you had placed a $1 bet, you'd win $500.
Multi-state Games
Originally, states
with relatively small populations joined together to
create games that have bigger jackpots. Games now
include states with a wide range of populations. One
such game is Mega Millions, formerly called The Big
Game, which is now played in California, Georgia,
Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and
Washington.
Mega Millions has two separate drawings -- one of
which is a "bonus" type ball, or the
Megaball. Along with the "Mega" jackpots
are, of course, mega odds. In 2000, while still
called The Big Game, it made headlines when it
offered the largest jackpot in North
American history -- $363 million.
Another game with really big stakes is Powerball,
offered by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
It's played in 29 states, the District of Columbia,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To win, the player must
correctly pick five numbers drawn from a field of 55
(5/55) and also correctly pick the Powerball number,
which is one number drawn from a field of 42 (1/42).
Two separate ball-drawing machines are used.
Powerball has huge odds against winning. But the
payoff is comparable to Mega Millions and has made
it one of the most popular lotteries in America
because of the size of some of it's jackpots. As in
Lotto, you can still win a smaller amount if you
correctly pick some of the numbers. These drawings
are held every Wednesday and Saturday night.
Instant Games
The Instant Games,
also called "scratch-off" games, don't
involve picking numbers and may be purchased at any
time. The popularity of "scratch-offs" is
due to several reasons. First, the games are
colorful and fun to play. Second, a player doesn't
need to pick numbers or fill out a play slip. And
finally, there's no waiting -- just scratch off the
spots and win instantly.
Many states introduce new Instant Games every few
weeks. (Michigan offers nearly one new game a week.)
Some are more popular than others and are kept going
for a longer period of time. Other games are soon
discontinued, only to reappear months or years
later. Still others are seasonally or holiday
oriented, such as the various versions of Stocking
Stuffer, Holiday Cash, Heat Wave, and Mother's Day.
Different versions of the same game often crop up in
several states, such as Arizona's Hold'Em Poker,
Minnesota's Minnesota Hold'Em, and Texas's Hold'Em.
Then there are the yearly games, such as Monopoly,
Bingo, and Win for Life.
With a few exceptions, the top prizes on instant
tickets are much lower than Lotto jackpots. In
addition to the top prizes in each game, the player
has a chance to win smaller dollar amounts ranging
from $1 to $50. Tickets range in price from $1 to
$20
Get A Scratch-Off System
Technically
speaking, there are systems for beating these
instant games. One secret is to go the the Lottery
website and see what scratch off tickets are being
sold. Look at their odds and payouts and how many
first prize tickets are left.
Some people keep tabs on the prizes already awarded
in each game, and they buy only those games that
have several of the larger prizes remaining. Most
state lotteries have lists available that include
the prize amounts of each game, how many of each
there are, and how many remain. I've found getting
in on the new games as they are first introduced
produce the luckier tickets.
Quick Picks
For the person who
doesn't wish to take time to select his own numbers,
Quick Picks (computer-generated random numbers) are
an easy option. Instead of filling out a play slip,
you simply tell the clerk you want a Quick Pick. The
machine will then issue you a ticket with randomly
generated numbers. While some do get lucky with
Quick Picks, statistics say that more people win
with their own numbers.
Lottery
Strategies
If you're serious
about winning, you'll need a strategy. By learning
such techniques as tracking, wheeling, and pooling,
you may be able to improve your odds significantly.
For instance, in Florida's Lotto (6/53) there are
22,957,480 possible combinations for the 53 numbers.
That's just another way of saying if you buy one
play, the odds are 22,957,480 to one. But the odds
are much better in the Little Lottos or the Dailies.
When they do play the big games, these players do
everything they possibly can to better their
chances. Most people who specialize in
lottery-number selection methods and strategies and
repeat winners agree that the following three
methods -- tracking, wheeling, and pooling -- are
musts for serious players.
Tracking
This popular system
is often referred to as frequency analysis. In
short, it involves keeping track of the individual
numbers that are drawn over a period of time,
finding numbers that are "hot" and
"cold". You might compare it to
handicapping a racehorse; rating his past
performance to determine what his chances of winning
are in the future.
Numbers that appear often in a certain game are
called hot numbers. Some players will play these hot
numbers exclusively on the assumption that since
they have appeared often in the past, they should
appear again in the future. It's best to track
three sets of numbers, track the hot and cold
numbers, the overdue ones that haven't hit yet and
numbers that have just hit after a long
"out" streak. Most specialists, however,
play a combination of these numbers. One of my
secrets in the Lotto Games is to also track the last
digits 0-9, and the number groups 1's, 10's, 20's
30's. 40's and 50's.
Wheeling
You can buy
software to wheel all the lottery games. Wheeling
lets you play economically with certain sets of
numbers. Many times with the Lotto Games, you buy
several tickets and discover that you picked all six
winning numbers; unfortunately, they were all spread
out in different game panels. Wheeling can
help lock in all your favorite numbers and
dramatically increase your odds of winning.
Wheeling isn't a system of selecting numbers, but a
strategy for using all the numbers you have chosen.
Wheeling consists of making up a master list of your
best picks, then, using a system, playing them in
different combinations. Some wheels even carry
specific win guarantees. That is, if the numbers on
your master list include all the winning numbers--or
some of them, such as four out of six -- you are
guaranteed to win a certain prize. None of them, of
course, can guarantee you a jackpot.
Wheeling for a win can be inexpensive and worth it.
Before beginning to wheel, first set up a budget and
stick to it. Then determine how many numbers will go
on your master list. This is where my Pick 4
Wheeling Software comes in.
You can also make the wheels yourself. If you favor
certain numbers on your master list over some of the
others, arrange your wheel so that those numbers are
played more times. If you feel equally good about
all your numbers, choose a wheel that uses each
number the same amount of times.
Total
Satisfaction Guarantee!
