One of the questions that lottery fans ask themselves all the time is whether it makes more sense to play the lottery all the time, or just from time to time. There is no clear yes or no answer here, as both strategies have upsides and downsides.
First, some basics:
You should always set a budget for your spending on lottery tickets. This can be either a weekly or monthly budget. It will prevent you from developing a gambling addiction. Financial discipline is an important tool, not just when it comes to the lottery, but also in other areas.
Make a decision on whether you want to always use the same numbers, or play different numbers every time, or a mix of both. Personally, for my favorite lotteries, I have a number combination that I play all the time, but I also add between 2 and 3 lines with random numbers every time I decide to play any of the lotteries.
Upsides of playing regularly
If you play the same numbers all the time, you increase your chances of winning over time. We are talking about a longer period here though. Let’s assume, for example, the chances of your numbers winning the jackpot are 1 in 100 million, and the lottery draws three times a week and you play this lottery every time. That means your numbers participate around 152 times during a year.
The odds to win the jackpot once in that year are now 100 million divided by 152, resulting in a 1 in 658.000 probability that you might win. Still a low chance, but better than 1 in 100 million, right?
Mathematically, over a very long time, the law of equal distribution says that every possible number combination should eventually show up. Obviously, there is no guarantee that your numbers will be drawn within the next 20 or even 100 years, but it is good to know that the odds of winning increase every time you continue with your favorite numbers.
Avoid this nightmare scenario
Employing this strategy of playing your favorite numbers all the time, you can avoid what is the worst thing that could happen: imagine your favorite numbers win, and you failed to buy a ticket for that very draw!
Downsides of playing lotto regularly
If you buy tickets for every draw, you may use up your monthly budget quickly, or spend more money on lottery tickets than the amount you can afford.
You also will not be able to take maximum advantage of specific situations, such as spending more money when there is an exceptionally high jackpot to be won or a situation where a maximum jackpot has been reached and additional money will roll down into the second or third tier.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the best strategy is a combination of all of the above. If you have a set of favorite numbers and a favorite lottery, then play that lottery, and those numbers in every draw. At the same time, make sure that you reserve a certain percentage of your lottery budget to buy additional tickets whenever there is a very large jackpot or any other situation that offers better-than-average chances.
