Tips to Improve Lottery Odds

Unlike poker and blackjack the lottery is a pure game of chance and no special skills are needed to play the lottery. This does not mean that lottery players can't use some logic and reason to increase their chances of winning that huge Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot. There are many websites that claim to have the 'secret' to winning the lottery but most of these are based on new age mysticism or outright superstitions. Other lottery websites may claim to have discovered various algorithms to pick winning numbers. The hard cold facts are; there are no 'lucky' numbers and lottery numbers are usually picked by some sort of random number generator. There are some strategies that can increase your chances of winning the lottery and here are seven ways to improve your chances of winning.

Avoid playing numbers that have recently been drawn. It is highly unlikely that these numbers will be drawn again. Statistics show that most big lottery winners had their numbers picked by a random number generator at a lottery retailer.

There is no such thing as a so called 'lucky' number. While playing your birthday dates may be fun it is highly unlikely your birthday date will be drawn. In addition birthday numbers are limited to six or eight digits and most lotteries require the player to pick more digits than a birthday date can provide.

Since lottery draws are totally random using number sequences is a poor strategy. Sequences such as 2-4-6-8-10 should be avoided. Since lottery draws are random it is best to mix odd and even numbers.

Play lottery games with better odds. While the payout will not be as big lottery games that require the player to pick 3 or 4 numbers offer players significantly better odds. Most lotteries publish the odds for the various games they offer.

Avoid using patterns on the lottery playslip. While some patterns may look pretty cool on the lottery slip they will not in any way improve your chances of winning.

Many savvy lottery players check previously drawn numbers and will pick what are known as 'neighbor numbers'. One lottery expert says that players should check the 10 most recent drawings for numbers that have been drawn frequently.

Watch for repeating numbers. Put simply these are numbers that have been drawn more frequently than others. Thanks to computer technology it is easy to check past winning numbers.

One expert says that three and four digit lottery games run in trends. He points out that a number that has not been drawn during the past ten games is a 'due number.' He also suggests checking for frequent numbers and to use a combination of due numbers and frequently occurring numbers.

In the past people have spent a considerable amount of time researching various ways to improve the odds for players but the fact remains; the lottery is still a game of pure chance.