Dreams of financial freedom, exotic trips, cars and homes fill the heads of many lottery players. The reality is very few will even come close to fulfilling those dreams by playing the lottery.

Here in my state, people rush to the local lotto outlets to grab their PowerBall tickets with dreams of untold wealth clutched tightly in their hands as they head for home with their purchases.

The reality is that they only have a one in 146-million (1:146,107,662) chance of winning that lottery’s jackpot. In the same game, the chances of picking up a $7 win is much better with the odds dropping to 1:745.

Even players that opt to play only their state’s Pick-5 type games are looking at odds of around 1:575,757. Not great odds, but much better than the PowerBall type games. But, if you’re satisfied with getting 3 of 5 numbers, the odds drop to 1:103.

So, what can a person do? Well the first thing to do if you’re going to play the lottery, is play the games with the best odds. And, the best over-all advantage comes to those that are satisfied with smaller prizes. That puts the best odds on the Pick-3 type games where the over all odds drop to 1:166 for a “boxed” play. (3 numbers pulled in any order.)

While I’m not about to debate the pros and cons of playing the lottery, it’s a fact that you can play the lottery with a chance of winning more often if you’re playing games with smaller odds.

Other things that affect your chances? Well while the largest number of tickets to any given game are “quick picks” (paying your dollar and letting the lotto computer pick your numbers) the percentage of winners for quick pick tickets is much lower than the winners that pick their own numbers.

Oh, and if you get a winning number DO NOT play it again. Ever. The odds of that very same number coming up again is once every 1,500 years, according to those that crunch the numbers for a living.

So if you’re going to play the lottery, play the odds that give you the best chance of winning.

Above all, play responsibly. Don’t play more than you can afford, and NEVER bet the rent that you’re going to be a winner. You can narrow your odds, but you can't guarantee a win.

Pete Egeler is an avid lottery player who purchases his obligatory single PowerBall ticket each week. For stress-free play, he sticks to his state’s Cash-3 games. Egeler is also the author of Lucky Lotto Picks, Winning the Pick-3 Lotto. http://lotto.hotsheetgold.com

Source: www.isnare.com