Well, here's the thing. Assuming I'm not going to win a big prize, I need to get as much of my money back as possible, so that I can buy as many more tickets as possible with the winnings.
Buying only $20 tickets gives you better chances of hitting larger prizes, but buying three $20 tickets will almost certainly give you less money than buying twelve $5 tickets.
I once spent $180 on tickets in the form of three $20, six $10 and twelve $5. I won $75.
On another occasion I bought nine $20 with $180, and only won $40.
I'm just trying to figure out what the best balance is. I want a handful of tickets that have large prizes, but I also want enough tickets that will ensure some of my money back so that I can ride the game longer without having to dig into my pocket again.
the examples you make are statistically irrelevant. they are just anecdotes, they do not represent what you will always get.
statistically, the odds will change not only with the cost of the ticket, but also with the games themselves. not all $5 games have the same odds.
in general, the more expensive the tickets are, the better the odds are. this is because in general the costumer targets are the poor and poorly educated, who likely cannot afford more expensive tickets. the bigger tickets are incentivizes with slightly better odds.
also, i think in most states you can find out when/how many of the big prizes have been won.
if a game has a 500,000 jackpot out of a total 1,000,000 prizes total (again made up number), and the jackpot has been won (info should be on line), the overall odds for that game just got half as bad. stay away from it. chose a similar games where the big prizes are still out there.
also, by the way tickets are printed/marketed, it is unlikely you'll get multiple winning tickets in consecutive tickets.
buy your tickets one at a time, check them and if you lose stick to the same game, same place. if you win, move to a different game or retailer.
it's like for slot machines. they are programmed for a certain number of win in a certain amount of time. it is not purely random. if you win big at a machine, change the machine, if someone else played a lot at one machine and never won, try to get on that machine.
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I can't ensure to get SOME of my money back? That's all I was talking about.... SOME, not ALL. Some. As in, a portion of. You try to buy twenty or more scratch tickets at once without winning something. You'll find it rather difficult.
no.
you can improve your CHANCES of getting some money back, but you cannot ensure it will happen
