26 August 2006

Lottery Strategy

There is an absolutely foolproof way of winning on a lottery - or at least to lose as little as possible.

When you play on a lottery, you do not do it because you want to win a lot of money. Of course, you would not mind winning a lot of money, but if that had been your primary goal, you should instead spend your time on things like founding Microsoft.

In the long run you know you will lose. If you spend a small sum every week to win on a lottery, where they highest win is 100 euro, you know that on average you will spend about 120 euro or more for each 100 euro you win, and that is just throwing the money away.

The main reason you play on a lottery is for the excitement. You want to know that you have the possibility to win a lot of money. You want an excuse for your dreams about buying a new expensive car or a small island in the Pacific. And that excitement is quite easy to get.

Step 1. Identify one of those lotteries where you can win an awful lot of money for a very small fee. If you are European the EuroMillions lottery works fine. They have had several wins of more than €100,000,000.

Step 2. Wait until you know the expected jackpot is exceptionally high.

Step 3. Buy one (1) ticket and no more.

Step 4. Put the ticket in a drawer at home.

Step 5. Forget all about it.

Now, it is very important that you do not check if you won. Just let time pass. You are now the proud owner of the possibility of having won millions of euro.

If you happen to stumble over the ticket in the drawer after eleven months, you can of course check the list to see if you won, but it is hardly worth it. You will not win. And if you check it, you have to buy a new ticket to go on being excited about the possibility of winning.

The best way to win on a lottery is not never to play - it is never to check if you won.

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