Scratch off Tickets are the Cash Makers for any Lottery Agency, You would see a lot of ads pushing you to buy them before you see an ad for Pick 3 or Pick 4 or any other lottery game; and the Lottery players like them because of their Instant Gratification:  You Know right there and then HOW MUCH you won; and you walk away with the cash in your pocket.

Sometimes you feel the urge to scratch off a couple of Lottery tickets; and of course you are expecting to win doing it; but before you do; keep those points in mind:

• Buy different kinds of the same dollar amount game

The average odds of winning any scratch off ticket hover around 1 in 5; so if you buy 5 tickets of 1 dollar game you might win one of them…simple…but you should buy 5 different kinds of those tickets instead of buying 5 tickets of the same game; you are multiplying your chance of winning by 5 times. It is all Odds and Math.

• Do not chase for winners

One of the major reasons people spend more than they want on scratch off is getting in the heat of chasing after a winner, you scratch one and another and you would not stop until you get your win…Dead WRONG!

You scratched 5 already…you ran out of Odds and you are in for the next run of chances…Better to stop now and try another game.

• Buy your tickets at a High Volume store

The reason behind it is…you guessed it: Your Chance of winning gets better the more people buy more tickets, they might get the duds and you get the winner!

Sounds selfish I know, but it is a game after all; and may the lucky one win.

• Try the New Games first

It is a hidden gem you should know: The Lottery agencies want you to buy their new scratch off games to meet their sales mark and they would sprinkle bigger amounts of wins (the Odds stay the same though) to build excitement about them, so take advantage and try them.

• Check what big prizes are still available

Some lottery agencies post the remaining jackpots or big amount prizes for any given scratch off game at their web site, or they would have a print out at your local store, go through them and aim for the ones with bigger prizes still up for grasp, a wiser way of spending your wager money.

• Stretch your wager

Instead of buying one $ 20 ticket; you are better off with 2 tickets of $ 10 game , 4 tickets of  $ 5 game or 10 tickets of $ 1 game. Assuming that each ticket comes with one out of 5 odds to win;  you are spreading your bet across the table. Smaller Jackpots, smarter way to play.

And most of all: Play for FUN

You are aiming for the Jackpot; but it would help if you have fun reaching for it!