How to Win Scratch-Offs – Scratch-Off Ticket Secrets That Will Shock You
13 minutes
Last Updated: March 14, 2022
How to Win Scratch-Offs – Scratch-Off Ticket Secrets That Will Shock You
Do you love purchasing scratch-off tickets? More importantly, are you wondering how to win scratch-offs more often?
Then you’ve come to the best place on the Internet! In this scratch-off tickets secrets guide, we will share the best tips and tricks you need to know to have more success at this gambling activity.
Here are the ten most important secrets you need to know if you want to win scratch tickets. Brace yourself, as some of them will certainly shock you!
10. Always Do your Research
The first tip we’ll share with you in this guide is by no means a shocking one, but it is still unfortunately often overlooked by many scratch-off game gamblers.
This is that you should always do your research on the scratch-off game before purchasing it. Scratch-off tickets most often transparently list all of the odds and winning combinations.
So, with a little research, you can find out everything you need to know to decide whether or not a scratch-off game is worth your attention.
Read all of the small print, as doing so will help you avoid any unpleasantries down the line.
In line with this, researching the scratch-off games will also help you choose the most suitable game for yourself.
For example, if you’re buying in bulk, you want the games that provide you with the best winning odds.
Conversely, if you’re just playing for fun and occasionally buy a ticket or two, you can purchase a ticket with lower winning odds but larger potential wins.
9. Don’t Just Pick the Cheapest Scratch-Off
A couple of decades ago, there were much fewer scratch-off tickets available to players. Today, the situation is drastically different, as you can pick from tons of different scratch-off games.
And, we’re not just talking about price differences. They vary by brand, design, and most notably, by the game’s nature.
But, this mind-boggling variety often does you more harm than good. If you can’t focus on just one, you might be tempted to go with one of the cheaper options, just because they are simpler and more affordable.
But, this is often not a good decision for a scratch-off ticket gambler.
In this world, it’s always better to spend a bit more to get a better quality scratch-off ticket. Cheap scratch-off tickets usually have a smaller prize pool and aren’t very rewarding.
So, it’s often wise to avoid buying the cheapest scratch-off tickets you find. Instead, it’s better to focus on purchasing fewer more expensive cards that provide you with a better value overall.
8. Avoid Buying Scratch-Offs During Promotions & Sales
Another useful secret not many scratch-off game gamblers know of is that you should never buy tickets in the form of promotional or sales packs.
This is a technique some shops resort to when they want to clear old stock by selling unsold scratch-off tickets at discounted prices.
While this might seem like a good way to save money, especially if you’re buying in bulk, this is seldom the case. Moreover, you’re most likely just throwing your money and won’t see any return on your investment.
In such situations, the top winners have most likely been paid out already, and the retailer is trying to wrap up the game.
What’s more, following this logic, it’s always best to buy tickets for an active scratch-off game, or one that just came out.
That way, you can be sure that not many big prizes have been paid out yet and that you still have a chance of winning a jackpot.
7. Try to Buy In Bulk
While this is a very simple tip for winning scratch-off, many players swear it is the most effective strategy and best-kept secret for winning at these games.
And, there’s no arguing that buying scratch-off tickets in bulk is the best way to play scratch-off games.
For example, buying in bulk involves purchasing several tickets, at least five every time you go to a scratch-off ticket seller.
In some places, you’re permitted to buy as many tickets as you can afford. In others, this may be limited to a specific number, like ten or twenty tickets per single transaction.
This is a great way to increase your winning chances. This is because you’ll grab both winning and losing tickets. You’ll eat the cost of the losing ones and hope for a big win.
And, in theory, this is sure to produce results, as you’re bound to find a rewarding scratch-off ticket after several bulk purchases.
In practice, it still works but heavily depends on your luck and what tickets you get in the batch.
6. Always Submit All of Your Tickets
By this, we mean officially checking every single ticket you play, including the losing ones. No matter how carefully you check, the only way to be completely certain you’ve really lost is to visit the seller and request them to check the ticket.
Needless to say, most tellers working at these shops won’t appreciate you asking them to check every single ticket, especially if you play in bulk. But, there are many reasons why you should always do so.
The first one is the most obvious, and that’s that the ticket may be a winning one, but you’re not sure of how the game works.
Many scratch-off tickets have several games on the ticket, some more complex than others. So, even if you think you’ve lost on the scratch-off ticket, it’s best to double-check it.
You’d be surprised how many players mistakenly throw away their winning tickets.
Another reason to submit all of your scratch-off tickets is that the ticket is actually a winning one, but there’s an error on the card.
In such cases, submitting the ticket to the seller to scan them may prove that the ticket is actually a winning one. In any case, there’s always a chance of winning, so never throw your ticket before submitting it for a check first.
5. Keep All Tickets
The reasoning behind this tip is very similar to the one we’ve just discussed in the previous secret for winning more scratch-off tickets.
Scratch-off tickets don’t take up much room in your storage, so you don’t have much to gain by throwing them away. But, you have a lot to lose by doing so.
How is this possible? This is where our answer ties into the previous tip. You can never be sure unless you submit your ticket and check it officially. Even then, you shouldn’t throw away your tickets.
This is because many states and countries have lotteries with a very specific rule. This is that some scratch-off tickets that aren’t won are then drawn out to determine the winner.
So, even if you really determine you’ve lost a ticket, you might win in the late draw if there’s no jackpot prize drawn out after some time.
4. Wait for Other Players to Lose Before You
Imagine this, you’re in the shop, waiting to buy a batch of scratch-off tickets. You’re waiting around, talking to your friend, and observing other players buy scratch-off tickets before you.
You notice that many of them have gone in and out of the shop, but none of them have come back to cash out a winning scratch-off ticket.
After some time, you decide to swoop in and buy in bulk, hoping that a winning ticket is in the batch you just purchased.
This is a great scenario that can potentially significantly increase your winning chances. It’s similar to what some slot machine players do in casinos.
They wait until someone is done playing because they lost all of their money, and they sit on the same machine, hoping that it will pay out soon.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that this method will work, as you’re never due a win. Moreover, with scratch-off, you’re always buying blindly and can’t know what you’re getting until you actually scratch the ticket.
But, there’s no arguing that your winning chances will be at least slightly better than they would be otherwise.
3. Always Have a Planned Bankroll
It makes no difference whether you’re playing a complex game like poker, which heavily relies on strategy, or simple scratch-off tickets, which only involve luck.
You should always have a predetermined bankroll that you’ll stick to at all times.
Setting a bankroll for playing scratch-off tickets serves several critical purposes. Firstly, it will help you determine how much money you can afford to bet.
Secondly, it will prevent you from reaching for your general balance whenever you want to buy new tickets.
Finally, you’ll have a much better overview of how much you’re losing over time. The last bit of information is key to know, as most scratch-off players, unfortunately, lose more than they win.
When you have a planned bankroll you can stick to, you’ll also be able to avoid chasing your losses and spending money you need for other everyday things.
You never want your scratch-off gambling to get in the way of paying bills, rent, buying groceries, and covering other costs.
2. Pick One Scratch-Off & Stick With It
Nowadays, there are countless state-sponsored scratch-off games, depending on where you live. While this does provide great gameplay variety, playing too many different scratch-off tickets is far from the optimal strategy if you’re in it to win it.
With this in mind, one of the best ways how to win scratch-off tickets is to just pick one type of game and focus on it.
The reasoning for this is very simple. Each scratch-off game has many more losing tickets than it has winning ones. So, why is this important?
Every time you lose a scratch-off ticket, you’re putting one less losing ticket out of circulation. In other words, the ratio of winning tickets to losing ones gets more favorable for you.
But, if you constantly keep switching between different types of scratch-off games, this doesn’t happen. Instead, you’re most likely just experiencing losing tickets without increasing your chances of getting a winning one.
Because of this, it’s extremely important to pick one game and just play it for the long run. This is a much smarter strategy that will produce noticeably better financial results.
1. Know When to Quit
This may sound counter-intuitive at first glance. But, one of the best tips for winning scratch-offs in the long run is knowing to quit when you’re ahead.
One of the main reasons most scratch-off players lose more than they win is that they don’t know when they should and shouldn’t play.
More precisely, you should never chase wins or try riding a winning streak. This is because scratch-off tickets are completely luck-based, and there’s no way to guarantee a win.
So, the best thing you can do whenever you win a scratch-off ticket is just to pick up your money and walk out of the shop. Save your money for next time.
In a way, this scratch-off winning secret combined several tips we’ve discussed above. When you buy in bulk, have a scratch game you stick with, and have a bankroll, you should always play accordingly and quit while ahead.
So, walking away with your winnings is better than just buying more tickets and losing the money you’re previously won.
How to Win Scratch-Offs: Conclusion
We want to remind you that none of the above-shared tips and scratch-off ticket secrets we’ve shared with you will guarantee a 100% success rate, as there’s no secret as how to win scratch-offs every time.
This is just the nature of gambling. That said, they will certainly go a long way in maximizing your winning chances, especially in the long run.
Remember that luck will still play a significant factor, no matter how well you execute the tips we’ve discussed above.
Still, the more of these secrets and insights you combine when playing scratch-off games, the better your success will be. Good luck, and we hope you hit a big win!
