So how do you avoid such odd situations? First you need to take a step back from your lottery routine and determine if your numbers are good enough to win. If not, or if you are looking for new numbers, here are some valuable tips that will increase your chances of not only winning, but winning big.

1. If you have won a lottery before, do not reuse the numbers. This is not a roulette table where the odds are 38:1 (considering zeros). There are millions of possible winning numbers. While it is not impossible, what are the odds of becoming the only person in recorded history to win twice in this way?
2. Never select numbers on a sequence. Choosing a two number pattern in a group of six is fine, but don’t pick 12-14-16-18-20-22. While in truth and numbers will do, if using our human minds to rationalize, this is not a good idea.
3. Never select numbers from a lottery website. Rest assured hundreds if not thousands of other people are doing the same thing.
4. Due to the tendency for people to pick birthdays in their numbers, most players have the numbers 1-31 sufficiently covered. If you want to increase your chances of winning the big one and being the sole winner, choose some higher numbers as well. Their probability is just as good but there will be a lower number of people selecting them.
5. And as a final word of advice, don’t play other people’s numbers or pick up tickets for them. Ruining a friendship over a lottery win is bad enough, but there are people who flat out change at the potential to have a life changing moment. When this happens, there are those who resort to violence, lawsuits and sometimes even worse. “A borrower nor a lender be.”

Best of Luck!

Here are other How to Win articles from the author

Increase your Odds at Winning the Lottery

Winning an Online Sweepstakes

Image by Lisa Brewster via Flickr