Lottery Myths
Lottery myths are commonplace. Although they don’t do much harm, it is always good to see those lottery myths exploded so that the real facts are allowed to emerge. In this article we explode some of the most common lottery myths so that you can play more rationally...
Some Numbers Are Due
The idea that some numbers are due to be drawn more than others is a widespread one. Many lottery players like to include numbers that haven’t be drawn for a while in the hope or expectation that they are somehow more likely to come up in the future. The fact of the matter is that all lottery numbers have exactly the same chance of appearing, regardless of how many times they have or have not been selected in the past.
Lucky People Have Better Odds
Another common lottery myth is that lucky people have better odds of winning than the rest of us. Again, this is quite untrue. Over and above the fact that luck is a nebulous concept at best, the odds for any player winning a lottery game with a single ticket are always the same, and that’s because the numbers are drawn entirely at random. The only way in which you can increase your chance of winning is to buy more tickets, and although the eventual winner can of course be described as lucky, their win was actually a random event, and not something brought about by their personality, character or attitude.
All Lotteries Are Equal
Many people believe that all lottery games are equal, and either dismiss or embrace all of them with the same level of enthusiasm. This is a myth. The odds of winning different lottery games vary, as do average jackpot sizes and the cost of entering. For example, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot by matching all six selected numbers are 1 in 292,201,338, while the odds of matching all six numbers in Mega Millions are 1 in 302,575,350. Knowing that different lotteries have different odds and prizes allows you to be selective and look for the games that you consider to offer the most bang for your buck.
Dreams Come True
Lots of lottery players believe that dreams come true. This is why so many people who have dreams about winning lottery numbers decide to play them when they wake up – sometimes for years after the initial dream. While the laws of chance dictate that some people who dream of certain numbers will coincidentally win with those numbers, there are millions of players who are still playing numbers they dreamed of a decade ago, and are yet to win even a modest prize.
Lottery games are exciting. They offer us the chance of winning life-changing sums that can revolutionize our lives overnight. It is therefore no surprise that a certain amount of mythology surrounds these games. However, by exploding myths like the ones detailed in this article, we can prevent ourselves from overestimating our chances of winning and becoming despondent if we don’t get the lottery results we would like.
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