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How to win at the Georgia $20 instant game, Maximum GreenPrev TopicNext Topic
If you had to choose one thing that has helped you win at the game Maximum Green what would it be?
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What is a good ticket number for Maximum Green? I was in store that I regularly shop at, and there was three rolls of this ticket, and they were all on number 004. I thought this was odd, and was wondering if this was coincidence, or just a losing ticket number. I also have the idea that 005 might be a good number, and they all stopped playing when they hit on it. At that store, the tickets start at the highest number, 014 and count down to 000. Anyone who has any experience with this game, please share your knowledge.
What is the most you have won? What does an average winner pay out? Have you had success or failure with a certain ticket number? I am thinking of buying one, but $20 is a good chunk of change to spend on a ticket, so I want to see if there is anything I can do to increase my odds. I have won $150 on a $5 ticket, so I am hoping to win $500 on this game. Is this a reasonable expectation, and if so, how long did you play it before you won? I am reasonable, and I don't expect to hit that amount the first time that I play. Does this ticket usually win you money or lose it? Is it your favorite ticket, or the one you hate the most? Do odd or even tickets win the most often, or the most money?
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Feel free to include as much or as little information as you wish. For example, I have chronicled my experience with a $10 instant game, Jingle Jumbo Bucks. You can read my take on it here: https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/223914/1878370
By the way, the poll answer "Buy only the first three or last three in the roll", was intended to read "Buy only from one of the first three or last three in the roll". It can mean buy all three, or just one, but from that section of the roll. I never meant to imply that one must purchase all three tickets.
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At least at one station, most of the $500 winners were 011 and 012, so I will be looking out for those numbers. I think 3 is a good number for some $10 tickets.
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Yesterday I bought the last 4 tickets on this roll and none of them were a winner.
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Quote: Originally posted by kane9932 on Dec 15, 2010
Yesterday I bought the last 4 tickets on this roll and none of them were a winner.
That really sucks. Of the three I have purchased, two lost, and one won $25. The winner was the last one on the roll. My overall impression is that I don't have one. I do know that I am not too keen on the idea of spending $20 to win $5. I can do that with a $5 ticket any day of the week.
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Is this game worth pooling for? In other words, could 2 people split the cost of a roll of tickets, and expect to come out ahead? My preliminary research indicates that there is approximately one $100 winner every two books in this game. Purely from an odds point of view, this game has a 56.25% greater chance of hitting $100 when you compare it to Jingle Jumbo Bucks. I know what you are thinking: Go for it! Wait just a minute, hold your horses. This ticket costs twice as much.
Before I go any further, I would like to point out that the winners are not always printed in the exact same order. I know this. I know it is not exact. My case study is based purely on the mathematical overall odds. There could be 15 $100 winners in one book. There could likewise be no $100 winners in 15 books. This hypothetical analysis is based on all things being equal, with no other variables. I know this is impossible, but just humor me.
Tell me if my math is correct:
The odds of Jingle Jumbo Bucks hitting $100 are 1 in 100. Each book contains 30 tickets. 30 times $10 = $300. That means that all things being equal, every three books and 3.33 tickets, there will be a $100 winner. We will round down to 3 books, 3 tickets.
The odds of Maximum Green hitting $100 are 1 in 32. Each book contains 15 tickets. 15 times $20 = $300. That means that all things being equal, every 2 books, 2 tickets, there will be a $100 winner. No need to round at this point.
In a perfect world, you could simply purchase 100 Jingle Jumbo Bucks tickets and come out with a $100 winner, but you would have spent $1,000 to make $100. Not an economically sound decision. On the other hand, in a perfect world, you could purchase 32 Maximum Green tickets and win $100. You would have spent $320 to do so, however. That still is not an economically sound investment, but it is a lot better choice, in my opinion. The lottery is set up to make money, so you must keep this in mind going in. You have to both be clever, and figure out a system, or be lucky, or some combination of both.
We will divide the odds of 1 in 100 and 1 in 32. 100 divided by 32 is 3.125. That means that there is 3.125 times the odds of hitting $100, however, the $20 tickets are obviously twice as expensive, so we will divide the odds by two. 3.125/2 = 1.5625. That leaves us with a 56.25% greater chance of hitting $100 playing Maximum Green, as opposed to playing Jingle Jumbo Bucks. As I now consider $100 a reasonably obtainable goal, I may change my long lasting philosophy whereas I have believed that the Jingle Jumbo Bucks was a better bet. Let us round down just a little bit. We will say that Jingle Jumbo Bucks has a $100 winner every 3 rolls, and that Maximum Green has a $100 winner every 2 rolls.
Given that the rolls cost the same amount of money, if you are looking for a $100 winner, Maximum Green is the clear winner. Now having said that, if it takes you more than 5 tickets of Maximum Green to accomplish this, then you will lose money. On the other hand, if it takes you more than 10 tickets in Jingle Jumbo Bucks, you will lose money. You have twice as many chances before a loss occurs.
So we are basically back where we started. The lottery is designed to take our money. I believe there is one way, and one way only to narrow your chances to an acceptable level, beyond plain luck of the draw. You need a cashier, even better multiple cashiers that work at the same store and who share information with each other and you. The answer of "I just started working I don't know" doesn't really help, as honest as it may be. I also take that to mean that there very well may have been a big winner, especially if I do not trust the clerk. I trust some, and others I do not. One that I do trust would have saved me $50 in losses, if I had just taken his advice yesterday. I knew then that he was right, just as I do now, but I foolishly kept on scratching. Shame on me. I will take his advice in the future, instead of being an idiot.
If the clerks play the lottery, then chances are that they will end up with a winner, more times than you. On the other hand, they can watch the customers that scratch the tickets in the store, then they are in a position where they can see how many losers the customer throws away, assuming that they throw any away. They can keep an exact count. One could only hope that if there was a winner, the customer would turn it in right away.
They can also observe which customers take their tickets home to scratch, and how long it usually takes them to return to the store to turn in their winning ticket. They could with some degree of accuracy determine whether or not there was a winner in that string, but they really can't be positive. If someone usually buys a ticket, and returns to cash in that ticket within 30 minutes, then the clerk could reasonably assume after an hour that the customer is not coming back, and that their tickets lost. Some folks may hold onto winners till the end of the day, or the end of the week, possibly even longer. Not foolproof, but better than nothing.
If you can find a clerk that enjoys the thrill of the lottery, or likes seeing people win, then they might just be the person to help you out. Their motivation for helping you could determine how much help that they are willing to give you. If they like you, then they will be more likely to help you. If you seem like you need the money, then they may help you. If they just like to see how accurate they are, then they might choose you to help out or anyone at random.
If there is a financial reward for them, then they might want to help you. I wonder if there are any cashier and customer relationships which may be mutually beneficial. I wonder if anyone ever tips their clerk either a percentage of each win, or a fixed dollar amount. If this sounds like you, then send me a PM if you don't want to post on the board, in the public view. If you are a clerk and you think you know who I am, then ask me about the weather. I will tell you that it looks like snow is in the future. Likewise, if I ask you about the weather, mention snow, whether or not it is going to happen.
If you are a cashier in the Marietta, GA area or nearby, and you think you can help me win, I might just consider sharing some of the money with you. I see nothing illegal or immoral with a deal like this. No clerk is in a position to be certain if a ticket is a winner or not. They do not have any proprietary material knowledge before a ticket is sold whether or not it is a winner. They would only be forming an opinion. Likewise, if I fell like I have received excellent customer service, then there is absolutely no reason that I cannot give a tip to those individuals who I feel like have given me excellent customer service. Tipping during the Christmas Season is not anything new, nor is it illegal.
If anyone is going to jump on this post and say that it violates some law, please be prepared to offer the exact code section. I want to see the law. There is not one anywhere in Georgia that I am aware of. If you are going to provide answers like “I have heard that it is illegal,” or “it is against the law,” then I want you to show me the law.
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I won $100 on it today off of one ticket. It would have been even better if I did not have $65 worth of other losers playing other games. I cannot believe that I am still $35 in the hole for the month, but this is mainly due to stupid acts on my part. I have won $150, $100 3 times, $75 and $40 this month alone, but this has been on four different games, and the majority on two games. If I had used better judgement, I would have kept a whole lot more of it. Now it is time for a $500 winner. I love Maximum Green, especially since I won $100 my fourth time out.
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Quote: Originally posted by CarHauler on Dec 20, 2010
I won $100 on it today off of one ticket. It would have been even better if I did not have $65 worth of other losers playing other games. I cannot believe that I am still $35 in the hole for the month, but this is mainly due to stupid acts on my part. I have won $150, $100 3 times, $75 and $40 this month alone, but this has been on four different games, and the majority on two games. If I had used better judgement, I would have kept a whole lot more of it. Now it is time for a $500 winner. I love Maximum Green, especially since I won $100 my fourth time out.
CarHauler that is really great news. I hope the 100's keep coming, you find a 'star' cartoon for a nice $500 win --- or better.
I do not play one of two Tennessee $20 games very much at all (maybe 3 times a year, just buying one or 2 tickets) but I have won $100 around the first month of this year (two $50 wins on one ticket). Bought from the other roll in the machine and got $30.
What happened next is exactly what the lottery wants us to do: Think we are invincible, on a roll, and unstoppable. I stopped at a gas station and bought a few more, then worst of all went to another grocery store and loaded up. bought 5 or 6 tickets ,from 2 diff rolls. Nothing. Walked away, only to feel stupid that night AFTER the store closed, so I was standing tall first thing in the morning to finish them out. Luckily I recovered half my money (around $220 total) and deposited it strait in the bank, never looking back.
This is probably way more than you cared for, and these are two different games ( I would be more incline to say the Max Green game offers much better odds), but figured I would share this. Just tread lightly and be sure pick the WINNING tickets :)
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Quote: Originally posted by TheOtherOne on Dec 20, 2010
CarHauler that is really great news. I hope the 100's keep coming, you find a 'star' cartoon for a nice $500 win --- or better.
I do not play one of two Tennessee $20 games very much at all (maybe 3 times a year, just buying one or 2 tickets) but I have won $100 around the first month of this year (two $50 wins on one ticket). Bought from the other roll in the machine and got $30.
What happened next is exactly what the lottery wants us to do: Think we are invincible, on a roll, and unstoppable. I stopped at a gas station and bought a few more, then worst of all went to another grocery store and loaded up. bought 5 or 6 tickets ,from 2 diff rolls. Nothing. Walked away, only to feel stupid that night AFTER the store closed, so I was standing tall first thing in the morning to finish them out. Luckily I recovered half my money (around $220 total) and deposited it strait in the bank, never looking back.
This is probably way more than you cared for, and these are two different games ( I would be more incline to say the Max Green game offers much better odds), but figured I would share this. Just tread lightly and be sure pick the WINNING tickets :)
It is almost like I have actually lost my mind, and have suffered from some brain disorder. I originally spent $260 on scratch-offs Christmas day, and lost $75 of that, meaning that I still had $185 worth of winners. It was not too terrible, but I made sure that it ended up much worse. By that point in time, I had bought 2 $20 losers from the same roll of tickets. I bought 007, and it lost. When I came back, it was on 011. You guessed it, it lost as well.
Of the $75 that I lost, $60 was from one store, so I was determined to get my money back from there. After all, had I not played there at all, I would have only lost $15. I went back again, but they were closed for the night. I too was there first thing the next day. I kept on buying until the roll was gone, and ended up winning $20 on the last ticket. Not wanting to give up, I decided to see just how large of a losing streak I could amass.
This is all part of the sick idea I have that I can get back to a point in history, when I was ahead for the month. At one point in December, on the 13th in fact, my scratch-off loss for the year was just -$1, and that was the best that it ever got. I had actually made $223 of pure profit for the month. By the next day I would end up losing $100 of that. 12 days later, and I have turned a $223 profit into a $349 loss. That means in less than 2 weeks I have suffered $572 loss! The excitement of several back to back $100 and $100+ winners was just too much for me. I got too <snip>y for my own good, and now I am paying the price. I can only hope that it gets better from here.
I believe that most games are simply played best one ticket at a time. See, almost all of my profit came when I just bought only 1 ticket and won. Most of the wins were unexpected. If I have learned just one thing, and if I can help anyone else, the message would be loud and clear: power buying does not usually turn out well. You simply cannot force a win by throwing money at rolls of tickets. Sure you might end up with a good winner, but you aren't making money if you spend more than you are making, as some have said, and that is a fact.
I started into the next roll, but by this point two other folks suddenly materialized. It seems as though they just appeared out of nowhere, and they were buying many of the same tickets as me. I think they must have been some type of predatory pair, as it seems like they came in around the same time, and both disappeared around the same time frame. I purchased 000, and it lost. I then saw 001 in the trash, and it was from the same roll of Extreme Green that I was buying from. I purchased number 002, and went to the back table and scratched it, and of course it lost. I knew by now my odds were looking pretty good, so I decided to go get another one, but I noticed that tickets 003 and 004 were both gone from the roll, along with the two other customers.
Realizing that I had most likely just been had, I did not try my luck on the next ticket, 005, reasoning that one of the other 2 missing tickets was probably the winner, especially since the pair of sharks has vanished around the exact same time. They had both been buying many of the same tickets as me, and I believe they bought the winner right from under my nose. I ended up spending $180 and only getting 2 winners out of those two rolls, for a total of $40. I should have let well enough alone, but I could not bear the thought of explaining to my wife that not only had I lost the $75 the night before, but that I had also ended up losing another $100. I decided that I just had to do whatever it took to make her proud, but that never happened.
I was down to $50, and then got back up to $95. I should have quit along time before that point, but I definitely should have pulled the plug then. After all, that is what a reasonable person would have done: cut their losses at around $150, and kept $100. Not me. I kept playing different games, until I had spent all of my money, and ended up with a $25 winner that I took home. I went back later in the day, and traded it in for $25 worth of tickets, and they all lost.
I could write a book and entitle it "How to blow through $250 in less than 12 hours, and not end up with anything to show for it." At least if I had purchased alcohol or drugs I would have gotten something in return. This realization has caused me to have some dark thoughts which are not very healthy. I have been through the whole cycle now: anger, resentment, disbelief, shock, questioning, sadness, and finally acceptance. I just have to hold my head up, move on, and hope that I can avoid many of the same mistakes that I have made before. At least that is what I try and force myself to believe.
I have been spending like crazy recently, and it has not paid off. As some of you know, I had a lot of good wins this month, but I just never could be satisfied. I brought all of this upon myself, and I hope I learned a lesson. I have set limits, now I just need to stick to them. I have come to the painful realization that it would take a $500 winner and another $100 winner to return all of the money that I have lost on scratch-offs in the last 12 days, to wipe the slate clean again. The sad part is that the losses which took me almost two weeks to build, I managed to double in one day.
Like the fool that I am, I wanted to "win my money back," but that rarely happens. I need to tell myself that I am only not going to spend over a certain amount each day, and that is it. I should limit myself to $20 a day. Chasing losers sometimes has paid off, but not usually, and not by very much, most of the time. As much as I hate to admit it, I think that I am coming to the realization that the lottery is truly random, at least to a certain extent. It is also much the same sometimes. There might be some patterns, but the more I play, the more it seems like you can win as much as you can lose on any number. It is best to just play the games with the best overall odds, along with the best payout, which still have a large percentage of top prizes left.
I am left wondering if this pair of sharks was not tipped off by a store clerk. Maybe one of them called their favorite customers and just told them that I was buying a bunch of tickets, and now was the perfect time for them to swoop in for the kill, and take any winnings that I might have made, if not to make a profit, at least to soften the blow. I know this sounds like conspiracy talk, and it most likely is, but you never know.
It seems to me like the timing was just a little too perfect, and that the two of them bought just enough tickets to see to it that they won, and that I lost. I bet they walked away with several hundred dollars, after having spent far less between them. Very poor timing indeed. Who knows, maybe the clerk bought the winner. Maybe there was no winner, but I just can't see people spending like that, and then just walking away empty handed. They returned to the counter several times, and I happen to think they just profited off my nickel. I think they had a plan.
Whether they had any help or not remains for them to know, and me to wonder. I personally think they knew exactly what they were doing. I even wonder if they didn't buy the tickets 008, 009 and 010 the previous night. There most likely was a winner in that string as well. After all, if 007, 011, 012 and 013 all lost, with 014 being a free ticket, my guess is that one of the tickets, either 008, 009 or 010 was a winner of something larger. I wonder if this happens more than I realize, organized lottery scam artists, who take advantage of people who are buying most of the tickets. Is there such a thing as lottery parasites? This game is just too expensive to play the way I did, for someone else to steal my win.
Thank you for the encouragement and good luck to you as well. I wish I could find just the winners. The Good Lord knows that I could use a $500 or better win. I almost felt like the Lord was telling me not to play on his birthday, and that I should take the day off from the lottery. I should have listened. Perhaps this was my punishment. Has anyone else prayed that if only God would let them win one last big winner, enough to make up for their losses, that they would quit playing? Even if I don't quit playing, my new year's resolution will be to purchase only 1 ticket from any book at any one time. The occasional, odd and unexpected win is the best one, after all.
This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.
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Quote: Originally posted by CarHauler on Dec 27, 2010
It is almost like I have actually lost my mind, and have suffered from some brain disorder. I originally spent $260 on scratch-offs Christmas day, and lost $75 of that, meaning that I still had $185 worth of winners. It was not too terrible, but I made sure that it ended up much worse. By that point in time, I had bought 2 $20 losers from the same roll of tickets. I bought 007, and it lost. When I came back, it was on 011. You guessed it, it lost as well.
Of the $75 that I lost, $60 was from one store, so I was determined to get my money back from there. After all, had I not played there at all, I would have only lost $15. I went back again, but they were closed for the night. I too was there first thing the next day. I kept on buying until the roll was gone, and ended up winning $20 on the last ticket. Not wanting to give up, I decided to see just how large of a losing streak I could amass.
This is all part of the sick idea I have that I can get back to a point in history, when I was ahead for the month. At one point in December, on the 13th in fact, my scratch-off loss for the year was just -$1, and that was the best that it ever got. I had actually made $223 of pure profit for the month. By the next day I would end up losing $100 of that. 12 days later, and I have turned a $223 profit into a $349 loss. That means in less than 2 weeks I have suffered $572 loss! The excitement of several back to back $100 and $100+ winners was just too much for me. I got too <snip>y for my own good, and now I am paying the price. I can only hope that it gets better from here.
I believe that most games are simply played best one ticket at a time. See, almost all of my profit came when I just bought only 1 ticket and won. Most of the wins were unexpected. If I have learned just one thing, and if I can help anyone else, the message would be loud and clear: power buying does not usually turn out well. You simply cannot force a win by throwing money at rolls of tickets. Sure you might end up with a good winner, but you aren't making money if you spend more than you are making, as some have said, and that is a fact.
I started into the next roll, but by this point two other folks suddenly materialized. It seems as though they just appeared out of nowhere, and they were buying many of the same tickets as me. I think they must have been some type of predatory pair, as it seems like they came in around the same time, and both disappeared around the same time frame. I purchased 000, and it lost. I then saw 001 in the trash, and it was from the same roll of Extreme Green that I was buying from. I purchased number 002, and went to the back table and scratched it, and of course it lost. I knew by now my odds were looking pretty good, so I decided to go get another one, but I noticed that tickets 003 and 004 were both gone from the roll, along with the two other customers.
Realizing that I had most likely just been had, I did not try my luck on the next ticket, 005, reasoning that one of the other 2 missing tickets was probably the winner, especially since the pair of sharks has vanished around the exact same time. They had both been buying many of the same tickets as me, and I believe they bought the winner right from under my nose. I ended up spending $180 and only getting 2 winners out of those two rolls, for a total of $40. I should have let well enough alone, but I could not bear the thought of explaining to my wife that not only had I lost the $75 the night before, but that I had also ended up losing another $100. I decided that I just had to do whatever it took to make her proud, but that never happened.
I was down to $50, and then got back up to $95. I should have quit along time before that point, but I definitely should have pulled the plug then. After all, that is what a reasonable person would have done: cut their losses at around $150, and kept $100. Not me. I kept playing different games, until I had spent all of my money, and ended up with a $25 winner that I took home. I went back later in the day, and traded it in for $25 worth of tickets, and they all lost.
I could write a book and entitle it "How to blow through $250 in less than 12 hours, and not end up with anything to show for it." At least if I had purchased alcohol or drugs I would have gotten something in return. This realization has caused me to have some dark thoughts which are not very healthy. I have been through the whole cycle now: anger, resentment, disbelief, shock, questioning, sadness, and finally acceptance. I just have to hold my head up, move on, and hope that I can avoid many of the same mistakes that I have made before. At least that is what I try and force myself to believe.
I have been spending like crazy recently, and it has not paid off. As some of you know, I had a lot of good wins this month, but I just never could be satisfied. I brought all of this upon myself, and I hope I learned a lesson. I have set limits, now I just need to stick to them. I have come to the painful realization that it would take a $500 winner and another $100 winner to return all of the money that I have lost on scratch-offs in the last 12 days, to wipe the slate clean again. The sad part is that the losses which took me almost two weeks to build, I managed to double in one day.
Like the fool that I am, I wanted to "win my money back," but that rarely happens. I need to tell myself that I am only not going to spend over a certain amount each day, and that is it. I should limit myself to $20 a day. Chasing losers sometimes has paid off, but not usually, and not by very much, most of the time. As much as I hate to admit it, I think that I am coming to the realization that the lottery is truly random, at least to a certain extent. It is also much the same sometimes. There might be some patterns, but the more I play, the more it seems like you can win as much as you can lose on any number. It is best to just play the games with the best overall odds, along with the best payout, which still have a large percentage of top prizes left.
I am left wondering if this pair of sharks was not tipped off by a store clerk. Maybe one of them called their favorite customers and just told them that I was buying a bunch of tickets, and now was the perfect time for them to swoop in for the kill, and take any winnings that I might have made, if not to make a profit, at least to soften the blow. I know this sounds like conspiracy talk, and it most likely is, but you never know.
It seems to me like the timing was just a little too perfect, and that the two of them bought just enough tickets to see to it that they won, and that I lost. I bet they walked away with several hundred dollars, after having spent far less between them. Very poor timing indeed. Who knows, maybe the clerk bought the winner. Maybe there was no winner, but I just can't see people spending like that, and then just walking away empty handed. They returned to the counter several times, and I happen to think they just profited off my nickel. I think they had a plan.
Whether they had any help or not remains for them to know, and me to wonder. I personally think they knew exactly what they were doing. I even wonder if they didn't buy the tickets 008, 009 and 010 the previous night. There most likely was a winner in that string as well. After all, if 007, 011, 012 and 013 all lost, with 014 being a free ticket, my guess is that one of the tickets, either 008, 009 or 010 was a winner of something larger. I wonder if this happens more than I realize, organized lottery scam artists, who take advantage of people who are buying most of the tickets. Is there such a thing as lottery parasites? This game is just too expensive to play the way I did, for someone else to steal my win.
Thank you for the encouragement and good luck to you as well. I wish I could find just the winners. The Good Lord knows that I could use a $500 or better win. I almost felt like the Lord was telling me not to play on his birthday, and that I should take the day off from the lottery. I should have listened. Perhaps this was my punishment. Has anyone else prayed that if only God would let them win one last big winner, enough to make up for their losses, that they would quit playing? Even if I don't quit playing, my new year's resolution will be to purchase only 1 ticket from any book at any one time. The occasional, odd and unexpected win is the best one, after all.
This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.
Sorry to hear that, CarHauler. I spent about $100 Christmas Eve and $80 yesterday, and got about 1/3 and 1/2 those amounts back. Problem is all the small winners. 3 out of 5 Money Money Moneys won yesterday, but for $10 on each win. I think after today I will ease up greatly until the new tickets are out - maybe set a $10 a day limit until then. Maybe the tickets are played out in both our states. Hoping our luck improves!
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Quote: Originally posted by CarHauler on Dec 27, 2010
It is almost like I have actually lost my mind, and have suffered from some brain disorder. I originally spent $260 on scratch-offs Christmas day, and lost $75 of that, meaning that I still had $185 worth of winners. It was not too terrible, but I made sure that it ended up much worse. By that point in time, I had bought 2 $20 losers from the same roll of tickets. I bought 007, and it lost. When I came back, it was on 011. You guessed it, it lost as well.
Of the $75 that I lost, $60 was from one store, so I was determined to get my money back from there. After all, had I not played there at all, I would have only lost $15. I went back again, but they were closed for the night. I too was there first thing the next day. I kept on buying until the roll was gone, and ended up winning $20 on the last ticket. Not wanting to give up, I decided to see just how large of a losing streak I could amass.
This is all part of the sick idea I have that I can get back to a point in history, when I was ahead for the month. At one point in December, on the 13th in fact, my scratch-off loss for the year was just -$1, and that was the best that it ever got. I had actually made $223 of pure profit for the month. By the next day I would end up losing $100 of that. 12 days later, and I have turned a $223 profit into a $349 loss. That means in less than 2 weeks I have suffered $572 loss! The excitement of several back to back $100 and $100+ winners was just too much for me. I got too <snip>y for my own good, and now I am paying the price. I can only hope that it gets better from here.
I believe that most games are simply played best one ticket at a time. See, almost all of my profit came when I just bought only 1 ticket and won. Most of the wins were unexpected. If I have learned just one thing, and if I can help anyone else, the message would be loud and clear: power buying does not usually turn out well. You simply cannot force a win by throwing money at rolls of tickets. Sure you might end up with a good winner, but you aren't making money if you spend more than you are making, as some have said, and that is a fact.
I started into the next roll, but by this point two other folks suddenly materialized. It seems as though they just appeared out of nowhere, and they were buying many of the same tickets as me. I think they must have been some type of predatory pair, as it seems like they came in around the same time, and both disappeared around the same time frame. I purchased 000, and it lost. I then saw 001 in the trash, and it was from the same roll of Extreme Green that I was buying from. I purchased number 002, and went to the back table and scratched it, and of course it lost. I knew by now my odds were looking pretty good, so I decided to go get another one, but I noticed that tickets 003 and 004 were both gone from the roll, along with the two other customers.
Realizing that I had most likely just been had, I did not try my luck on the next ticket, 005, reasoning that one of the other 2 missing tickets was probably the winner, especially since the pair of sharks has vanished around the exact same time. They had both been buying many of the same tickets as me, and I believe they bought the winner right from under my nose. I ended up spending $180 and only getting 2 winners out of those two rolls, for a total of $40. I should have let well enough alone, but I could not bear the thought of explaining to my wife that not only had I lost the $75 the night before, but that I had also ended up losing another $100. I decided that I just had to do whatever it took to make her proud, but that never happened.
I was down to $50, and then got back up to $95. I should have quit along time before that point, but I definitely should have pulled the plug then. After all, that is what a reasonable person would have done: cut their losses at around $150, and kept $100. Not me. I kept playing different games, until I had spent all of my money, and ended up with a $25 winner that I took home. I went back later in the day, and traded it in for $25 worth of tickets, and they all lost.
I could write a book and entitle it "How to blow through $250 in less than 12 hours, and not end up with anything to show for it." At least if I had purchased alcohol or drugs I would have gotten something in return. This realization has caused me to have some dark thoughts which are not very healthy. I have been through the whole cycle now: anger, resentment, disbelief, shock, questioning, sadness, and finally acceptance. I just have to hold my head up, move on, and hope that I can avoid many of the same mistakes that I have made before. At least that is what I try and force myself to believe.
I have been spending like crazy recently, and it has not paid off. As some of you know, I had a lot of good wins this month, but I just never could be satisfied. I brought all of this upon myself, and I hope I learned a lesson. I have set limits, now I just need to stick to them. I have come to the painful realization that it would take a $500 winner and another $100 winner to return all of the money that I have lost on scratch-offs in the last 12 days, to wipe the slate clean again. The sad part is that the losses which took me almost two weeks to build, I managed to double in one day.
Like the fool that I am, I wanted to "win my money back," but that rarely happens. I need to tell myself that I am only not going to spend over a certain amount each day, and that is it. I should limit myself to $20 a day. Chasing losers sometimes has paid off, but not usually, and not by very much, most of the time. As much as I hate to admit it, I think that I am coming to the realization that the lottery is truly random, at least to a certain extent. It is also much the same sometimes. There might be some patterns, but the more I play, the more it seems like you can win as much as you can lose on any number. It is best to just play the games with the best overall odds, along with the best payout, which still have a large percentage of top prizes left.
I am left wondering if this pair of sharks was not tipped off by a store clerk. Maybe one of them called their favorite customers and just told them that I was buying a bunch of tickets, and now was the perfect time for them to swoop in for the kill, and take any winnings that I might have made, if not to make a profit, at least to soften the blow. I know this sounds like conspiracy talk, and it most likely is, but you never know.
It seems to me like the timing was just a little too perfect, and that the two of them bought just enough tickets to see to it that they won, and that I lost. I bet they walked away with several hundred dollars, after having spent far less between them. Very poor timing indeed. Who knows, maybe the clerk bought the winner. Maybe there was no winner, but I just can't see people spending like that, and then just walking away empty handed. They returned to the counter several times, and I happen to think they just profited off my nickel. I think they had a plan.
Whether they had any help or not remains for them to know, and me to wonder. I personally think they knew exactly what they were doing. I even wonder if they didn't buy the tickets 008, 009 and 010 the previous night. There most likely was a winner in that string as well. After all, if 007, 011, 012 and 013 all lost, with 014 being a free ticket, my guess is that one of the tickets, either 008, 009 or 010 was a winner of something larger. I wonder if this happens more than I realize, organized lottery scam artists, who take advantage of people who are buying most of the tickets. Is there such a thing as lottery parasites? This game is just too expensive to play the way I did, for someone else to steal my win.
Thank you for the encouragement and good luck to you as well. I wish I could find just the winners. The Good Lord knows that I could use a $500 or better win. I almost felt like the Lord was telling me not to play on his birthday, and that I should take the day off from the lottery. I should have listened. Perhaps this was my punishment. Has anyone else prayed that if only God would let them win one last big winner, enough to make up for their losses, that they would quit playing? Even if I don't quit playing, my new year's resolution will be to purchase only 1 ticket from any book at any one time. The occasional, odd and unexpected win is the best one, after all.
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Wow, that is rough and I am sorry to hear of it. Remember, though, it could always be worse.
I think Lotteries (casinos, and pretty much anything good in life) are designed for exactly that: lure you in with a good win, only to set you up for failure to crash and burn.
I had a similar experience earlier this year with the TN Milliionare ($20) games but luckily in the end I recouped half of my loss, called it a day and deposited the $ in the bank (it spanned 2 or 3 days though, but I am 'happy' I only lost half of my original $260-ish investment). That included a $100 winner and a $30 winner. It's the proverbial dangling carrot they let us finally win, knowing we will next seek the full bushel of carrots that the lottery knows we will never ever find.
it is very easy to think up conspiracy theories among the ways we play, but remember you have to look at both sides of the coin and consider that those other customers were probably just that: customers. Customers that just happened to walk in when you did. Had they been in on it they most likely would have waited on you to purchase more without buying anything. I think theives typically will not spend money to get more money -- reminds me of Europe where you dont have to mind your wallet being stolen from places you have to PAY to get into -- but the subway and open areas are their hunting ground.
Look at it this way: If it were that easy for the clerk to know which tickets were winners, why would he cut these other 2 customers in? Why not take the $ for himself?
Dont get me wrong -- there are clearly crooked clerks out there. Just found this article here on lottery post yesterday and was astounded (hopefully it will let me post this, i know posting links is frowned upon but I will try. If it doesnt work, the name of the post is "Frequent lottery wins by retailers investigated" from Oct 2 2009. I found it via the 'related stories' on this site.
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/201509
There are 2 videos from a News investigation on there. They do not ACCUSE the store owners of doing anything, they are just investigating. But it is very clear what they are getting at and it is obvious to me that there is some corruption there. Sounds like the clerks are ripping people off, but you tell me what you think.
After this experience, do you think you will keep trying with the $20 games or go back to the $5 and 10 ones? I think you pointed out before that it is best to stick with the $5 ones. If and when I play, that is what I have been doing recently.Keep at it and good luck at winning your $$ back! I do pray to God sometimes regarding the lottery but not often -- I feel like I should know better than to gamble so I dont want to feel like I am taking advantage. But I think he looks after us and teaches us lessons just the same.
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Quote: Originally posted by TheOtherOne on Dec 27, 2010
Wow, that is rough and I am sorry to hear of it. Remember, though, it could always be worse.
I think Lotteries (casinos, and pretty much anything good in life) are designed for exactly that: lure you in with a good win, only to set you up for failure to crash and burn.
I had a similar experience earlier this year with the TN Milliionare ($20) games but luckily in the end I recouped half of my loss, called it a day and deposited the $ in the bank (it spanned 2 or 3 days though, but I am 'happy' I only lost half of my original $260-ish investment). That included a $100 winner and a $30 winner. It's the proverbial dangling carrot they let us finally win, knowing we will next seek the full bushel of carrots that the lottery knows we will never ever find.
it is very easy to think up conspiracy theories among the ways we play, but remember you have to look at both sides of the coin and consider that those other customers were probably just that: customers. Customers that just happened to walk in when you did. Had they been in on it they most likely would have waited on you to purchase more without buying anything. I think theives typically will not spend money to get more money -- reminds me of Europe where you dont have to mind your wallet being stolen from places you have to PAY to get into -- but the subway and open areas are their hunting ground.
Look at it this way: If it were that easy for the clerk to know which tickets were winners, why would he cut these other 2 customers in? Why not take the $ for himself?
Dont get me wrong -- there are clearly crooked clerks out there. Just found this article here on lottery post yesterday and was astounded (hopefully it will let me post this, i know posting links is frowned upon but I will try. If it doesnt work, the name of the post is "Frequent lottery wins by retailers investigated" from Oct 2 2009. I found it via the 'related stories' on this site.
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/201509
There are 2 videos from a News investigation on there. They do not ACCUSE the store owners of doing anything, they are just investigating. But it is very clear what they are getting at and it is obvious to me that there is some corruption there. Sounds like the clerks are ripping people off, but you tell me what you think.
After this experience, do you think you will keep trying with the $20 games or go back to the $5 and 10 ones? I think you pointed out before that it is best to stick with the $5 ones. If and when I play, that is what I have been doing recently.Keep at it and good luck at winning your $$ back! I do pray to God sometimes regarding the lottery but not often -- I feel like I should know better than to gamble so I dont want to feel like I am taking advantage. But I think he looks after us and teaches us lessons just the same.
I have definitely decided to end my relationship with $5 games for the most part. After Holiday Gifts ripped off my head and sh_t down my neck, I quickly stopped playing that game. It went from no free winners, a $15 to $20 winner almost every 3 tickets to one winner of a free ticket every 5 or 6 tickets. I still prefer the $20 games and the occasional $10 game. I will just buy fewer of them. Those other customers did not come in when I did. They came in after I had been there half an hour or so.
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Matt, I am glad that at least you have more sense than me. I should and do know when to quit, but the problem is that I am not a quitter. I very well may have OCD. I do not seem to be able to do anything half way. I either do something well or don't do it at all. I am a perfectionist, and that is my problem with the lottery. It is not perfect. I hope to be able to use better judgement in the future. I am going to investigate the theory again of buying single tickets from each game or book, and spreading my wins all over town.
I am glad that you got some snow. We had a couple of inches, and it is still really beautiful out there. I made a gigantic snowball near the entrance to my neighborhood. It is over waist high and must weigh over a thousand pounds. I can barely move it. I should finish making it into a snowman. I had originally intended to gather snow from the abandoned lot, but I soon ended up with a giant from all of the wet, heavy snow. Later I showed my wife and she asked if I was going to take it home. I asked if she was crazy, and told her how much it weighed. She said that I could roll it home. Maybe I will try that, but even at 230 pounds, Ihave troble moving it. I still love the snow no matter how old I get. I need to hide in the bushes with my friend Amy, just to make sure that no one bothers my snowball.
This is the first year that we have ever owned a 4WD Vehicle. We got a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee from a family member for $1. That is the best $1 I have ever spent! It has a 5.2L V-8. It has plenty of punch up to around 40 mph, but after that my Intrigue will really teach it a lesson. It is a gas hog. If you barely touch the gas, and keep the revsbelow 1,500 RPMs then you can get up to 14 mpg, but some tanks we have averaged only around 11.5 mpg. Very gentle driving most of the time returns an average of 13 mpg.
I have taken it off road in a neighborhood that was just being built, and had just been bulldozed, after a good soaking rain. In 4 high it ended up getting stuck in the mud, but I put it into 4 low and it drove right out. I have usually preferred sedans, and still do most of the time. My Intrigue is my precision driving instrument, and although the Jeep is well refined, it is a little rough around the edges. I have not done a top speed test on the Jeep yet, not at least until I get new tires.
The next day after all of this froze over, I noticed that only 4X4 vehicles were out in the morning. It was very slick, and I lost partial control briefly a few times. I loved driving the Jeep, and certainly would not have been able to get out of my neighborhood in my car in one of the exits which is in the shade and uphill going out. The control allows you to be able to drive when you otherwise would not, but the all time 4WD takes a little of the fun away. It is much harder to force the vehicle wheels to slip than on a 2WD vehicle.
I love the snow, and haven't even played in it other than that, and have not even played with the my 3 kids in the snow. My oldest son asked me to, but I still have not yet. I have not even thrown one snowball. I am not sure that I like what the lottery has done to me, or more honestly what I myself have become. I used to spend a great deal of my time forecasting the weather, even if I am an amateur. I am usually pretty close to right. I predicted around an inch or two, and that is what we got. NWS kept flip flopping on the issue. It was only 8-12 hours or less before the snow that the models came into real good agreement. The weather seems to have better predictability than the lottery.
I still believe that the other two folks bought my winner. It is not right to buy tickets from the same book that another has been playing. I think they stole my win, and I think they did it on purpose. Think about this: If they were to win $250 wit the cashier's help, then they might give him a percentage. They might just hand the cashier a $20 bill. Think about it, if they know that there is another financial reward for helping a certain player win, then that is what they will do.
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Quote: Originally posted by TheOtherOne on Dec 27, 2010
Wow, that is rough and I am sorry to hear of it. Remember, though, it could always be worse.
I think Lotteries (casinos, and pretty much anything good in life) are designed for exactly that: lure you in with a good win, only to set you up for failure to crash and burn.
I had a similar experience earlier this year with the TN Milliionare ($20) games but luckily in the end I recouped half of my loss, called it a day and deposited the $ in the bank (it spanned 2 or 3 days though, but I am 'happy' I only lost half of my original $260-ish investment). That included a $100 winner and a $30 winner. It's the proverbial dangling carrot they let us finally win, knowing we will next seek the full bushel of carrots that the lottery knows we will never ever find.
it is very easy to think up conspiracy theories among the ways we play, but remember you have to look at both sides of the coin and consider that those other customers were probably just that: customers. Customers that just happened to walk in when you did. Had they been in on it they most likely would have waited on you to purchase more without buying anything. I think theives typically will not spend money to get more money -- reminds me of Europe where you dont have to mind your wallet being stolen from places you have to PAY to get into -- but the subway and open areas are their hunting ground.
Look at it this way: If it were that easy for the clerk to know which tickets were winners, why would he cut these other 2 customers in? Why not take the $ for himself?
Dont get me wrong -- there are clearly crooked clerks out there. Just found this article here on lottery post yesterday and was astounded (hopefully it will let me post this, i know posting links is frowned upon but I will try. If it doesnt work, the name of the post is "Frequent lottery wins by retailers investigated" from Oct 2 2009. I found it via the 'related stories' on this site.
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/201509
There are 2 videos from a News investigation on there. They do not ACCUSE the store owners of doing anything, they are just investigating. But it is very clear what they are getting at and it is obvious to me that there is some corruption there. Sounds like the clerks are ripping people off, but you tell me what you think.
After this experience, do you think you will keep trying with the $20 games or go back to the $5 and 10 ones? I think you pointed out before that it is best to stick with the $5 ones. If and when I play, that is what I have been doing recently.Keep at it and good luck at winning your $$ back! I do pray to God sometimes regarding the lottery but not often -- I feel like I should know better than to gamble so I dont want to feel like I am taking advantage. But I think he looks after us and teaches us lessons just the same.
Thanks for the tip, I am watching the story right now. I believe that the video holds valuable information about winners.
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Hi, CarHauler - I feel lonely liking the snow. Glad you like it, too! There's just something beautiful and exciting about a snowstorm.
I would stick to your 1 ticket of each idea. PA has new tickets out tomorrow; I am glad of that. I did win nicely on Cash Fever today, but in general I'm definitely ready to stop playing these same games. The big wins are hard to get because the Holiday games are wearing thin, and the old games have become like Holiday Bucks is for you. Money Money Money is still supposed to be good, but I can't find a decent winner anywhere on that game now.