Let’s start with the basics of scratch tickets. These games are run by each state with the same general guidelines outlined here, however, there will be slight variations in each state. The only way to purchase scratch tickets is from an authorized retailer. Typically this involves approaching the cashier and purchasing the tickets you want, however, many states now also offer kiosks where you can purchase, check, and redeem tickets from a machine located in the store. Note that you can only redeem low valued tickets, usually  less than $200, a limit which I’m sure varies by state.

Now, let’s take a look at a typical ticket. In addition to the obvious play area, there are two other important areas on the front of the ticket. First, in the lower left corner is the ticket number. This may also be found on the back of the ticket or in other locations. The three numbers are important, the first number [1804] is the game number, for Power 555 in this case, the second number is the book number [05232], more on this later, and the last number is the ticket number within the book. Next is the bar code which you need to reveal in order to cash in a winner, or to check if it’s a winner with an app on your phone or at a kiosk. On the back of the ticket, you can see the overall odds of winning, 1 in 4.13 in this case. This is an important number, especially nowadays. In general, odds are about 1 in 4, with low dollar tickets closer to 1 in 4.5 and high dollar tickets closer to 1 in 3. Be aware because some of the new games have very poor odds of winning, closer to 1 in 10. A typical example of this would be a $10 ticket which only has $50 & $100 winners, no small or jackpot winners. I guess this appeals to people who think there’s no way of winning a jackpot, so I’ll be happy with a good winner. The odds are so bad because there aren’t any smaller winners like $10, $20, $25, as a result, there will be just 3-4 winners in a book of 35 tickets, that’s a lot of losers! Lastly on the back are the instructions for playing, and odds for winning each prize amount.

Now let’s review how tickets are sold. The state lotteries ship tickets to retailers in “books”, I’m sure there are many other terms for this, but we will use books. The number of tickets in a book varies by the $ amount of the ticket, the more expensive the ticket, the fewer tickets in the book. A general rule of thumb, which will vary state-to-state, is something like $1 & $2 tickets have 150 tickets in a book, $3 & $5 tickets have 75 tickets in a book, $10 tickets have 35 tickets in a book, $20 tickets have 25 tickets in a book, and $30+ tickets have 15 tickets in a book. You should also be aware that some states start the ticket numbering with a zero and others will start with a one. It’s also worth noting that some stores will sell tickets starting with the first ticket, while others will start with the last ticket. This is true for both tickets purchased at the counter or kiosks, so there are four options for sequencing, something you should keep track of when it comes to strategy.

Now that you know how to play, you need to develop a strategy. The basic strategies teach you which tickets to buy, while the advance strategies show you which games you should be buying those tickets from…