No kidding. When it comes to playing the lottery, there really are ways to tip the odds in your favor.

We all know winning the lottery depends on the luck of the draw. It really doesn’t make a difference if you bet your favorite numbers, wear your lucky socks, or are “due for a win.”

But that doesn’t mean you can’t play the percentages.

Seriously.

As with slot games, some lottery games just have better odds than others. And just as with slot games—whose return-to-player percentages are posted online, for all to see—you don’t have to look far to find games with the best chances to win. The information is just a click away, on your state’s lottery website.

Not only do these sites give you the odds, they also list how many prizes are still left to be won, and inform you if the numbers you picked have ever won. Heck, why wouldn’t you check it out first, to get that extra edge?

For example, on MichiganLottery.com, the online game 3-2-1 Draw (grand prize: $50,000), has overall odds of 1 in 15.41. Instant Keno Multiplier (grand prize: $500,000), has overall odds of 1 in 5.46. If you play Spring Cascade (grand prize: a whopping $1 million), your overall odds of winning a prize—that’s any prize, mind you, not necessarily the jackpot—are 1 in 3.83.

At PennsylvaniaLottery.com, it’s the same deal—and a good one, allowing you to strategize and increase your opportunities to win, though of course it doesn’t guarantee a jackpot. Your overall chances of winning James Bond 007, for example, are 1 in 5.29. Not bad!

Odds will change as tickets are purchased and prizes won, but they’re continually refreshed on the site, which even tells you how many winning tickets are available for each game.

Sign up to play at MichiganLottery.com and take a spin to win in-store or online free play, or up to 1,000 giveaway entries a day! $5,000 cash will be given away each month.

More Chances to Win

Here, in no particular order, are other ways to boost your winnability.

• Pick your own numbers. Quick Picks reduce your odds to “their worst,” according to Richard Lustig, seven-time lottery winner and author of the book Learn How To Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery. Lustig advises you to choose 10 numbers and play them consistently.
• Research your numbers, and avoid sequences that have already won. Don’t choose consecutive numbers (1-2-3-4-5), or similar numbers. These, apparently, will reduce your chances to win.
• Play less popular games. With less people playing, your odds will be automatically higher. By the same logic, don’t get Lotto fever. When jackpot numbers hit the stratosphere, everybody jumps in, and your odds of winning dwindle accordingly.
• Don’t play the numbers of your birthday, your kid’s birthday, or your poodle’s. Everybody does it. That means a bigger pool of players are choosing numbers from 1 to 31. Choose higher numbers to boost your odds.
• Join a lottery pool—or start one. Do the math. Spend $10 at $2 per game, and you’ve played five games. Throw $10 into a pool of 100 people, and you’ve played 500! Your luck just increased a hundredfold.
• Take a second chance! Many lotteries, including those in Michigan and Pennsylvania, offer second-chance drawings on non-winning tickets, along with special games, giveaways and promotions.

Sign up to play at PaLottery.com, and get a deposit bonus up to $250! First-time players only. Terms and conditions apply.

As always, when you stay comfortably and responsibly within your budget, playing is a lot more fun.