# Does buying 10 lottery tickets increase my odds by a power of ten? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119 "2010-03-03T14:34:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/21 "2010-03-03T20:52:33Z")
I’ll buy a $1 ticket for big lotteries, simply to buy the dream. Sometimes, I’ll even throw in $20. Not because I know that does anything to increase my winnings-- it just gives me 20 numbers to patiently check versus just one, allowing me to dream a little bit more. O/T, personally, I hate lotteries. It’s not that they’re a tax on stupid people-- I think most people, rich or poor, understand that the math is ridiculously against them-- but simply because they’re a tax, period. If governments want to raise money for a useful public service, let them do that honestly and openly. Bribing us with dreams of wealth just to get (some, very few) schools funded… skeevy. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/22 "2010-03-03T21:15:04Z")
> [@davekhps](#): > > If governments want to raise money for a useful public service, let them do that honestly and openly. Bribing us with dreams of wealth just to get (some, very few) schools funded… skeevy. And if even a few percent of voters thought that way, they might. Challenger: “If elected, I’ll abolish the state lottery, and raise taxes to pay for the schools instead!” Incumbent: “Um, OK. You know, I think I’ll just sock my campaign funds away for a future race. Somebody smart might run against me next time. So, anyone have a baby for me to kiss? I love kissing babies. And motherhood, and apple pie, and _giving the great people of this state their weekly chance to get filthy rich!_” And the crowd goes wild … If it makes you feel better, you can consider the lottery as a voluntary tax on people who would like to help provide more support to education, and the drawing as a little game they include to make paying the voluntary tax more fun and less painful. Just keep telling yourself that virtually nobody thinks of the lottery as an investment program, and you may eventually come to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/23 "2010-03-03T21:33:47Z")
[A real-life case of a man buying a ton of lottery tickets and making a profit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lottery_%28Ireland%29#Lotto_6.2F36:_1988.E2.80.9392) Stefan Klincewicz, Polish-Irish businessman, headed a team of 28 Dubliners to try to buy all winning combinations for an Irish lottery in 1992. The National Lottery tried to thwart the group once they became aware of their plan (turning off some lottery vending machines etc.) so they weren’t able to buy all numbers but amongst their 1.6 million tickets they got the winning numbers. Other people won too so the jackpot had to be split, but the group won in other categories. The syndicates final profit: £310,000 before expenses. (Note: after that, the lottery system changed in Ireland to prevent another group from trying the same thing.) A word to the wise: all this seems too complicated. The easiest way is to go splurge on a dinner at your local Chinese restaurant. The fortune cookie will reveal the winning lottery numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/24 "2010-03-03T21:58:11Z")
> [@davekhps](#): > > I’ll buy a $1 ticket for big lotteries, simply to buy the dream. Ditto. For one measly dollar from my entertainment budget, I get a half-week worth of daydreaming. Much more bang-for-the-buck than a $10 movie ticket, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/25 "2010-03-03T22:14:01Z")
Don’t get too excited about a scheme to buy all 175 million possible number combinations. You need order blanks to buy specific numbers, and they run through the machines a bit slower than random-pick tickets do. If you figure out how many lottery outlets are in your state, and multiply by how many custom-ordered tickets you could possibly buy in all the available minutes at each outlet in the days until the next draw, you’re probably going to find your flock of henchmen won’t have enough time to buy all the 175 million tickets you need. There are other interfering factors, too. Every few thousand tix, every machine will need a new roll of paper. Does the cashier need to take an hourly reading? Can all those henchmen and all those cashiers go that long without a pee break? Can your henchmen fight off the regular customers who also want to buy tix? Can you be sure your henchmen won’t cheat you? ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/26 "2010-03-04T09:48:47Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I did the math and decided that my chances of winning the lottery were pretty much the same whether I played or not. Hold on a minute . . . that’s not true! Why, according to my emails, I’ve won multiple lotteries in Nigeria and never bought a ticket.😕 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/27 "2010-03-04T10:37:06Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > [A real-life case of a man buying a ton of lottery tickets and making a profit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lottery_%28Ireland%29#Lotto_6.2F36:_1988.E2.80.9392) > > Stefan Klincewicz, Polish-Irish businessman, headed a team of 28 Dubliners to try to buy all winning combinations for an Irish lottery in 1992. The National Lottery tried to thwart the group once they became aware of their plan (turning off some lottery vending machines etc.) so they weren’t able to buy all numbers but amongst their 1.6 million tickets they got the winning numbers. Other people won too so the jackpot had to be split, but the group won in other categories. The syndicates final profit: £310,000 before expenses. (Note: after that, the lottery system changed in Ireland to prevent another group from trying the same thing.) I don’t get this - why would the lottery organisers try to “thwart the plan”? Any increased ticket sales are good for the lottery, so why on earth would they want to stop someone from buying all combinations? Buying all ticket combinations is not illegal and there’s no reason why it should be. It’s not like having someone go out and buy every possible ticket is going to lose the lottery operator money - in fact quite the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/28 "2010-03-04T10:38:22Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Don’t get too excited about a scheme to buy all 175 million possible number combinations. You don’t need to purchase all 175 million possible tickets. You only need to purchase enough tickets with a spread to recoup your costs via the smallest winning combination. The number of tickets required is significantly smaller, and you have the chance of profiting via the larger prizes - not guaranteed, but the odds are significantly higher. It is still very difficult, and there are rules to prevent it, but you don’t need to buy every ticket. Si (who once did the math on the NZ Lottery for a bit of fun) ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/29 "2010-03-04T13:54:51Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > You can deduct gambling losses, but only against gambling wins. So if you lose $1000 at the blackjack tables today, win $8000 tomorrow, and lose $3000 the next day, you only owe taxes on $4000. That’s interesting, I didn’t know that ([irs.gov gambling tax tips](http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=172190,00.html)). Thank you for correcting me. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/30 "2010-03-04T15:01:19Z")
[Gump]Momma always said - you got a 50% chance of winning the lottery, either you win or you don’t![/Gump] ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/31 "2010-03-04T15:18:46Z")
Count me in the lottery = entertainment column. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/32 "2010-03-04T15:19:41Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > [Gump]Momma always said - you got a 50% chance of winning the lottery, either you win or you don’t![/Gump] Ugh. Years ago I was in a Philosophy class and a student actually argued that. Worse, the example under consideration was whether it made sense to drink coffee or Draino for breakfast based on past experience. The crowning moment came later when the professor used Alchemy as a straw man and the same student complained. He claimed that he had spent four years studying Alchemy and that the professor was mis-representing it. There really is no hope for some people. ---
**Author:** ![Anthony\_N](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Anthony\_N](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anthony_N)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/33 "2010-03-04T18:05:57Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I don’t get this - why would the lottery organisers try to “thwart the plan”? Any increased ticket sales are good for the lottery, so why on earth would they want to stop someone from buying all combinations? Buying all ticket combinations is not illegal and there’s no reason why it should be. It’s not like having someone go out and buy every possible ticket is going to lose the lottery operator money - in fact quite the opposite. Well, when the general public catches wind of this happening, they will buy fewer tickets and the overall revenue of the lottery would go down. ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/34 "2010-03-05T11:10:47Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Ditto. For one measly dollar from my entertainment budget, I get a half-week worth of daydreaming. Much more bang-for-the-buck than a $10 movie ticket, in my opinion. I daydream about winning the lottery, too. I don’t buy tickets, but I still manage to daydream about it. After all, my chances of winning are only 1 chance in 175,711,536 less than someone who does buy a ticket. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/35 "2010-03-05T13:56:13Z")
> [@StrangeBird](#): > > I daydream about winning the lottery, too. I don’t buy tickets, but I still manage to daydream about it. After all, my chances of winning are only 1 chance in 175,711,536 less than someone who does buy a ticket. 😉 I save my $1 each week and daydream that one of my relatives wins the lottery. 🙂 I may not get rich but the return on investment is great. ---
**Author:** ![thinkitsagame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@thinkitsagame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinkitsagame)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119/36 "2011-08-08T10:51:38Z")
…Without Gambling!!! See how: [http://creamgetmoney.com/powerballprofits](http://creamgetmoney.com/powerballprofits) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-buying-10-lottery-tickets-increase-my-odds-by-a-power-of-ten/531119.md?page=1)