# My unique way of playing the lottery **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296 "2017-05-23T19:08:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mmkt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@mmkt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmkt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/1 "2017-05-23T19:08:10Z")
If I play a number tonight I don’t watch the live drawing on TV later tonight. Instead I will check the winning numbers three or four days later. I do this so that I can give myself hope and make it seem like I have a wnning lottery ticket I just haven’t returned yet. I don’t like to watch it live because if I play 457 and the first number that pops up is 6, I know instantly I don’t have a winning ticket. But the ticket I have now I don’t know if it’s a winning ticket or not because I have not checked the winning numbers online yet. I know it’s goofy. Lol ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/2 "2017-05-23T19:15:17Z")
> [@mmkt](#): > > If I play a number tonight I don’t watch the live drawing on TV later tonight. Instead I will check the winning numbers three or four days later. I do this so that I can give myself hope and make it seem like I have a wnning lottery ticket I just haven’t returned yet. I don’t like to watch it live because if I play 457 and the first number that pops up is 6, I know instantly I don’t have a winning ticket. But the ticket I have now I don’t know if it’s a winning ticket or not because I have not checked the winning numbers online yet. > I know it’s goofy. Lol I play the the lottery very very occasionally, on the order of once every three or four years, when it gets up to the $500 mil range. I do exactly the same as you. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/3 "2017-05-23T19:17:01Z")
I have an unique method too - I drive past the the lottery vendor and don’t stop. ---
**Author:** ![mmkt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@mmkt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmkt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/4 "2017-05-23T19:21:32Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > I have an unique method too - I drive past the the lottery vendor and don’t stop. Lol. Laughing out loud at my desk ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/5 "2017-05-23T19:26:30Z")
> [@mmkt](#): > > But the ticket I have now I don’t know if it’s a winning ticket or not because I have not checked the winning numbers online yet. Ah, Shrodinger’s ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/6 "2017-05-23T19:44:06Z")
Could you get the same effect by buying one of those scratch-off lottery tickets and just never scratching it off? ---
**Author:** ![mmkt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@mmkt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmkt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/7 "2017-05-23T19:59:00Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Could you get the same effect by buying one of those scratch-off lottery tickets and just never scratching it off? Or just scratch it off at a later time ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/8 "2017-05-24T01:17:02Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Ah, Shrodinger’s ticket. Yeah, this. I buy a cheap ticket most weeks, and while I check a few hours after the draw, there’s that optimistic time when I have a 50/50 chance of having won the lottery! Better than the fifty gazillionbillion:1 odds anyway, 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/9 "2017-05-24T14:54:23Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > I have an unique method too - I drive past the the lottery vendor and don’t stop. It’s a pretty good method, because you’re guaranteed to break even, which is a much better result than most people have who play the lottery. But hardly unique. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RememberMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@RememberMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RememberMe)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/10 "2017-05-24T18:29:58Z")
I have a can’t lose method to playing the lottery… The day or two of dreaming what I would do with the winnings is completely worth the dollar or two I spend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unique-way-of-playing-the-lottery/787296/11 "2017-05-25T01:57:24Z")
I’m even worse. I go \*months \*before I check. A couple times I found tickets that were more than a year old, thus expired. I was afraid to check the numbers. mmm