Buying and scratching instant lottery tickets is something that almost everyone has done at one time or another. For some folks it’s probably something they do too often. I guess for me, the bad buying habit is junk food. If I had spent my Saturday nights in front of the TV watching random drawings, I may end up getting addicted to the lottery.

Here’s what I’ve learned about instant lottery tickets over the years:

1. They cost a lot more than the instant you buy tickets from your local convenience store.
2. Most instant lottery tickets have an initial $1, $2, $5, $10, and sometimes $20 cap on the amount of the prize you can win. But if you buy the $20 cap ticket, the actual payout is usually closer to $15, or even $30 or more. A $20 cap on the amount of the prize also means that there’s less money available to win a larger payout.
3. The lower the cost of the ticket, the higher the payout.
4. The higher the cost of the ticket, the lower the payout.

If you’re lucky enough to win the $200 cap prize on a $1, $2, $5, $10, or $20 game, for example, you can expect to get about $2,000, $4,000, $8,000, $16,000, and $32,000 (in case the game has larger jackpots). However, if you buy the $20 cap prize, the payout is usually closer to $1000, and even $20,000.

The reason to buy the most expensive ticket is the fact that the odds are less. The lower the cost of the ticket, the higher the payout odds. So if you can’t afford $20, you should probably invest in instant lottery tickets that are closer to the $10 or $20 mark.

Also, when you buy the higher priced tickets, you open yourself up to more possibilities. If you win the jackpot, you can probably get a bigger payout. However, if you don’t win the jackpot, you can still obtain relatively good prizes.

The Take Home Payouts For Big Jackpot Games

For the big games, like Dewatogel or Mega Millions, you normally win the jackpot. So if you buy a $20 instant lottery ticket, the highest payout you can take home is $200.

However, the $20 tickets often have a second and smaller payout. The smaller payout is usually available if you buy the least expensive ticket.

For example, if you buy a $20 instant ticket, you win the Powerball jackpot. However, the smaller payout available when you buy the $20 ticket is $10. For this reason, you should most likely avoid purchasing the $20 tickets and stick with the $10 tickets, unless you really like the numbers.

Avoiding Buying Too Many Games

100 games isn’t enough. You may think the more games you buy, the better your chances are of winning. However, the chances of winning are no better than 50%. So, no matter how many games you buy, your chances of winning still remain the same.

The secret is to research and better your choices. If you really like a certain game, then do research and find the best game (without spending a lot of money) to play. In addition, by avoiding the jackpot entirely, you may actually win money.