Lottery "Logic"

[skydived19006 4]

Rather than hijack the "Powerball" post I figured I'd start another. I'd like to see some of the dumb ass "lottery logic" we all hear. I'll start.

"I don't play till it's over 20 million" yeah like you couldn't quit your job at 7-11 with that petty amount.

You just have to buy one ticket.
You have to play every week, or that'll be the one you would have won.

Here's mine.."You can't lose if you don't play" in my mind if you spend a dollar and don't win, you lose! Don't get me wrong I'm all for the lottery, I voted for it. Can anyone say "voluntary taxation"? The government keeps 50% up front, pays out the only part of the rest, then takes back over 50% of that.

Lets face it; the lottery makes millions and millions of people look stupid, and one guy look really smart!

Hope I didn't step on any toes there!

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[lawrocket 3]

No toes stepped on. Not only is the lottery a voluntary tax, but it is also one for people who are poor at math.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[RevJim 0]

Quote

No toes stepped on. Not only is the lottery a voluntary tax, but it is also one for people who are poor at math.

No, that would be slot machines.

plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull, . plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull.

THAT's a tax on both bad math and stupidity.
My wallet minus 1 dollar is still my wallet, less a dollar. You can't win if you don't play. What's a dollar, twice a week? $104 a year? In the grand scheme of things, it isn't jack.

Starbucks? Now that's a tax for dumb asses.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

I play occasionally, and dread finding out that the numbers I play consistently get picked in a drawing I didn't enter!

But I play only one dollar each time.

I can easily spare a single dollar and never miss it. Not so easy with five, or ten dollars. That starts to pinch. That's lunch, or a movie, or a DVD, or half a jump.

But when you look mathematically at the odds of winning... In a six number game with 54 balls jumping, it's 1 in... waitaminute, I'm getting myself confused... don't they usually say 1 in 16million or so? But I thought you do 54 x 53 x 52 x 51 x 50 x 49 to figure out how many possible combinations there are... that comes out to like 18 billion...

Well anyway, the difference, the increase in your chance of winning, between playing ONE dollar and playing TEN dollars puts either ONE over numerous millions, or TEN over numerous millions, and the increase is so infinitessimal that it's hardly worth the extra 9 dollars! I'd just as soon accept 1 in a gazillion odds and keep another 9 losing bucks than fork over the extra 9 bucks time and again to increase my odds of winning one ridiculously tiny amount. Since the odds still remain staggeringly against my winning, I'm much more likely to simply save myself a few hundred bucks over a lifetime.

And then there's the idea of buying two, three, four, five tickets with the same numbers on each when you're in a drawing with a huge number of ticket holders. Let's say your numbers come in, and there are five winners; if you bought 4 tickets, and there are four other winners with one ticket each, total of 8 tickets, YOU TAKE HALF THE JACKPOT, AND EACH OF THOSE SUCKERS TAKES ONLY 1/8!!! LOL!!!!!

So once in a while, I have done that, when the jackpot was really huge. Two bucks on the same numbers.

You better not steal my idea now.

-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[unformed 0]

I don't see the lottery as for people bad with math. Yes, the odds are against you, but considering the risk is minimal risk and the great payout, it's really not that bad. Of course, those odds with bigger risks would be really stupid.

On the other hand, I see any game at the casino where you play against the house as stupid. Yes, under certain circumstances and with the right knowledge and skill you can make money at blackjack, but unless you are that good, and have the bankroll of millions of dollars, it's not going to be worthwhile.

Playing poker, on the other hand, is a completely different story. If you're good enough, you can consistently win since there you're playing against other people and the house only takes a rake.

sorry .... didn't mean to hijack the thread ....

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[scottbre 0]

The odds of hitting the jackpot on Powerball are 1 in 120,526,770. Not very good.

I look at it this way:

When I buy one powerball ticket for $1. I now have the chance to win the jackpot. Odds are good that I won't. But the hope of winning and the consideration of the "what if" I did win, is worth a dollar to me, especially when that dollar isn't going to affect my life one way or the other whether I keep it or spend it. Everyone likes to imagine what it would be like if they had more money than they knew what to do with. What's truly stupid is imagining that without opening the door for that possibility, even if it is just the tiniest bit.

When I buy a ticket I still assume that I won't win, but there's that tiny little part of me saying, "but what if you do win?" Because I've made it become a possibility, however slim, I'm justified in considering that possibility.

EDIT: replaced "know" with "assume" in the above paragraph.

"Your mother's full of stupidjuice!"
My Art Project

[AggieDave 6]

I don't play the number lotto, but I'll buy a scratch off about once every 4-6 months or so. Last time I got one, I won $2. The time before that I got about $120. *shrug* I know the odds, but its kinda fun everyonce in a while.

Although, when I was 15 I worked at a gas station. There were folks coming in spending literally $50 a day on scratch offs and all the different number games. It was obvious that they really didn't have the money to do that...the saddest thing is the ones that did that and had little kids.

I actually heard said to a little kid on afternoon, "it'll be better once I win big..." That about made me sick.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

Quote

When I buy a ticket I still know that I won't win, but there's that tiny little part of me saying, "but what if you do win?" Because I've made it become a possibility, however slim, I'm justified in considering that possibility.

Good post. But you don't truly know that you won't win. Buying a ticket means you cannot guarantee that you won't win. The only way you can be sure you won't win is to stay out of the game.

Lots of people thought they were sure to not win and then ended up millions of dollars richer!
-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[scottbre 0]

Quote

Good post. But you don't truly know that you won't win. Buying a ticket means you cannot guarantee that you won't win. The only way you can be sure you won't win is to stay out of the game.

True, I edited my last post to more accurately reflect what I was trying to say.

"Your mother's full of stupidjuice!"
My Art Project

[mccurley 1]

Lots of people say it's a waste ot time and money,
But not my cousin Canada who won 10.6 Million about three months ago.
Hell even in Canadian dollars that's a lot of money!!

Watch my video Fat Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

[unformed 0]

lottery's fine and all, as long as when buying the ticket, you don't expect to win. it's a crapshoot, as long as you realize your money is probably going down the drain, and you didn't need it, theres' no problem.

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[happythoughts 0]

I don't understand the problem with buying lottery tickets. One ticket each draw is $100 a year. Let's say... $200 for a year. So?

I spend $100 a month on rent for a trailer at the dz because it's air-conditioned and I like that.
I did 5 jumps last weekend with packing. $120.
I ate dinner out twice last week. $50.

My buddy spent $900 last week on clothes.

It's my money, I worked for it, I'll spend it on what I want. In a lot of cases, I'll just piss it away on ignorant stuff because I enjoy it.

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Quote

Quote

No toes stepped on. Not only is the lottery a voluntary tax, but it is also one for people who are poor at math.

No, that would be slot machines.

plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull, . plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull. plug, pull.

THAT's a tax on both bad math and stupidity.
.

I have a few friends and an uncle that have made thousands on slot machines. Me? I don't have the money in the first place so I just don't gamble.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[kinney29 0]

Quote

Rather than hijack the "Powerball" post I figured I'd start another. I'd like to see some of the dumb ass "lottery logic" we all hear. I'll start.

WHAT MY POST AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YA

[Icon134 0]

In Georgia the Lottery supports Higher education (I believe some of the revenue goes to scholarships in the state...

so I don't feel as bad about losing a small amout of money to the GA Lottery...

Of course I could be wrong... but you did ask for my logic.

Scott
--------------------------------------------------------------

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Guest]

Quote

Rather than hijack the "Powerball" post I figured I'd start another. I'd like to see some of the dumb ass "lottery logic" we all hear. I'll start.

"I don't play till it's over 20 million" yeah like you couldn't quit your job at 7-11 with that petty amount.

You just have to buy one ticket.
You have to play every week, or that'll be the one you would have won.

Here's mine.."You can't lose if you don't play" in my mind if you spend a dollar and don't win, you lose! Don't get me wrong I'm all for the lottery, I voted for it. Can anyone say "voluntary taxation"? The government keeps 50% up front, pays out the only part of the rest, then takes back over 50% of that.

Lets face it; the lottery makes millions and millions of people look stupid, and one guy look really smart!

Hope I didn't step on any toes there!

Main Entry: lot·tery
Pronunciation: 'lä-t&-rE also 'lä-trE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ter·ies
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French loterie, from Middle Dutch, from lot lot; akin to Old English hlot lot
1 a : a drawing of lots in which prizes are distributed to the winners among persons buying a chance b : a drawing of lots used to decide something
2 : an event or affair whose outcome is or seems to be determined by chance
3 : an excise tax on stupidity



mh

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[mark 107]

Quote

I don't see the lottery as for people bad with math. Yes, the odds are against you, but considering the risk is minimal risk and the great payout, it's really not that bad. Of course, those odds with bigger risks would be really stupid.

On the other hand, I see any game at the casino where you play against the house as stupid. Yes, under certain circumstances and with the right knowledge and skill you can make money at blackjack, but unless you are that good, and have the bankroll of millions of dollars, it's not going to be worthwhile.

Playing poker, on the other hand, is a completely different story. If you're good enough, you can consistently win since there you're playing against other people and the house only takes a rake.

On average, for every dollar you bet:
on the lottery, you get back about 50 cents.
on Mafia numbers, you get back 60 cents (really! The Mafia gives you a better deal than Powerball).
on casino roulette (American-style, with "0" and "00"), you get back about 95 cents.
on casino poker, you get back about 95 cents after the house takes its cut.
on casino craps, you get back a little less than a dollar.
on casino blackjack, you get back about a dollar.

Lotteries and casinos are in the gaming business, not the gambling business. They aren't gambling, even if you think you are. They've set up the odds so they always win. Folks who spend money on lotteries or casino games expecting or hoping to win really are bad at math, and lotteries have the worst return on investment of any of these gambles.

Play casino games as entertainment, the way you go out to a movie or make a skydive. Or buy a lottery ticket so my taxes will go down 50 cents. But don't buy a lottery ticket because you think it might change your life. You are more likely to be struck by lightening. Now there's a life-changing event!

Mark

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

but it is also one for people who are poor at math.

It is if you only look at it in terms of expected return.

There is no other way to get $40M for a dollar. If a casino let you, you'd need to guess the right number in roulette five times in row and keep rolling it over. Only a nut (or the city of South Park) would keep letting it ride. About the same odds, 1 in 69mil.

There is a good reason only to buy on the bigger jackpots - your odds are still crappy, but you could score an even bigger return, and more importantly the smaller matches pay better. I got $84 for 3 of 6 and so for most of my life my lotto spending was break even.