Faith in Humankind restored

Hey all,

I read this (Ottawa local paper) on the bus coming in and had to share this. There was a survey asking people - Do you buy more lottery tickets when you find out someone from Ottawa has won a big prize?

Thankfully 92% said NO.

I've never bought a lottery ticket. It's nice to dream, but I just can't justify the odds.

I have bought them but, it's certainly not part of my retirement funding plan :D

Consider the odds from a purely mathematical standpoint; figure the amount that you are willing to part with (usually the cost of a cup of coffee), and work from there. It's like going to the casino or track and only betting when the amount you win makes the bet a winning bet (i.e. the amount won is proportionally greater than the odds of winning)

By my math, 6/49 is worth playing once it's over about $6-7M. The others, basically never.

Acrobat wrote:Consider the odds from a purely mathematical standpoint; figure the amount that you are willing to part with (usually the cost of a cup of coffee), and work from there. It's like going to the casino or track and only betting when the amount you win makes the bet a winning bet (i.e. the amount won is proportionally greater than the odds of winning)

By my math, 6/49 is worth playing once it's over about $6-7M. The others, basically never.

I'll only play when the jackpots are super high, like $25+. Then I'll throw $10 at it. Just pissing my money away, but hey, just maybe....

hemlock34 wrote:

Acrobat wrote:Consider the odds from a purely mathematical standpoint; figure the amount that you are willing to part with (usually the cost of a cup of coffee), and work from there. It's like going to the casino or track and only betting when the amount you win makes the bet a winning bet (i.e. the amount won is proportionally greater than the odds of winning)

By my math, 6/49 is worth playing once it's over about $6-7M. The others, basically never.

I'll only play when the jackpots are super high, like $25+. Then I'll throw $10 at it. Just pissing my money away, but hey, just maybe....

LOL.. I just keep telling myself.. "You can't win unless you buy a ticket"...

Acrobat wrote:Consider the odds from a purely mathematical standpoint; figure the amount that you are willing to part with (usually the cost of a cup of coffee), and work from there. It's like going to the casino or track and only betting when the amount you win makes the bet a winning bet (i.e. the amount won is proportionally greater than the odds of winning)

By my math, 6/49 is worth playing once it's over about $6-7M. The others, basically never.

I'm at Waterloo. A lot of my peers play when the 'Expected Return' is greater than the cost of the ticket.

Doesn't make your odds of winning any better, but statistically it's justified (assuming one winner).

hemlock34 wrote:

Acrobat wrote:Consider the odds from a purely mathematical standpoint; figure the amount that you are willing to part with (usually the cost of a cup of coffee), and work from there. It's like going to the casino or track and only betting when the amount you win makes the bet a winning bet (i.e. the amount won is proportionally greater than the odds of winning)

By my math, 6/49 is worth playing once it's over about $6-7M. The others, basically never.

I'll only play when the jackpots are super high, like $25+. Then I'll throw $10 at it. Just pissing my money away, but hey, just maybe....

I player the higher jackpots as well, but my standards aren't quite as high.

Usually anything over 15 million. I know the odds are astronomically against me, but if I was going to blow that money on a Starbucks coffee or something anyways, maybe just maybe the ticket will turn out to be a better investment.

Nothing wrong with playing the lottery as long as you recognize the reality of it and aren't planning your entire future on tonight's 3.5 million dollar 6/49 draw.

mattshock wrote:

Acrobat wrote:Consider the odds from a purely mathematical standpoint; figure the amount that you are willing to part with (usually the cost of a cup of coffee), and work from there. It's like going to the casino or track and only betting when the amount you win makes the bet a winning bet (i.e. the amount won is proportionally greater than the odds of winning)

By my math, 6/49 is worth playing once it's over about $6-7M. The others, basically never.

I'm at Waterloo. A lot of my peers play when the 'Expected Return' is greater than the cost of the ticket.

Doesn't make your odds of winning any better, but statistically it's justified (assuming one winner).

Which it never is, when the jackpot gets high...

Yep. But I can see the merit. It gives you something interesting to look into when the numbers are drawn. I could see how I could really get into Proline. Get really into the game is an awesome tagline.

mattshock wrote:Yep. But I can see the merit. It gives you something interesting to look into when the numbers are drawn. I could see how I could really get into Proline. Get really into the game is an awesome tagline.

Yeah Pro-line is fun, but betting on hockey ain't much fun, the odds are way too low, very hard to make money... The NFL on the other hand with Point Spread I really like...

Isn't there a way you can bet on all the games happening that night, and if you pick the winners all correctly you win? I think my buddy used to do something like that. I figure I could be right more or less half the time if it were just 3 matchups or so.

mattshock wrote:Isn't there a way you can bet on all the games happening that night, and if you pick the winners all correctly you win? I think my buddy used to do something like that. I figure I could be right more or less half the time if it were just 3 matchups or so.

Yeah it's really easy to win in Pro-line, but very hard to make good money as in, If you only bet on 3 games, your chances of winning are high, but on a $5 bet your return will be like $15... Better than nothing, but really not worth if you lose a few close ones...

It's worth it in that it makes the games more interesting. Poker would be an aweful game without real money at stake. Hockey is already fun to watch, but having a vested financial interest (no matter how significant), can still be fun. I've seen some pretty intense $2 poker matches.

Any of you guys remember the fiasco of european footbal (soccer) and pro-line or some derivative.

Basically, it lasted about a week at the most, but because of the time difference, people were able to score tickets for matches well after the scores were available online... I knew a few people who made some serious coin before the jig was up! LOL Good times...