They say lightening doesn't strike in the same place twice. So how is it possible that someone could win the lottery not once, not twice, but a record SEVEN times?
This was a reality for Florida man Richard Lustig. Over a period of two years, he won the state lottery seven times, with a total prize pool of $1,047,060.50. Given that he was steeped in debt prior to his lottery success, it is safe to say these wins were life changing.
He played for over twenty years before he found success. Lustig states that you have to commit to winning, and treat playing lottery like a job - it takes time and effort.
Lustig decided to put publish his winning strategy in his book “Learn How to Increase your Chances of Winning the Lottery”. In here he sets out the tools he has developed over years of playing the lottery, and which ones he found helped him to achieve his goals of winning.
Some of his tips that are outlined in his book and focus on putting the odds in your favor are the following:
Don't buy lottery tickets with money you don't have. Lustig states that you should never use all of your money, or for example, your rent or grocery money, on lottery tickets.
Form a lottery syndicate. Grouping with some friends and family means that you can buy a large amount of tickets and increase your chances of winning. This will, however, mean that you have to split the prize money, but this is prize money you may not have if you had not formed the syndicate.
Play less popular lottery games with fewer players. This will mean that you have fewer competitors and increases your chances of winning. You can use a website such as lottoranker.com to help you find the right game for you.
Don’t follow the crowds. Like the tip above, the key is to look out for less popular games with fewer players. Where there is a massive jackpot in play, thousands of people will be playing the same game, reducing your chances of a major win.
Do your research. Make sure you do some research on both the games you want to play and the numbers you want to use. Search for what the winning numbers have been historically, and that will give you an indication whether your chosen numbers could be winning numbers. This will take time, but it will certainly pay off and is one of the key ways that can result in success.
Don’t choose quick pick. Rather choose your numbers, based on your research of previously successful numbers, as highlighted above. Quick pick will give you numbers based off of no pattern or history of winning, and is more likely to give you consecutive numbers, which Lustig also advises against.
Stick to your numbers. Don't give up on your numbers just because you didn't win with them the first time in use. Patience is key. If you ask many successful lottery winners, they will tell you that they have a set selection of numbers that they regularly play with. If you choose different numbers each week, your chances of success diminish. Sticking with the same numbers yields a higher chance of success, especially if you have picked them based on research, as those numbers will have to be winning numbers eventually!
If you are a regular lottery player, why not try making use of Lustig's recommendations and see if you can be the next multiple lottery winner.