Lottery - improve your odds?

Jim_B_3

I can sell you lottery tickets at half-price that are almost as likely to win as the ones you buy in the high street (one in 14 million less chance on my tickets, which really is a very small difference). Anyone interested?

tomstickland

When you put money into premium bonds you DO get your stake back.
ie: put £1 into premium bonds and win nothing, you can still have your £1 back.

With lottery you don't get your stake back.

Premium bonds aren't much cop IMO - the published average return is something liek 3% and there are savings accounts that do better than this.

Gorgeous_George

tomstickland wrote:

When you put money into premium bonds you DO get your stake back.
ie: put £1 into premium bonds and win nothing, you can still have your £1 back.

One of us is thick and I'm beginning to think it's me

If the £1 that you paid for the bond was 'staked', it would be lost if you didn't win. It's only the notional monthly interest that is staked.

tomstickland wrote:

Premium bonds aren't much cop IMO - the published average return is something like 3% and there are savings accounts that do better than this.

On that sir, we agree 100% (or 82.5% if you take off the VAT).



GG

Dave_Q

Twopints wrote:

I don't think this can be right! There is a 1 in 14m chance of a particular set of numbers occurring so the chance of the same numbers occurring twice at the same time must be a tad higher.

No it's still 1 in 14m. It doesn't matter what the first set of numbers are , so as every combination is 1 in 14 m then this applies equally to the same set of numbers.

Paul_Herring

tomstickland wrote:

When you put money into premium bonds you DO get your stake back.
ie: put £1 into premium bonds and win nothing, you can still have your £1 back.

The stake isn't the quid - it's the interest that you could have made from that quid.

whambamboo

Paul_Herring wrote:

The stake isn't the quid - it's the interest that you could have made from that quid.

once again, this isn't getting through: you cannot stake something that doesn't exist. Granted there is an opportunity cost, but this is absolutely not the same thing at all. The difference between choosing to *save* somewhere that doesn't pay interest, while also getting entries into a prize draw, and *saving* elsewhere and using the income generated to *buy* pornographic magazines/lottery tickets/whatever else is quite clear.

You *could have* bet on the 10-1 shot at Doncaster that just came in as well.

InMyDreams

1. Go to post office and fill in the slip.
2. Pocket the slip (and your quid) and go home.
3. Pop quid in piggybank.

4. Watch the numbers roll and pray that your numbers *don't* come up rather than *do*. This, surely, must be even more nervewracking/exciting. You're not just risking your pound now, you're risking a whole million... your potential win. How mad would you be if you had ticked all six numbers after all?

5. Repeat each week for a year, keeping a talley of your 'losses' (all those wins that you couldn't claim because you never handed over your quid)
6. After a year, empty the piggybank and (hopefully) work out how much better off you are. Even if you're not, at least you can console yourself with a 100% return.

IMD

Paul_Herring

whambamboo wrote:

Paul_Herring wrote:

The stake isn't the quid - it's the interest that you could have made from that quid.

once again, this isn't getting through:

I quite agree.

you cannot stake something that doesn't exist.

But in this case the interest does. From the PB website:

NS&I wrote:

There is a prize fund for each month which is equal to one month's interest on each Bond unit eligible for the prize draw for that month.

This is what's at stake - the interest earned on the bond.

Rafter

gazzak007 wrote:

:beer: We have just changed our syndicate strategy apparently it reduces the odds of winning by 250,000 to 1
8 people in syndicate 1st person picks out 6 numbers , 2nd picks out 6 numbers with the first 6 numbers missing , 3rd picks out 6 with the 12 numbers missing and so forth
Well we have tried everything else thats why im drinking lager tonight not champagne

Despite my long ago statistics A'Level I can't get my head around the matchs of this one.

however, I can see by ensuring that all numbers are used by a syndicate or by multiple ticket purchase that you are guaranteed that all 6 numbers that come up are on your tickets somewhere.

It is just a shame there isn't a 1 in 8 chance they are on the same line.

Might give that one a try for Euromillions - just need to find 10 friends though cos that one has more numbers!

R

tomstickland

I haven't read all the posts in this thread properly, but I can see where you're going with the PB not getting stake back.
ie: put money in, they take the interest that they were going to pay you and that's your stake in the gambling.

In the same terms then the lottery is an account where they don't have any interest, they just take your deposit and never give it back to you.

ie: one robs you of 3% pa the other robs you of your capital.