7 common bloopers that are preventing you from winning the lottery more often

Avoid these lottery errors that can crash your chances   Photo: Supplied

We all make mistakes. I've made some bloopers that could have been avoided.

What's your own lottery mistake count? Check them against these seven common mistakes many lotto players make but could have avoided:

Some mistakes can be permanent. Here's how to find them   Photo: Stock

#1. Not being brave enough.

Are you a timid person financially? Do you dither in the supermarket over which packet of cereal you should have? Now's the time to change your attitude. You can play with $10 worth of tickets. But it works even better with $50. That's because your return is greater when you give it a bigger chance. Don't hold back. Take a bold step for the next game and give it your best shot by adding more money to the mix. You'll be surprised at what comes back to you.

#2. Not sticking with a plan.

This is wrong: one week you'll use 5 tickets when money is tight, and the next week you'll use 40. Strategically, it's as challenging as trying to corral a herd of cats. You're spreading yourself thin, and that never works. Stick to what you know. Follow the path of enlightenment and stay focused on one game only playing the same tickets each time.

#3. Playing too late in the week.

One of the fun things about playing the lottery game is the anticipation. Dreaming each day how you will spend your winnings. We all do it.

Dreaming is the key to persistence in the lottery   Photo: Supplied

If you purchase your tickets too late in the week, that excitement is lost. Buy your tickets early to give you that feeling of excitement of deciding where to spend your next $100 million!

#4. Adding a random number or two.

Some people like change. They play some numbers one week, and then decide to change everything around. Trust what you have and play that. Don't put in your street number, a hot number from the horoscope, or that license plate number from a red car passing by. It won't do you any good. Follow what works with the same numbers each time.

#5. Overplaying and overspending.

Never get into debt. Don't borrow to play. Don't spend your household budget. Only spend what you can afford, otherwise, you'll feel guilty at your first spend-up and decide to play less - or give up altogether. Balance it up.

#6. Not sticking to the rules of persistence.

  1. Play a game.

  2. Play the next same game.

  3. Repeat until winning.

Simple!

Even a small check can make you happy, so celebrate it   Photo: Stock

#7. Not celebrating your small victories.

A lot of players think a $20 prize is no big deal. But look at it this way - you are doing well to get even that. You are competing against truly astronomical odds... 1 in 200 million sometimes in the big games. If NASA thought the odds of getting to the moon were more than 1 in 2, they wouldn't have sent their astronauts there. And yet your odds are so massive that it is a miracle your numbers ever match. So when they do, you've got a true cause to celebrate. You have just beaten off 100 million other number combinations to get your 20 bucks.

Celebrate, and enjoy! It's all good practice - especially when your $20 later becomes $200 million!