Here’s a surprise fact for most lottery players.

The highest value jackpot games - the multi-million or billion-dollar games - are also the worst to play.

That’s because they have the highest odds.

Yet most players are attracted to these high jackpots. They have great curb appeal, as real estate people would say.

We know a $500 million jackpot will make your eyes light up far more than a lowly $5 million prize. That's quite understandable.

But here's the problem. Every number or ball added to a lottery game increases the odds in a big way and reduces your chances.

So if a game has 5 balls and the lottery organizers decide to add a ball to make up 6, the odds take a huge increase.

The lottery knows this too, because it's part of their clever plan to raise the jackpot amount to make it more appealing.

At the same time they have to balance up the frustration players have when they don't get a win as frequently as they used to.

When the lottery also increases the amount of numbers in the game, much the same thing happens.

The jackpot rises, attracting more people to buy, more money is funneled through to prizes, and the higher the jackpot goes up... around it all goes. It's simple and effective marketing.

Take a look at the 2 'worst' games to play under these conditions:

USA Powerball and Mega Millions 

What can you do about these games to improve your win rate? Here are some suggestions:

Whatever you decide to do, remember these 4 further tips that apply to all your lottery playing:

• Make sure you continue to play regularly.

• Spread the risk. For example, play one high-odds game to every five low-odds game, if you have a choice.

• Use the LottoPredict chart to select the best games to play.

• And the best advice - never give up!