You've read about the different lottery games as well as the way to play them. You have also found several methods of picking lucky numbers. Now it's period to fine-tune your game using this section full of insider tips and methods. Know what to do and what to prevent. Learn how to set up a lottery-playing budget. Discover alternative ways to get in contact with your state's lottery. Finally (may the odds be with you), know what to do if you win!

If possible, always buy your own lottery tickets. Do not ask neighbors or friends to pick them up for you. Similarly, don't pick up tickets for others. Do not loan or borrow money for tickets, and do not go halfsies, either. Why? Is not this a trifling matter -- the exact same as picking up a loaf of bread for someone at the store? Not quite. If the ticket does not win or if perhaps the prize is small, then there's usually no problem. But in the event the ticket turns out to be a jackpot winner, you can have a sticky situation on your hands. At the very least, it could be embarrassing. This little favor for a neighbor now involves millions of dollars.

For example, maybe your neighbor said she'd pay you the dollar for the ticket later. Fine, you think. What's a dollar? You give her the ticket, and she's now a millionaire. Be honest. Will you perhaps feel you are entitled to included in the windfall? After all, you did buy the ticket with your own money. OK, it was not technically your money. It was money you loaned your neighbor. Still, you did go and purchase the ticket, so you might feel you're entitled to several of the winnings.

What in the event the situation were reversed, as well as your neighbor had purchased the ticket for you? Maybe you jokingly promised to split the cash with her if you won. Are you aware that she might be able take you to court, claiming the 2 of you made a verbal agreement? Regardless of what people's good intentions are before the ticket is purchased, not everyone is as honorable as Raul Zavaleta, among the real-life winners featured within this book. In the event the winning numbers are announced, not everyone will, without hesitation, keep his or her promise to split $40 million.

Are you beginning to see the possible repercussions in this? Why not avoid broken friendships, hurt feelings, and also lawsuits? Buy your own tickets, period. It's an entirely different situation when you give a ticket to someone as a present, or vice versa -- a gift is a gift.

Most of the people discard their losing scratch-off, Pick 3, and Lotto tickets. Of course, what possible use could you have for all those scraps of paper? Think again. If you regularly spend a significant sum of cash on the trusted lottery dealer (visit this page), those old tickets may very well be worth cash to you.

The IRS says you can't offset losses against winnings and report the difference. For example, if Mary spends $1,600 annually on tickets and wins only $600, she must report the $600 even though her losses amounted to $1,000. In line with the tax rules, if you have gambling losses, you may claim them being an itemized deduction, but you're not able to deduct more than the winnings reported. So if Mary itemizes her deductions, she can take only $600 being an itemized loss on schedule A.

On the other hand, if Jim spends $600 and wins $1,600, he too must report the $1,600. But if he itemizes, he can claim the whole $600 as a loss on schedule A since he is allowed to report any losses up to $1,600. Ironically, this law helps winners more than it helps losers. So think positively. Think like a winner, and save those old tickets.

In the event that you are living in one of the states that doesn't have a lottery, you might be tempted to enter lotteries in other states. That's fine, provided you go to the place and purchase the ticket face-to-face. There are actually several federal and state laws regarding the lotteries. One is the U.S. Postal Service regulation that forbids the mailing of unplayed lottery tickets across state lines.

Some states' laws prohibit the sale of tickets by mobile device, mail, fax, and over the web. If your state has a lottery, it makes little sense to enter either out-of-state or foreign lotteries. Chances are you'll find better odds right in your own backyard, without the extra fee or perhaps the risk. Can you imagine winning several million dollars only to discover that you haven't actually won it after all? It appears that any time a lot of money is involved, there are actually those that try and get a piece of the action -- illegally.

You will frequently see ads online and in magazines and newspapers for books, software, and other media to help you in your goal to win the Lotto. Several of they are reputable businesses and also can offer you professionally designed wheeling systems as well as other strategies that will help better your chances. But if one of these companies claims their product is guaranteed to make you the next Lotto millionaire, ask yourself one very obvious question: If they have managed to solve the riddle of just how to win a jackpot, what makes them running an ad?