The beauty of scratch-off tickets is that they offer a little thrill without requiring you to "bet big." Even if you only buy the cheapest ones, there's the possibility that you'll win and end up with extra cash. And if you lose, it's not like you're out too much money. However, if you're willing to shell out just a bit more for a $10 scratch-off ticket, you may find that it's worth the investment, a gas station worker says.
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In a Jan. 11 TikTok video, California gas station workerAlexander Rosas (@alexcal760) offered some advice when playing more expensive scratch-offs. (The TikTok was a follow-up to one posted the day before, where he ran through tips for playing $1, $2, and $5 scratch-offs.)
Rosas starts by sharing his disclaimer that this is his "own personal opinion" and he's basing this advice off of his experience as a cashier at two different gas stations. He then explains why $10 scratch-offs are your best bet.
"Based off both stations—where I see lottery [tickets] being sold every single day—I can highly recommend the $10 tickets. Those are the best ones with the least amount of loss and the max amount of wins," Rosas says in the video. "I've noticed that the $10 tickets are the ones that pay off the most."
He adds that it's worth it to "risk a little," not only because the $10 scratch-offs are more consistent winners, but because they also pay out between $20 and $500. Rosas offers a few suggestions for specific scratch-off games—which appear to be exclusive to the California lottery—including the "Ice Cool" tickets.
Echoing what he said in his first video, Rosas stresses the value of crossword-themed tickets, including the Mystery Crosswords ticket in California, which he says "cashes out" if you buy a couple of them. He also recommends tickets that give you a chance of winning $1,000 or $2,000, buying tickets from the same roll, as well as avoiding buying the first four tickets in a roll.
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If you're willing to spend even more on some scratch-off tickets, Rosas has some advice for you there, too. While the $20 scratch-offs are less popular because people aren't interested in losing that much money, Rosas says you can still play to win. He recommends asking the cashier what number the ticket is on from the roll and buying if it's somewhere between number 15 and number 25.
"Between those numbers, I recommend. But that's my personal experience," he says.
In terms of $30 scratch-offs, he says the good tickets are typically the "multipliers," which is the opposite case for $20 scratch-offs.
"For some reason, with the $30 dollar ones, the good ones are the multipliers," he says. "So for the $20 ones, I don't recommend the multipliers ... I don't know what it is about the multipliers on the $20 ones, they don't hit."
Another general tip is to avoid New Year's-themed games and the shiny $30 tickets that are extra eye-catching.
"Usually those super shiny ones, they're just for show, just so you could be like, 'Oh, this one looks really good and shiny,' and [then] you don't win," Rosas explains.
RELATED: 7 Tips on Playing the Slots Without Losing It All.
Regardless of the tickets you're buying, it also doesn't hurt to build a rapport with the cashier at your local gas station—according to Rosas, this is "the biggest hint."
"If you're cool and you know, you're vibing with the cashier, ask them, 'Has anybody come back to cash these scratches?'" Rosas suggests.
According to Rosas, most people will scratch the tickets right after buying them, either there in the store or their car. So, if they win, they can go right back inside to cash out without having to make another trip. As a result, the cashier should know how many tickets a winner bought, as well as how many tickets were sold that day.
"If they answer you those questions, you can just figure it out," Rosas says. "Be like, 'OK, so my chance of winning is one out of seven, the cashier said he sold three, the guy didn't come back—I think maybe it has to hit within the next one.'"
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