Any Math

[65284]

or statics whiz kids here? This sounds like a silly question, but, if a person buys 2 tickets in a raffle does it double their chance of winning? Does buying 4 quadruple their chances over buying only 1, etc.?

[farmrbrown]

Yes..

[unregistered353870]

Yes but doubling a tiny number gives you still a tiny number.

[DaleK]

Depending if there's a fixed number of tickets or not and if they all sell, technically it doubles or close to doubles. ie if there are 300 tickets already sold you have a 1 in 300 chance of winning with the first ticket. If you buy an additional ticket you have a 2 in 301 chance. Now if it's a really unpopular lottery and you bought tickets 4 and 5 sold, your chances only improve from 25% to 40%.

[Saffron]

If there are a set number of tickets then buying two will double your chances, buying four will quadruple, etc.
100 tickets =
1/100 = 1%
2/100 = 2%
4/100 = 4%

If there is not a set number of tickets, then your odds depend upon the number sold before the drawing which can cause your odds to vary.
50 tickets =
1/50 = 2%
2/50 = 4%
4/50 = 8%

10 tickets =
1/10 = 10%
2/10 = 20%
4/10 = 40%

5 tickets =
1/5 = 20%
2/5 = 40%
4/5 = 80%

[Oldcountryboy]

Yow, but....does it double the money you win?

[Bearfootfarm]

Originally Posted by Oldcountryboy

Yow, but....does it double the money you win?

Only one ticket wins

[julieq]

Dunno. We frequently buy Idaho Lotto 'scratcher tickets', which state they have a 1:3 chance of winning. We have no idea how they come up with that number, but NO WAY!

We keep scratching though as we're optimists!

[haypoint]

Originally Posted by julieq

Dunno. We frequently buy Idaho Lotto 'scratcher tickets', which state they have a 1:3 chance of winning. We have no idea how they come up with that number, but NO WAY!

We keep scratching though as we're optimists!

I think that means that you have a slightly less than 1:3 chance to "Win" a free ticket. You get the free ticket and you are really lucky, you get another "Free" ticket. That one is a dud. There, you won twice. You must be on a roll.

[julieq]

Originally Posted by haypoint

I think that means that you have a slightly less than 1:3 chance to "Win" a free ticket. You get the free ticket and you are really lucky, you get another "Free" ticket. That one is a dud. There, you won twice. You must be on a roll.

Wow, someone actually wins free tickets?!

[Saffron]

Originally Posted by julieq

Dunno. We frequently buy Idaho Lotto 'scratcher tickets', which state they have a 1:3 chance of winning. We have no idea how they come up with that number, but NO WAY!

We keep scratching though as we're optimists!

As long as you win something, even if it is a free ticket or $1, it is still a win and makes the odds. This is something a lot of the lotteries will do to encourage you to buy their tickets, but generally it is just another free ticket.

AND - if the win on the ticket can vary because of the way you scratch it off, then they can up the odds because it is a winning ticket, but the odds are in their favor because you have to scratch off the right combination.

[edcopp]

We don't need to learn math any more, we have computers. /sar.