Battle to the Death: Scratchers vs Jackpot Games
Oooo the great debate of which is superior, scratchers or jackpot games. Actually, it’s not much of a great debate at all considering most of us don’t care which one we’re playing, we just want to win and win a lot.
But since many of us are on a very limited budget for our lotto habits, it’s worth figuring out which side reigns supreme so we can know where to throw the majority of our money. We’ll check out the pros and cons of each and you can decide for yourself which one works best for you. But really though, there’s no way you’re only going to play one or the other so let’s take this with a grain of salt.
Here’s a look into the great debate and the pros and cons of each:
Scratchers
Scratchers are more for the adrenaline junkies than anyone else. Don’t worry guys, I’m using the term ‘junkies’ in a positive light since I include myself as one of them. I absolutely love those ‘Win $2,000 a Week for Life’ scratchers. Every time I buy one I start thinking of all the possibilities.
What would be better than sitting around and being lazy for the rest of your life and picking up a significant check every week that yields you a six figure income for the year? I think it’s safe to say that absolutely nothing would be better. Maybe being Superman or Spiderman or something stupid like that, but since we’re being realistic here, there’s definitely nothing better.
Not having to work, plus never having to worry about blowing all your money because you’re just going to get another $2,000 check next week. Ahhhh, I’m getting excited just thinking about it.
Well, following that little rant, here’s a look at the pros and cons of scratchers:
Pros:
1) They provide unlimited adrenaline because you can play them as often as you want
Scratchers are like a drug when it comes to the feeling that you get as you’re scratching away at one. The only difference is they don’t really have any bad side effects so it’s just a good drug with no consequences. Actually, not being able to pay your rent because you bought too many of them should definitely count as a bad side effect. I’m gonna have to have a chat with the lottery commission about getting that written up on all tickets, it’s only right.
2) You can win more times and in more ways
You could get up right this second, go buy a scratcher, and find out if you won immediately. The best part for me about scratchers is that you can find out if you won before you find out how much you won. I’ve always been of fan of scratching off all the numbers to see if I won before I see what the actual prize is. It gives me a chance to get myself all pumped up, especially when there are two or three winners on it, even though the prize usually is a $1, $2 and $5. Oooo scratchers, you’re such a tease.
3) You have a much better shot of winning at least something
Scratchers are notorious for getting you all pumped up about the possibility of winning big, only to break your heart with a measly $5 prize. But hey, at least you win something and can keep playing until you do win big. Actually, that’s not a good strategy at all, don’t do that. But seriously, winning even the smallest amount can make you feel good and in a cheesy way that’s what it’s all about right?
Cons:
1) The return of investment is lower
Obviously scratchers don’t yield anywhere near the same prize as jackpot games do, so that’s definitely the biggest debbie downer about them. The grand prizes are usually in the $100,000 to $1,000,000 range, depending on how much you spent on the ticket, which is peanuts compared to the hundreds of millions you can win in jackpot games.
2) They’re far more addictive and dangerous than jackpot games
I’ve found this one out first hand. For the impatient gamblers among us (ME), scratchers can be a curse just as much as they are a blessing. You’re much more likely to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on scratchers a year than you are to do the same on jackpot games.
Jackpot Games
Jackpot games are for those of us who want to live the dream of hitting it big. I say live the dream because that is literally what we do every single time we buy one. We dream of what we would do with our millions, planning out our vacation spots in our heads almost instantaneously. In that moment, when we buy that $200 million ticket, we know we’re going to win it and we know exactly what we’re going to do with the money when we do.
The only thing is, we never win. The odds against us are incredible, but we keep playing for that dream, that one time when it finally does come true. Hell, the most successful businessmen in the world tell us that we have to be persistent and fail over and over again if we want to live our dreams. Who’s to say they weren’t talking about gambling?!?
With that said, here’s a look at the pros and cons of jackpot games:
Pros:
1) You can win a helluva lot of money
Yeah, I know, this one’s incredibly obvious. Every time you play a jackpot game you have the opportunity to win millions, and sometimes hundreds of millions, of dollars. That opportunity doesn’t exist with most scratchers, unless you’re a high roller and you’re buying those $20 scratchers. And for those of you rich bastards that are buying those $20 scratchers consistently you probably have no need for the money anyhow. So scram, go away, stop stealing our money!
This is supposed to be about jackpot games though, so to get back on track I just want to reiterate the fact that you have the potential to win a helluva lot of money. Go big or go home, right?
2) You don’t have to play as often
The fact that you don’t have to play near as often is a healthy incentive to pick jackpot games. It’s definitely far lighter on your wallet because most games are only one or two dollars for a ticket and only draw two or three times a week. That makes it probable that you’re only going to spend about $25-$50 maximum every week when you’re playing strictly jackpot games.
One of the tricks that I’ve always liked to do is to pick my numbers and stick to them. I’m kind of laughing at myself for calling it a trick since the most I’ve won on the damned things is like $16. But hey, who’s counting? Anyhow, what I do is buy one ticket for every jackpot drawing that I play and use the same numbers every single time. It makes it super easy to know whether you won or not because you’ll always remember your numbers and makes it much cheaper to play consistently. Just don’t ask for my numbers because they’re not for sale!
Cons:
1) The chances of winning are awful
There’s a reason people that win jackpot games become overnight celebrities. Jackpots usually go weeks and sometimes months before someone finally wins. Not to mention you’re competing against other people. I mean seriously, how shitty would it be if you finally won the jackpot and you had to split it with someone else that had the same numbers? That would just be completely awful.
Hopefully you caught the sarcasticness there…
2) You can’t play as often
I know I used this same reasoning as a pro, but this is also a complete negative for impatient gamblers. I don’t have time to sit around all week waiting to become a millionaire. That stuff is for the birds. I want it now, I want more and I want it now!
The Verdict:
For me, the impatient gambler, scratchers take the cake and it’s not even close. A lot of it is going to depend on your personality, but I’m inclined to choose scratchers because you have the opportunity to play whenever you want and you can also dictate exactly what your potential winnings are.
I’ll still play my jackpot games and keep that dream alive, but when we’re talking about mono-a-mono I’m going with scratchers every single time. Like I mentioned multiple times, I want to win now and scratchers are the only ones that give me that opportunity. Ooo the reasoning of a true gambler. Anyhow, what are your thoughts??
