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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.
In a TikTok video, California gas station worker Alexander Rosas (@alexcal760) offered some advice when playing more expensive scratch-offs. The video was a follow-up to one posted the day before, where he ran through tips for playing $1, $2, and $5 scratch-offs.
RELATED: Gas Station Worker Reveals Secrets to Winning Money From Scratch-Off Tickets
Rosas starts by sharing his disclaimer that this is his “own personal opinion” based on his experience as a cashier at two different gas stations.
Tip 1: “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.
Tip 2: 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.
Tip 3: 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.
#fypシ #scratchoffticket #lotteryscratchers #lotterychallenge #fypシ
♬ original sound – Alexander Rosas
If you’re willing to spend even more on some scratch-off tickets, Rosas has some additional hotel tips for you.
Tip 4: 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.
Tip 5: In terms of $30 scratch-offs, he says the good tickets are typically the “multipliers,” which is the opposite 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.”
Tip 6: 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 Biggest Mistakes Lottery Winners Make
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.”
Tip 7: “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 in the store or in 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.’”
If you’re skeptical about these tips, Rosas has the evidence to prove they worked.
In a third follow-up video, he shares how using his own advice helped him to win four times in a row.
#fypシ #foryou #foryoupage @Alexander Rosas
♬ original sound – Alexander Rosas
He picked two $10 scratch-off tickets, number 23 and 24 in the roll, and wins on number 23. He then goes to a different gas station to buy two more, and repeats the process.
In total, Rosas won four $10 scratch-off tickets after buying eight on the same day from different gas stations.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
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