Steps
1) Research the data available on the state lottery website to find the odds of winning any type of prize, the amount of tickets available, the amount of prizes unclaimed, and the odds of winning the top prize.
2) Pull the data into a spreadsheet and analyze it, picking out the ones with the best overall odds.
3) Go to the nearest convenience store and point at the ones I picked before hand, but try not too look to desperately hopeful when doing it.
4) Track the record of scratcher purchasing costs against the amounts won as a reality check: to keep from thinking that if I just buy a few more I can hit it big time.
Enthusiam: High, until I remember that I'm probably not the first person to think of this. Maybe they've just been really quiet about their strategy?
Practicality: Most people would probably say no, it's not practical, especially in the long run. I should probably set a loss limit of $50 or so, buying no more than $5-$10 scratchers at a time.
Difficulty: Pulling together the data is probably the most time consuming. Then there's the sweating bullets part as I hold up the line of people waiting to buy beer and junk food and endure the cashier's silent scorn so I can eye the tickets displayed under the counter.
