I too occasionly buy scratch cards. I don't smoke or drink so don't see a problem with spending a couple of quid every now and then compared to someone who spends over £5 a day on ****.
Anyway, I really only ever buy the £1 and £2 cards and usually win my money back, on a couple of occasionas I have won £5 or £20.
On New Years Day I decided to push the boat out and buy a £5 one, It was the first £5 one I bought, anyway I won £100 on that which was amazing. Collected my winnings the following week and bought another £5 and won £50 on that. Bought another £5 the week after and won nowt so havn't bought one since.
The one thing I can't stand though are the people who scratch them off at the checkout counter in stores or outside the shop.
this kind of thing. it's not a fiddle, it's just not like throwing a dice
No, it's not quite like throwing a dice. But, unless you know who has won or not won from the tickets already sold from the roll, then the odds haven't changed from your point of view.
However, if a shopkeeper watched customers winning or losing on the cards they scratch out at the counter, then they could identify which rolls have resulted in a low number of wins or high number of wins. In which case they'd now when it's worth buying, and when it's not. Sort of like card counting while playing Blackjack.
If shopkeepers are counting, and will buy themselves when the odds are best, then this will slightly reduce the chance of regular punters buy tickets.
No, it's not quite like throwing a dice. But, unless you know who has won or not won from the tickets already sold from the roll, then the odds haven't changed from your point of view.
However, if a shopkeeper watched customers winning or losing on the cards they scratch out at the counter, then they could identify which rolls have resulted in a low number of wins or high number of wins. In which case they'd now when it's worth buying, and when it's not. Sort of like card counting while playing Blackjack.
If shopkeepers are counting, and will buy themselves when the odds are best, then this will slightly reduce the chance of regular punters buy tickets.
try and keep a track of 8 different games with all sorts of prizes and the fact that a lot of people would buy a scratch card and walk out the door and perhaps not return for a day or 2 if they had a winner and who knows if they won a major prize but went to another retailer and by which time we'd slapped a new book into the hopper but most shopkeepers who do the lottery don't do more than a couple of lines as we get to see the crappy returns
I think they should introduce a self service scratch card machine where you collect your winnings from a secure machine rather than waiting at a checkout queue to get them. Sometimes I feel so tight quieing up just to get £2 back on a card. Maybe they'll introduce one at some point. I can't see it being that hard,
* Scan Barcode
* Enter 4 Digit Number
* Insert Ticket
* Collect Winnings.
Comments
Anyway, I really only ever buy the £1 and £2 cards and usually win my money back, on a couple of occasionas I have won £5 or £20.
On New Years Day I decided to push the boat out and buy a £5 one, It was the first £5 one I bought, anyway I won £100 on that which was amazing. Collected my winnings the following week and bought another £5 and won £50 on that. Bought another £5 the week after and won nowt so havn't bought one since.
The one thing I can't stand though are the people who scratch them off at the checkout counter in stores or outside the shop.
No, it's not quite like throwing a dice. But, unless you know who has won or not won from the tickets already sold from the roll, then the odds haven't changed from your point of view.
However, if a shopkeeper watched customers winning or losing on the cards they scratch out at the counter, then they could identify which rolls have resulted in a low number of wins or high number of wins. In which case they'd now when it's worth buying, and when it's not. Sort of like card counting while playing Blackjack.
If shopkeepers are counting, and will buy themselves when the odds are best, then this will slightly reduce the chance of regular punters buy tickets.
try and keep a track of 8 different games with all sorts of prizes and the fact that a lot of people would buy a scratch card and walk out the door and perhaps not return for a day or 2 if they had a winner and who knows if they won a major prize but went to another retailer and by which time we'd slapped a new book into the hopper but most shopkeepers who do the lottery don't do more than a couple of lines as we get to see the crappy returns
a
* Scan Barcode
* Enter 4 Digit Number
* Insert Ticket
* Collect Winnings.