Well, whether you are play the National Lottery and EuroMillions religiously each week, or just whenever the fancy takes you? which of us could deny that the chance of winning a couple of million would not come in handy!



However, with the chances of winning standing at 1 in 14 Million - I hate to be the one to break this to you? but you will need some serious good luck or a top-notch Psychic to help you out.

Following are some important tips to help you increase chances of scooping a big lottery prize that I'm going to share with you right now.

Key to Success #1: Choose Random Numbers

Winning the National Lottery jackpot might not necessarily guarantee a good prize?this depends on the number of combined winners in that draw. For each player who matches all six main numbers, the prize is divided out equally.

About 15% of the time, the six selected numbers will not be predicted; and one time in five, one winner has scooped the entire jackpot prize. At the other extreme, there was one week where a record 133 people selected the winning six digits, giving them each a measly few hundred thousand! By choosing number combinations which fewer people select you will reduce the number of people with winning tickets, and thus secure a larger share of the gold'So how can we find more random numbers?

-Ask around friends and family

?Can you see if there are any numbers considered to be ?unlucky'? For example, the number13?

-Most people will choose the birthdays of their loved ones or significant dates. Although you may think you're being clever, this is one of the key ways players choose their numbers, meaning that the numbers 1-31 are used most frequently.

-Take a look at the winning numbers of Angela Kelly, the postal worker who became the UK's biggest National Lottery winner in August 2007. The numbers picked were 23, 40, 42, 43 and 49 and lucky stars 2 and 6. Having four numbers in the 40's improved her chances of keeping that ?35.4 million undivided. Not bad.

You never know? this week it could be you, along with 142 other people who choose their numbers in the same way! By selecting numbers which fewer players are using will increase the chances of a higher prize should you win - so try and not follow the crowd.

Key to Success #2: Check your numbers

You'd be surprised at how many people don't check whether they've won. So make sure you find out the lottery results after each draw, using the national lottery's website is a quick and convenient way to keep uptodate. Many people find it helps to form the habit of doing this on the same days each week.

Winning tickets have to be claimed within 180 days of the draw, otherwise the money goes off to the Lotto's Good Causes fund. A ticket worth ?9,476,995 was once distributed in this way and it was the 24th prize in excess of a million pounds to be unclaimed. Ouch!

Key to Success #3: Buy a ticket!

This is the golden rule of lottery success? yet, it is surprising about the number of people who miss this key step!

You may remember the story of a man who prayed everyday to win the lottery, only to throw his arms up in disgust when after several years he was still broke. ?What do you want me to do?' he screamed up into the heavens?'Meet me half way, buy a ticket!' was Gods response!

So to give yourself a good shot at winning those millions - find those random numbers, remember to actually purchase a ticket instead of just dreaming, and then keep it in a safe place that will allow you to quickly and easily check the results each week.

Copyright (c) 2007 Tanya Renner