The lottery is a fixture of American society, a popular way for people to try their luck at winning a fortune while also helping states raise revenue. But how meaningful that revenue is for broader state budgets, and whether it’s worth the trade-off to the millions of people who spend money on tickets each year, are questions worthy of scrutiny.

Lotteries capitalize on a basic human desire to dream big. But that doesn’t mean the odds aren’t real. The chances of winning a lottery prize are always based on probability, and the total value of the prizes (minus the costs of promotion) must be less than the ticket cost to ensure enough money from ticket sales to pay for everything.

It’s true that the actual odds of winning don’t make much difference to most people, even if they are aware that the prizes aren’t as big as advertised. But that’s only because most people don’t actually have a clear-eyed understanding of the odds. They think that by picking certain numbers or buying tickets from a lucky store at a specific time, they can increase their chances of winning.

But there’s no secret to winning the lottery, and a few simple rules can help you maximize your chances of winning. To start, look for a list of all the prizes and their respective probabilities and choose the one that you like best. When you’re choosing a scratch-off game, pay attention to how recently the winners were announced and how many prizes are still available.