Lottery is a game of chance that results in winning a prize that depends entirely on luck. You’ve probably heard of lottery games like Powerball and Mega Millions that contribute to billions of dollars annually to state coffers. While you can’t guarantee that you will win, there are some ways you can improve your odds of winning.

It’s hard not to fantasize about what you would do if you won the lottery: instant spending sprees, fancy cars, luxury vacations—maybe even paying off mortgages or student loans. But there are some important things to keep in mind before you buy your next ticket.

In order to have a fair and reasonable chance of winning, you must choose numbers that are unique or not commonly used. You should also try to cover a broad range of numbers in each draw and not limit yourself to certain clusters or numbers that end with the same digit. Harvard statistics professor Mark Glickman says it’s also best to avoid numbers that are associated with significant dates (like birthdays or ages), because you will have to split the prize with everyone who had those numbers.

The state and federal governments take about 40% of the total winnings for lottery tickets. This is to pay retailers their commission, cover the overhead for running the lottery system, and help people after they have won. In addition, some of this money is earmarked for education and gambling addiction initiatives.