When it comes to scratch cards the gameplay involved is nothing if not simple. The physical scratch cards that you can find in casinos, licensed shops, or from booths dedicated just for this purpose are nothing more than thin cardboard-like cards which have a silver or opaque surface which one must scratch in order to reveal what is underneath. Winnings are entirely dependent on what is revealed once the silver foil comes off and vary according to the number of symbols, combinations etc. and the kind of scratch card bought. When it comes to scratch cards online, one is only able to simulate the scratching of the aforementioned card for obvious reasons.
Why are scratch cards so popular?
Scratch cards, otherwise known as scratch-offs, scratch tickets, scratchers, scratchies, scratch-its, scratch games, and scratch-and-win (depending on where in the world you are), owe their popularity to a myriad of overwhelmingly positive factors. Not only are they low cost and easy to play, but they have the added advantage of giving players the opportunity to become instant winners as opposed to players having to wait for a specific day and time for a draw. Despite the cost-effective factor which draws many fans, there has been a move towards the playing of more costly scratch cards which can cost in the region of $20 or $30 and offer prizes which can run into millions, however, many of these supposed instant tickets do not actually pay winners instantly, but rather over the span of a number of years.
Scratch Cards Odds - What's Your Possibility of Winning?
Where there is a casino game, you will also find several people trying to find a loophole as to how to win big easily with a minimum amount of effort, thus, the history of the scratch card has been dotted with multiple attempts by players to increase the odds on finding a prize-winning card based on hard facts and statistics. Indeed, many people have conducted their research by tracking the amount of prize money won and cards sold in an effort to calculate accurate current odds.
It is interesting to note that there have been quite a few instances where cards are still freely available to be bought despite the fact that all the major prizes allotted for that particular game have been won as it is beyond the scratch card supplier’s control where exactly the scratch card will go and when it will be played, however, due to the fact that the odds tied to winning at scratch cards are so low (usually less than 1 in 5 to about 1 in 2.5), the lottery still makes a profit.
Of course, if one was to play instant scratch cards online instead, this latter problem of buying scratch cards when the main prizes would have already been won is eliminated because online casinos will simply stop offering their players the digital cards once the main prizes have been won and start a new lottery with new prizes for players to win.
How does one collect the winnings from scratch cards online?
There are various ways how to collect the prizes revealed by your scratch card and this is mainly dependent on what kind of scratch card you have chosen to purchase to begin with. Fascinatingly, some cards actually require you to NOT scratch all the surface of the card and instead restrict you to scratching some places instead of others. In addition to this, while some cards allow you to simply pick up your prize from a shop, others will instead give you a phone number that you must phone in order to collect your prize.
While some scratch cards offer cash rewards only, others give you the opportunity to win fancy gadgets and electronics or holidays abroad. In the case of scratch cards online which have been around since 2010 and functioned via Macromedia Flash and Java, prizes can be collected online.
Scratch Cards Money Management Tips
When it comes to the colourful world of scratch cards, managing your money becomes a pretty important deal because it’s really easy to get lost in the moment and buy sheet upon sheet of cards to scratch away at your leisure.
It's All in the Planning!
Since the scratch card game is one of the greatest games of chance out there, you will have to ensure that your bankroll is able to last you long enough to give you a win. In order for one to plan effectively, they must be able to regulate and put aside how much they are willing to put down for an entire session. After this, one must make the equally important decision of deciding how many games he or she wants to play so that they can spread their funds accordingly.
Scratch ards Money Management Means Only Betting What You Can Lose
The rule of thumb with scratch cards or any casino game for that matter should be to only play with the money you can afford to lose, nothing more and nothing less. If you do end up losing, just walk away and save your money for another day!
Practice Makes Perfect (and Money)!
One of the key mistakes players who don’t know scratch cards money management make is playing with their hard earned cash from the get-go when they should ideally start slow. Indeed, the best thing that a new player can do is practice using free scratch card games so that he or she can learn.
Try Not to Focus on Jackpots!
While it would seem pretty tempting to buy nothing but jackpot scratch cards from dawn to dusk, you will probably only end up carrying a lot of disappointment by the end of it. You can bet on jackpot cards if you want to, but only if it takes up 10 – 20 per cent of you budget for a session – anything more than that is just poor scratch cards money management.
Scratch Card History
The first game tickets to hit the scene were made using manual randomization techniques till 1974 when the American company Scientific Games Corporation produced the first computer-generated instant lottery game. This laid the foundation for the scratch card template that we have now and a mere 13 years after the first computer led production, Astro-Med, Inc. of West Warwick, Rhode Island, received a patent for the instant scratch-off lottery ticket. At first, scratch cards had a pretty simple format and players were simply required to scratch off three areas which would either have numbers or symbols concealed underneath.
The goal would be to uncover the same symbol all three times and if this was achieved, a prize would be won. Over time, the scratch card evolved and there could be several ways in which one could make winnings. Furthermore, producers would attach popular themes such as Harley Davidson, Major League Baseball, NASCAR and Marvel Comics to their cards in an effort to excite and draw more people in.
Nowadays, there are two main manufacturers of lottery-based tickets: Scientific Games Corporation which has branches in the United States and major countries such as Chile, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, and Australia, and Pollard Banknote which has factories in the United States and Canada.
Best Online Scratch Cards - Win Real Money
Interestingly, the popularity of lottery scratch cards has been increasing at a greater rate than any other form of lottery. Thanks to the ease with which one can find them and the fact that they cost so little, millions of people can enjoy scratch cards the world over every day. Of course, while many people have to physically go out and buy their scratch cards to get their fix, with scratch cards online you can play all day whenever you get the itch with just the touch of a button.