As anyone who’s ever bought a lottery ticket knows, winning is all about chance. The numbers you choose must match the ones randomly selected, and if you’re lucky enough to hit it big, the prize money can change your life. But, is the process truly random? Or is there some way to make the odds of winning a bit more in your favor?

In his New York Times article “The Lottery and Its Illusory Promises,” Michael Cohen explores the modern lottery’s improbable success. He points out that while it’s often argued that the lottery is a kind of tax on the stupid—that people don’t understand how unlikely it is to win, or that they enjoy the game anyway—it’s actually much more complicated. As with any commercial product, lottery sales are largely responsive to economic fluctuations. In fact, lottery sales spike when the economy weakens and unemployment rises. What’s more, the marketing of the games is aimed at communities that are disproportionately poor, Black, or Latino.

These factors combine to create a highly lucrative business that isn’t only attractive to players but also to state governments, which desperately need revenue in order to maintain their public services. While many of these states have long objected to the sale of heroin, for example, they’re happy to sanction the sale of the lottery and to let the profits flow into state coffers.

The origins of the lottery are obscure, but it’s clear that by the fourteenth century, they were popular in Europe. The practice was even common in England, despite Protestant proscriptions against gambling and the use of dice. In the seventeenth century, it became common for English colonies to hold lotteries, which raised money for everything from town fortifications to charitable donations.

It’s also true that the winners of lottery games are usually a relatively small percentage of the total number of entries. This is why it’s important to do some research before buying your ticket. For starters, consider whether the numbers on your ticket are frequently drawn. If so, you’re better off choosing a different combination of numbers. Similarly, don’t pick the obvious choices like birthdays or other significant dates, which will reduce your chances of avoiding a shared prize.

Then, when you’re looking at the numbers on your ticket, look for a cluster of singletons. These are the digits that appear only once on the entire ticket. A group of these numbers signals a winning ticket about 60-90% of the time. So, if you want to maximize your chances of winning, be sure to count the number of times each random outside number repeats before picking your numbers. The more singletons, the better. Good luck! And remember to keep your eyes peeled for smuggled tickets. They’re just as illegal as drugs and cigarettes, after all. And, as always, bet responsibly. This means never betting more than you can afford to lose.