Unless you’re one of those rare people who actually wins the lottery, the odds are that you probably won’t. But if you’re serious about improving your chances of winning, there are a few things you can do.

The big thing is not to bet the whole thing at once, a trap that many lottery players fall into. Instead, buy a few tickets, and study them. For example, look for patterns in the numbers that appear on a particular ticket. For instance, if you’re buying a lotto game with five-digit numbers, you should try to avoid picking any that end in the same digits (like 31, which is unlikely to occur).

Also, make sure to mix up your picks—don’t just choose your birthday or other personal numbers. Clotfelter says that a lot of people tend to pick numbers that are close to them, such as their birthdates or home addresses, but this is a bad idea. He says these numbers have patterns that are more likely to be repeated.

Another good way to improve your chances of winning is to invest your money in a lottery syndicate. If you’ve got enough investors, you can purchase all the possible combinations of numbers. In fact, Romanian-born mathematician Stefan Mandel won the lottery 14 times and made $1.3 million by using this strategy. But even if you’re not a millionaire, investing in the lottery can help improve your odds of winning a small prize, such as a free car or $100,000.