Scratch Card Tips

The Truth About Scratch Card "Strategy"

We'll be direct with you right from the start - there is no such thing as scratch card strategy. Each scratch card game outcome is a completely independent event dependent upon a Random Number Generator (RNG) to determine the result. The result of your scratch card is determined at the moment you purchase the ticket. There is no such thing as a strategy that can affect the outcome of the game.

This fact is a premise from which any sensible scratch card strategy must begin.

All players can control are the following factors in relation to the scratch card game they play: which scratch card game to play, how much to stake on each game, whether to use the casino's various tools to change the amount of money that is staked on each scratch card game, and whether to play at a casino that will pay you the winnings from your scratch cards.

Tip 1: Choose Games by RTP

The first and foremost thing to look for in a scratch card game is the Return to Player (RTP) percentage. The RTP% of a scratch card game will determine the percentage of all of the player's stakes that will be paid back to the players over a long period of games (measured in millions of games played).

• A scratch card game with an RTP of 96% will pay back £96 for every £100 that is staked on the game.
• A scratch card game with an RTP of 92% will pay back £92 for every £100 that is staked on the game.
• The difference of 4% means that the player will go through their bankroll twice as fast at the 92% RTP game as at the 96% RTP game.

Before playing any scratch card game, players should find the RTP% of that game. This information is published on the screen that shows the game's information. If the scratch card game does not have an RTP published, then it is a red flag for the player as licensed gambling providers must reveal the RTP% of all games that they offer.

To make this easier for our players, we have published a list of the scratch card games we have reviewed, ranked according to their RTP%. Using this ranking list, players can select their desired scratch card game instantly according to their RTP% preferences.

Tip 2: Match Volatility to Your Bankroll

The second thing that players should know about scratch card games is the game's volatility (or variance). This describes how the game's wins are distributed over the length of play.

The practical rule: If a player has a bankroll of £20, they should not play any scratch card games with high volatility and a stake of £2 per game. With a bankroll of £20, the player can only purchase 10 scratch card games with a £2 stake each. High volatility scratch card games require a bankroll with a value of at least 50 to 100 scratch cards to enjoy a representative number of winning prizes.

Tip 3: Bankroll Management

Scratch card game bankroll management strategies do not affect the odds of winning a prize from the scratch card game. However, they can affect the length of time that a player plays with their bankroll, and the amount of money that they lose during their playing session. These rules will help players to manage their scratch card bankroll:

• Set a budget for the playing session with the scratch card games. Limit the player to that amount of money for that playing session. Once the bankroll is depleted, the player should stop playing with the remaining balance. Do not play with any winnings from that playing session.
• Limit the stake that a player puts into each scratch card game to a small percentage (2 to 5%) of the total bankroll for the playing session. This gives the player at least 20 to 100 games to play with their entire session bankroll.
• Do not increase the stake that the player puts into each scratch card if they are losing money with each game. This will cause them to deplete their bankroll at a faster rate.
• Treat wins as winnings that can be withdrawn. For instance, if a player placed a £20 bankroll for the playing session but won £40, they should consider only withdrawing their original £20 bankroll from winnings. This means that they can never lose any more money than they started with with that playing session.
• Setting a win limit allows players to end their playing sessions when they have won a certain amount. For example, if a player wins three times the amount that they originally staked in their bankroll, they can stop playing with their scratch card. If they do not stop playing with their scratch card, they will eventually lose all of their money.

Tip 4: Understand Bonus Terms Before Accepting

The welcome bonuses that are offered by most online casinos work against players who play scratch card games.

• Game exclusions — Most online casinos will exclude scratch card games from the wagering requirements of the welcome bonus. Thus, players would have to complete the wagering requirements on other games before they can access their winnings.
• Contribution rates — Most online casinos will offer a reduced contribution rate for scratch card games. For example, if the scratch card game is offered at a 30x wagering bonus, any contribution of winnings from scratch card games will only be accounted for at a rate of 10% of the winnings. Thus, players would have to wager 300x their bonus winnings on scratch card games.
• Maximum withdrawal on bonus winnings — Most online casinos will limit the amount of winnings that a player can withdraw from a welcome bonus. For example, if a player wins £5,000 from a welcome bonus but the casino imposes a maximum withdrawal value of £100, the player can only withdraw £100.
• Time limits — Most online casinos will have a time limit for their welcome bonus winnings. For example, a welcome bonus may have to be wagered in 7 days but if the player has not wagered their winnings then they will expire after 30 days.

Our scratch card casino reviews highlight the welcome bonuses that are offered by the casinos that we recommend.

Tip 5: Try Demo Mode Before Playing Real Money

Most online scratch card games will offer a free demo mode that does not require an account to be created or money to be deposited into the online casino to play with.

The features of the scratch card game's demo mode will allow players to:

• Get to know the winning conditions for the scratch card game (every scratch card game will have different winning conditions).
• Get a feel for how often they will win prizes while playing with the game. This will allow them to decide if the game is for them before they play with their money.
• Free demo mode uses virtual scratch card chips that do not use any of the player's money. Additionally, the Random Number Generator for the scratch card games used in demo mode will be the same as that used when playing for real money.

All of the scratch card games on InstantWins.net offer a free scratch card game demo mode.

Tip 6: Only Play at Licensed Casinos

This tip is optional - scratch card games with a lower level of volatility are more desirable for players than those with a high level of scratch card game volatility. However, the strategy of scratch card game volatility is an important one.

• Licensed online casinos are required to use independent RNG software. There is no such requirement for unlicensed online casinos.
• All licensed online casinos are required to pay out any winnings that are made by scratch card game players. A licensed online casino will refuse to pay any winnings from a scratch card game without legal consequences.
• Licensed online casinos are required to offer tools for players to exercise responsible gambling at the time that they play scratch card games.
• If a player should have a dispute with an online casino that is licensed, they can file a complaint with an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) service at no cost to the player.

Every online casino that we recommend on InstantWins.net has been independently reviewed to ensure that they offer a valid gambling licence.

Tip 7: Use Casino Limit Tools

All reputable online casinos that are licensed will offer the following tools to players to allow them to exercise responsible gambling with the scratch card games:

Myths to Ignore

• ❌ The myth that the player should buy scratch card tickets from a new batch of tickets after a jackpot prize has been paid out — This is false because scratch card games use an RNG to determine the outcome of each ticket and are not linked to the previous winning ticket.
• ❌ The myth that players should play scratch card games during a certain time of the day — This is false because online scratch card games are dependent on an RNG that is not dependent on the time of day that a player plays with the games.
• ❌ The myth that players should scratch the scratch card games from bottom to top — This is false because the winning outcome for the tickets is determined at the time of purchase, not during the scratching of the scratch card game.
• ❌ The myth that if players buy a batch of scratch card games from the same scratch card game, they are more likely to win a prize — This is false due to the independent nature of each scratch card game ticket.
• ❌ The myth that if a player increases the stake that they play with on scratch card games, they are more likely to win prizes — This is false because the probability of winning with any prize value is equally likely for each ticket; increasing the stake increases the value of any prizes that are won, but does not increase the likelihood of winning.