Best scratch-off odds and best value are not the same thing
Two of the most-used pages on this site are the best odds rankings and the best value rankings, and they routinely show different games at the top. That confuses people, reasonably enough.
Iowa happens to be running the cleanest possible demonstration of why, as of this writing on August 7, 2026.
| Game | Price | Overall odds | Payout | ValueScore™ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 Jackpot | $30 | 1 in 2.29 | 75.0% | 95.4 |
| Ruby Red Crossword | $30 | 1 in 2.29 | 75.3% | 59.3 |
Two Tickets. Same state. Same price. The same overall odds, and near-identical payout percentages. Yet one scores 95.4 and the other 59.3.
What separates them
Odds tell you how often a ticket wins something. They say nothing about what that something is worth, or whether the top prizes you'd actually want are still available. Two games can win at exactly the same rate while one is handing out $30 consolation prizes and the other still has its big money on the board.
That's what the gap here comes down to. The prize structures underneath differ, and so does how much of each game's top-end money is still unclaimed.
The pattern repeats nationally
Idaho's Big Money Jackpot has some of the best published odds in the entire country at 1 in 2.19, which puts it in the national top three. Its ValueScore is 31.6. A $10 ticket that wins on nearly half of all plays, and it still ranks among the weaker games we track.
Going the other way, Arizona's Million Dollar Crossword pairs 1 in 2.30 odds with a 95.1 score and an 81.9% payout, so the two measures can line up. They just don't have to.
Which one should you use
If you enjoy the feeling of winning often and don't much care about the amounts, the odds ranking is the one you want. Plenty of people play that way and there's nothing wrong with it.
If you're trying to get the most back for what you spend, the payout percentage and the prizes remaining are what matter, and that's what the value ranking is built on. We go further into what the published number actually means in what overall odds actually mean.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the best odds the same as the best value?
No. Overall odds count any prize, including small ones that just return your stake. Two Iowa games priced at $30 share identical 1 in 2.29 odds while scoring 95.4 and 59.3 on value, because their prize structures are very different.
What do overall odds actually measure?
The published chance that a ticket wins any prize at all. A game can win often while paying back very little, which is why odds alone are a poor guide to whether a ticket is worth buying.
Which matters more when choosing a scratch-off?
Payout percentage and how many top prizes remain tell you more than the odds do. Our ValueScore combines those with prize quality into a single 0 to 100 rating.
Phil Nageotte is a writer covering scratch-off odds, expected value, prize data, and more. He joined ScratchCheck in 2026 after years of tracking lottery payouts in spreadsheets of his own.
