Compare California Scratch-Offs

ValueScore is a composite index from 0 to 100 that blends expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health. Higher is better. It lets you rank games across price tiers without manually weighing four separate metrics.

Overall odds of 1 in X describe how many tickets you would need to buy on average to hit any prize. Lower X means more frequent wins, though most wins at that frequency are small. Pair overall odds with expected value to see if those wins are actually worthwhile.

Expected value is the average return per dollar played, from the game's printed prize structure: the total value of every prize the lottery printed, divided by the money the full print run takes in. A $1 ticket returning $0.70 on average has an EV of $0.70. It does not move as prizes are claimed, so check top prizes left too: a game whose jackpots are mostly gone is worth less than its EV suggests.

When the two ValueScores are 5 or more points apart, the higher ValueScore is the pick: it is the composite that weighs every factor together, including how many top prizes are left, and it is how the rest of the site ranks games. When they are closer, the verdict tallies eight metrics (ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, odds of winning $1,000 or more, break-even chance on $100, top prize, and top prizes still unclaimed) and picks the game that wins more of them. Metrics where the games are even, or where either game has no data, count for neither side. A tied tally goes to the higher ValueScore, and a dead heat across everything shows as a toss-up.

Scratch off data refreshes daily from the California lottery. Remaining top prizes can shift during the day as prizes are claimed, but price, overall odds, and payout rate only change when the lottery updates its public pack data.