Pull-tabs, also known as break-open tickets or Nevada tickets, are a form of paper gambling tickets that are commonly sold by organizations as a fundraising tool. The tickets have perforated tabs that can be pulled back to reveal symbols or numbers that indicate whether the ticket is a winner. But is there a reliable way for players to identify winning tickets before opening them?
The allure of pull-tabs is the possibility of instant cash prizes and the suspense of not knowing if each ticket will be a winner. However, there is an element of chance involved, as the winning tickets are randomly distributed throughout a game set. Some players have devised methods to try to beat the odds and identify winners before purchasing or opening the tickets.
Examining Weight and Thickness
Some people believe that subtle differences in the weight or thickness of tickets can indicate winners. The reasoning is that winning tickets contain more printed ink from the symbols and thus should weigh slightly more. However, manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure consistency in paper thickness and weight throughout a game set.
Winning tickets may contain slightly more ink than losing tickets. However, we’re talking about minuscule differences in mass that are undetectable without highly precise laboratory scales. Experienced pull-tab players report being unable to discern any noticeable weight or thickness differences between tickets in a game set. The paper and printing quality is tightly controlled during the manufacturing process.
Why weight and thickness don’t indicate winners
- Pull-tab paper weight and thickness is tightly controlled during manufacturing
- Differences in ink weight between winning and losing tickets is negligible
- Winners are randomly distributed in each game set
- No detectable weight or thickness differences according to player experience
Analyzing Barcodes and Serial Numbers
Another theory is that clues to identifying winners can be found in the barcodes or serial numbers printed on pull-tab tickets. All tickets in a game set share a common serial number. Individual tickets are identified by a unique barcode or number.
There is no correlation between a ticket’s barcode or serial number and whether it is a winner. The sequencing of winning and losing tickets within a set is completely random. Manufacturers use sophisticated algorithms to randomly distribute winners and losers. The odds of successfully predicting winners based on visible numbers are no better than random chance.
Why barcodes and serial numbers don’t identify winners
- Barcodes or serial numbers are randomly assigned to each ticket
- No mathematical correlation with winning or losing tickets
- Odds of predicting winners this way are no better than guessing
Looking forVisible Play Symbols
Some players attempt to identify winning tickets by examining the visible play symbols that appear around the pull-tabs before opening. However, manufacturers ensure that partial symbols visible before opening can never definitively indicate a winner.
Visible symbols around the tabs are aligned in a completely random pattern on both winning and losing tickets. Experienced players report being unable to distinguish winning tickets by analyzing the visible symbols. Partial symbols were not found to successfully predict winners.
Why visible symbols don’t identify winners
- Partial symbols are randomly arranged on all tickets
- No pattern can definitively identify winners
- Tabs intentionally cover identifying portions of symbols
- Experienced players report no success with this method
Looking Through the Ticket
Some pull-tab players attempt to shine light through the ticket or hold it up to the sun, hoping to identify the symbols under the tabs. However, manufacturers use paper that is opaque enough that the interior symbols cannot be determined in this manner.
The paper used for pull-tabs has just enough translucence to prevent the interior symbols from being visible when back-lit. Patterns can be faintly made out but they are undeterminable. Variations in paper opacity are minimized during the manufacturing process. Shining light through pull-tabs does not reveal whether it is a winning ticket.
Why light transmittance doesn’t identify winners
- Paper used has optimal opacity to prevent interior visibility
- Faint shadows can be seen but symbols are indistinguishable
- Opacity is consistent across all tickets
- Back-lighting cannot definitively identify interior symbols
Bending and Manipulating Tickets
Some players try bending, crimping, or otherwise manipulating pull-tab tickets in an attempt to reveal interior symbols or as an identifier. However, this is ineffective because the sturdy paperboard used in the tickets is resistant to such manipulation.
The cardstock paper used to print pull-tabs is flexible enough for use but too sturdy to reveal interior symbols when bent or creased. Tickets are constructed of uniform materials to prevent such manipulation. Experienced players report being unable to determine winners by physically altering tickets prior to purchase. Any apparent pattern would be coincidental.
Why physical manipulation doesn’t identify winners
- Paperboard stock is durable enough to resist bending
- Tickets are constructed of uniform materials
- Creasing or crimping cannot reveal interior symbols
- Player experience shows this is an ineffective strategy
Near-Infrared Analysis
A more technologically advanced method used by some players involves using near-infrared scanners or cameras to try to view the interior symbols of tickets. This relies on the principle that some materials allow transmission of certain wavelengths in the infrared region that are outside normal human vision.
However, all pull-tab tickets are printed with infrared-opaque inks that block the near-infrared region. The cardstock is also engineered to be fully opaque in this spectrum. Manufacturers use rigorous quality control to ensure consistency. Near-infrared scanners are ineffective at determining the interior contents of pull-tabs.
Why infrared techniques don’t identify winners
- Tickets are printed with infrared-blocking inks
- The paper fully blocks near-infrared wavelengths
- Consistency is tightly controlled during manufacturing
- Infrared cameras and scanners cannot see symbols
X-ray Scanning
One high-tech strategy for identifying winning pull-tabs is using X-ray scanning to try to view the interior symbols before purchasing tickets. Handheld X-ray scanners have become more affordable and accessible to the public in recent years. However, using them to scan pull-tabs would be ineffective and illegal.
The dense paperboard used for pull-tabs is engineered to block typical X-ray wavelengths. Furthermore, handheld scanners lack the penetrating power needed to see through multiple layers of cardstock. Attempting to use X-rays on pull-tabs would also be considered tampering and would violate applicable lottery regulations.
Why X-ray scanning won’t work
- Pull-tab cardstock blocks X-ray wavelengths
- Handheld scanners lack necessary power
- Attempting to scan tickets would be illegal tampering
- Strict manufacturing standards prevent X-ray visibility
Radio Frequency Identification
A highly complex technological method that some have investigated for identifying winning pull-tabs involves using radio frequency identification (RFID) scanners. This involves scanning tickets with high frequency radio waves to read any embedded RFID tags. However, pull-tabs do not contain any RFID tags.
RFID technology relies on small electronic tags embedded in the object being scanned. Pull-tab tickets consist of paperboard and ink with no electronic components. The tickets do not emit identifying radio signals. Without RFID tags, RFID scanners are unable to extract or identify any details about pull-tabs. This technique does not offer any advantage in determining winners.
Why RFID scanning won’t work
- Pull-tabs contain no electronic components
- Tickets do not have embedded RFID tags
- No radio signals are emitted to identify contents
- RFID scanners need a tag to read information from
Thermal Imaging Cameras
Another high-tech approach is attempting to use thermal imaging cameras to try to identify winning pull-tabs. The idea is that differences in ink density between winning and losing tickets might show up under thermal scanning as subtle temperature variations. However, this method also proves ineffective.
While thermal cameras can detect minute temperature differences, the variation across printed tickets is too small to be applicable. Thermal paper used for receipts works because of special chemical coatings that react to heat. Standard pull-tab ink does not emit or absorb sufficient thermal energy to be detectable. Thermal imaging provides no meaningful information to identify winners.
Why thermal imaging won’t work
- Standard pull-tab ink lacks thermal properties
- Small differences in ink density are undetectable thermally
- Chemical thermal paper coatings are needed for visibility
- Thermal cameras are ineffective for reading standard ink
Translucent Glitter and Dye
Some have proposed the idea of using translucent glitter, dyes, or other chemical agents applied to the outside of tickets that could allow the interior symbols to become visible. However, this would constitute tampering under lottery regulations and prevent the tickets from being legally sold.
Pull-tabs are carefully constructed to precisely block visibility of the interior from all angles. The application of any foreign chemical or substance to try to gain visibility to the interior would alter the ticket and make it defective. Tampered tickets could not be legally dispensed and players caught attempting this method risk severe penalties.
Why chemical tampering won’t work
- Application of reveal agents is considered illegal tampering
- Treated tickets become defective and unsalable
- Altering tickets violates lottery regulations
- Players risk substantial penalties if caught
Microwave Radiation
Microwaves occupy a region of the electromagnetic spectrum with shorter wavelengths than radio waves. Some imaginative players propose using microwave scanning to try to read through pull-tabs nondestructively. However, this would be ineffective and dangerous.
Consumer microwave ovens operate at 2.45 GHz. While microwaves can penetrate some materials, the dense paperboard and ink used in pull-tabs are engineered to be microwave opaque. Microwave wavelengths are also too long to image intricate symbols clearly. Furthermore, prolonged microwave exposure risks heating, burning, or even igniting the ticket.
Why microwaves won’t work
- Pull-tab construction blocks microwave wavelengths
- Wavelengths are too long to image intricate symbols
- Prolonged exposure risks burning or igniting tickets
- Microwave scanners lack the precision and safety for use
Ultraviolet Light
Some winning pull-tabs contain printed symbols that fluoresce under ultraviolet black light. This has led some players to use UV lamps in an attempt to prematurely identify winners. However, this method only works on certain specialty game styles.
Most pull-tab games lack any fluorescent markings that are visible under UV illumination. For those that do, the fluorescent symbols are typically blended with non-fluorescent symbols in a random pattern that reveals nothing about the winning potential. The presence of fluorescence does not definitively identify winning tickets.
Why UV light has limited use
- Fluorescence is only included on some specialty games
- UV-reactive symbols don’t indicate winners by themselves
- Winning and losing tickets may both fluoresce
- Manufacturers deliberately make fluorescence non-revealing
Transparent Rear Laminate
Some pull-tab players propose removing the opaque rear paper lamination to try to expose the interior for visibility. However, only the front tab section is designed to be removable. Removing the rear laminate would destroy the ticket.
Pull-tabs are constructed with a front laminate under the tabs that is designed to be cleanly peeled away. The rear laminate is permanently fused and attempting removal tears the ticket material. Even if removed successfully, the interior symbols would still be obscured by the inner paper layer. Damaged and altered tickets also could not be legally sold.
Why removing the back laminate won’t work
- Rear laminate is not designed to be removable
- Attempted removal damages the ticket
- An inner layer still hides symbols if removed
- Altered tickets are considered void and illegal
Conclusions
Determining whether a pull-tab is a winner without opening the ticket remains elusive, despite creative approaches by players. Manufacturers engineer the tickets to precisely control visibility and manipulation. Quality control ensures no variations exist between tickets that can definitively betray the interior symbols or game results.
While newer technologies offer possibilities for seeing through opaque materials, current equipment lacks the precision power, or legality for use on pull-tabs. Players report being unable to use weight, thickness, inks, serial numbers, or physical properties to successfully identify winners consistently. No safe, nondestructive method can reliably predict pull-tab winners prior to purchase and opening the tickets.
Until guaranteed effective techniques are demonstrated, pull-tabs will continue to offer that enticing opportunity for surprise and anticipation when the tabs are peeled back. The quest for definitive methods to identify winners in advance is part of the allure that keeps players engaged and returning to play again. The search continues, but for now the only sure way to tell if you have a winning pull-tab is to take a chance and open it up.