Powerball Jackpot is $400,000,000

The estimated annuitized jackpot for the Wednesday August 7th Powerball drawing is 400 million dollars! Before you buy your tickets, heed these tips from seven-time lottery winner Richard Lustig, who has pocketed more than $1 million from his lottery winnings, reports ABC News.

Five tips for buying a lucky lottery ticket:

1. Pick your own numbers.
It's easy to let the computer choose the numbers, but don't do that. Pick your own. Allowing the computer to choose your numbers does not necessarily increase your chances of winning.

2. Do your homework.
Before you choose your own numbers, research online to make sure the set or sets of numbers you play have never come up before.

3. Stick with your strategy.
Learn which numbers to play and how often to play. Commit to your numbers and stick to it.

4. Avoid lottery fever.
When the lottery jackpots get so high they make the news, people get lottery fever. They tend to spend more on lottery tickets than they normally would and sometimes spend more than they can afford. Resist that temptation.

5. You have to play if you hope to win.
Dream all you want about what you will do if you win, but if you don't buy a ticket, you'll never have a chance--no matter how miniscule--to make those dreams come true. And if you should win, don't go on an immediate spending spree. Instead, seek professional financial advice. And then you can go on a spending spree!