Is there a best strategy when picking those Powerball numbers? E - WFXG FOX54 Augusta - Your News One Hour Earlier

All across the country, convenience stores were packed with those hoping Lady Luck was on their side, as Wednesday's Powerball jackpot reached a record high $550 million.

According to Georgia Lottery officials, 105,000 tickets were sold every minute in the state.

And as the grand prize skyrockets, it brings out millions hoping to pick the right combination of five winning numbers and the correct Powerball, all with a different strategy of how to do it.

"I looked at what the last three picks were, so I didn't want to pick all the same numbers because that's just going against my odds," says Katherine Hyer. "Then I picked birthdates, anniversaries, and different dates like that."

"I picked some Chinese numbers off of my fortune cookies," laughs Jerry Pardue, who was feeling lucky. "One of mine was that I was going to gain some good money quickly."

For others, the best strategy is no strategy at all, instead opting for "quick picks," where the numbers are randomly chosen.

"I just quick picked this one," says Walter Brantley. "I got as good a chance as anyone, I guess. It just takes one chance."

Some using important dates. Others chose lucky numbers. And even more just with chance.

But do any of these strategies actually give you better odds at striking it rich and hitting the jackpot? According to a statistician, not really.

"No. It doesn't matter," says Augusta State University Professor of Research Dr. Philip Smith. "The chances for each combination of numbers is exactly the same."

Dr. Smith says there is only one fool-proof strategy to guarantee yourself hitting the jackpot, but it consists of buying a whole lot of tickets.

"You would need 175 million [tickets] to assure yourself of winning," he says.

And that seems to be understood by most buying tickets. No matter the strategy, they all come back to one conclusion.

"The best chance? Umm, luck," laughs Lendell Bowman.