How many times have you heard people saying, 'Oh, I'll never be lucky enough to win one of the big ones'? Most people avoid sweepstakes because they feel that the odds are too high and that luck is pitted against them. However, winning sweepers will tell you that chance plays only a small part in winning the big ones. The trick to sweeping a really big one is all about

Developing the attitude of a winner and

Strategizing your wins.

Be patient: Sweeping the stakes is a waiting game. From the time you enter till the time you receive your prize, it's wait, wait and wait some more. Even if you win right away (which is a rarity in itself), your sponsors will take their time to verify your details and send you the winning notification. Then, there are the dry spells in between when, for no apparent reason, you go through a few weeks or months of no-wins. These are all part of the game. So, be prepared to wait.

Be consistent: The secret to winning the big one is to keep trying. The more number of sweepstakes you enter, the greater your chances of winning. That applies even for the dry spells and for the days when you feel least lucky.

Every regular winner at the sweepstakes has a winning strategy. Develop yours. The first thing to do is to look over new listings and identify the prizes that you really, really want to win. From this list, spot the sweepstakes that will be lapsing shortly. After you've entered for the sweepstakes that top your priority list, follow through with the rest of the contests in order of the time they will be lapsing. This will help you get in at least a couple of entries for each sweepstake.

Next, you have to eliminate any chance of disqualification through duplicate entries. Many contests have strict rules regarding the number of entries you can send in, and sweepers kill their chances by overstepping the line. To help you keep a tab on such contests, choose a sweepstakes website that provides you with a free online organizer. This will help you store your sweepstakes and organize your entries.

As you know, there are just too many fantastic sweepstakes out there and only 24 hours in a day. So, you're NOT going to get your hands on all of them. Your aim is to maximize your chances. To do this, make use of every available facility. For example, the automatic form filling application like Roboform, which is supplied for free by many websites, helps you speed up the process of filling out forms.

Following a simple strategy like the one outlined above will help you increase your chances of winning the big ones and will give you maximum return for the time and energy you invest in your games.