Processor-based systems and methods of recommending to a user which lottery ticket to play. Example embodiments of the methods include receiving a game structure, receiving an updated data, receiving a user risk/reward profile, determining a recommended lottery ticket for a user to play, and communicating the recommended lottery ticket to the user through a user interface. Example embodiments of lottery scratch ticket applications include a processor-based device executing an application that recommends which lottery ticket to play based on the game structure, updated data about the game and the user risk/reward profile of the user.