Many years ago, I found myself sitting on an uncomfortable canvas seat in noisy semi-darkness, hemmed in by large cargo containers held securely with canvas straps. In the gloom I could make out the faces of several others, asleep in their seats.

I was on a Hercules C130 air force aircraft, bound for the Antarctic. Outside the windows was an eerie twilight. I could see unusual cloud formations as they whisked past underneath.

We had been flying for many hours, and I twisted and turned in my unyielding seat, trying to get some sleep.

Then, out of the darkness a finger beckoned.

I had been invited to visit the cockpit.

Up the ladder I climbed, into the small cockpit festooned with dimly lit instruments and colored flashing lights. The pilots nodded at me and the navigator beckoned me to sit down on a fold-down seat beside him. He explained what he was doing.

At this moment he had just finished calculating their fuel requirements for the no-go point.

This no-go point was a crucial part of the flight... once we passed it, he said, we could not return to base on the fuel we had. We would have to continue on, regardless of weather, engine failure or anything else too scary to contemplate.

Most of us have a no-go point of some kind... where we won't spend past our limit.

I often get emails from Silverites (buyers of my System), asking how much they have to spend in order to win their lotto game.

There is no such thing. You can spend as little as $10-15 a game with my system, and still have an excellent chance of winning. Or you might have to spend more to see results.

So my point is simple...

You can play cheap. But to get real results you need to go beyond your no-go point.

Now, I happen to know that this point - for many people - is too low. Most are happy to spend $10 a game. And for this they expect to get the number of prizes and odds that I do.

They might, but don't bank on it.

Here's the main secret for getting more out of your no-go point:

Use the right game...

The LOWEST number of balls and numbers should be your aim. I play a 6/40. That's 6 balls with 40 numbers. It's the best there is, according to this chart. As your numbers get higher, you're going to have to spend more to compensate for the higher odds.

I was at the lotto store counter this week, and I asked the pleasant cashier what was the highest amount spent by a customer on one game. She scratched her head and thought a second.

"Umm, I would have to say $300 was the highest I've ever seen in many years," she said. "Most people only spend a lot when the game gets bigger."

She was talking about the $25 million Powerball we had going. Even then, she said, $15 was the most that people spent. And they usually played a QuickPick.

There's your answer. You are competing against unskilled players spending $15 maximum and who only play the big jackpot games.

The answer is to go against the crowd... spend more and play every game - not just the Big Jackpots.

And if you have very little money to play each week, save it up for 4 weeks. Then put it all down on one game after a month. Your odds will be vastly improved that way.

By the way, we landed safely at Scott Base - on skis - in one of the most exciting landing strip touchdowns I've ever experienced.