Are some lottery numbers better than others? Is there a method to picking lottery numbers?
I’ve seen more lies and misinformation on this topic than anything else.
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How To Pick Better Lottery Numbers
How To Pick Better Lottery Numbers
Something to do with the law of probability or something like that.
Also picking 123456 is NOT a good idea because a LOT of people do actually pick 123456.
So if those numbers do come out there will be a lot of winners to share with.
Alexc, the aim is to win not the number of people you share it with. If that were the winning combination I’d rather have picked it, than a wrong number.
But as you can’t know which combination is going to win, it makes sense to try and pick a less popular combination.
Or to put it another way – given the choice (which you do have), wouldn’t you rather win all/most of the jackpot rather than a tiny share of a popular combination winning?
I’ve played the national lottery without fail since it started. Biggest win ever was for 4 numbers and was £97 a way back, but lots of tenners for matching 3. But 14 million to one it’s absolute luck for anyone.
Hi Henry,
True enough that luck will always be the final factor.
But you can do a few things to help maximise your chances.
Hi. I use a system for picking powerball numbers, Although I understand what you are saying this particular system does for some reason pick some good results. I may not have won big but I feel since I started using it I’ve won more than usual.
Hi Powerball Guy
‘Some good results’ are easily explained by that old devil called… luck!
When people start doing crazy things like ‘dodgy analysis’ of past lottery results and therefore putting a lot of time and effort into playing, it’s very common for them to attach a much greater significance to any wins – no matter how small. Just normal human psychology.
[ A bit like the fruit machine player who has a good day, which immediately wipes out all knowledge of the ten bad ones before it 😉 ]
I’d recommend a change of game though – that Powerball game has just about the worst possible odds against winning.
LG
Hey lottery guy. How must I analyse past results to pick good lottery numbers, any advice?
It depends what you mean by ‘good lottery numbers’. Most past results analysis is a total waste of time, because people draw all the wrong conclusions. You may gain an edge by certain types of analysis, but it’s unlikely to ever be large enough to be statistically provable.
If you pick the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6, you will eventually win, and you have exactly the same chances of winning as picking any other numbers. It might take you several thousand years, but you will eventually win the jackpot. If Neolithic man had started playing the lottery, it is a fair bet that his chances of winning now must be getting quite large.
Hi Eugene.
Technically (‘mathematically’) if Neolithic man was still alive and hadn’t won yet, his chances of winning this week would still be exactly the same as when he first played. Because he’s already lost those past draws and that doesn’t help him win this week. (The future chances of our immortal Neolithic look quite rosy though).
You’re actually far better off playing your entire lifetime of lottery entries all up front in one single game. But that would be a pretty nerve shattering lottery draw and not nearly as much fun 🙂
I have never won the lottery. The most I have won on the pick six was two dollars. I want to win it all. With your help.
Don
Start here with my lottery tips.
LG
Hi Lottery Guy.
People are very sceptical about my strategy. This strategy is based on sharing the jackpot between two people. This is my strategy. Player A choose any 3 numbers between 1 and 49. Player B chooses any 3 numbers between 1 and 49. If both of the players hit 3 numbers than the players hit the jackpot.
I’m not good at picking all 6 numbers. Cause sometimes if I choose 6 numbers I only hit 3 numbers and sometimes I feel if I just combined my 3 numbers with someone else who got different 3 numbers than we would have got the jackpot. I know you will have critics about the sharing jackpot, but I don’t mind as long as I won it. I know the chances that both players have 3 numbers on the same draw day is rare, but it can happen. And it could be fun two players choosing 3 numbers each. Logically it’s more easy two people picking 3 numbers each.
Hi Corné,
You still have to match all 6 between you, so your chances of winning are no better.
But if it’s fun to play that way, keep doing it.
LG
You can’t win unless you play. So is it worth making a small gamble? Let’s say only when the jackpot is over a certain amount. Certainly the odds are no different for winning but the value of the winning ticket is increased. Why not take a chance?
August, not sure I understand your point – I didn’t say don’t play the lottery 🙂
One of my strategies does include playing when the jackpot is larger.
Hi Lottery Guy, there are many reasons why I would never waste my money on picking a lottery ticket as 1,2,3,4,5,6, but the closest reason that comes to mind, is that it has never happened before. Once or twice it came close, but it’s never happened in all the time of modern lottery play. With all the lotteries over decades it has not happened. So why would I burn my $1 lottery money on this set of numbers? It is not likely (statistically) to happen.
Yes, in one sense, statistically, each and all of the numbers have an equal opportunity to be selected on any single drawing. But on another statistical front (sense, perspective), it is not as wide open random as you would think. Just look at the drawings from week to week. There are single digits, teens, 20’s, 30’s and 40’s numbers in every drawing. There is always a spread of numbers across this spectrum. So we need to understand this reasoning in order to pick better lottery numbers. I don’t believe in quick pick lotto, as I have never even come close when I use this technique.
Hi Russ
That’s a very common mistake.
Do you know how many lottery combinations have NEVER appeared anywhere in any lottery draw ever? It’s literally MILLIONS of them. Because even the longest running lotteries have only had a few thousand draws!
So it makes no sense to avoid combinations just because they haven’t been drawn yet.
Imagine it was day 1 of the first lottery in the world – what combinations would you avoid because they haven’t been drawn..? See what I mean?
Hey Lottery Guy. How can you know a lotto game is rigged? Because here in South Africa it’s all possible. I hear the less a number is played by everyone it just boosts the number of chances to come up.