Myth
When picking lottery numbers you should NEVER pick the numbers that were drawn last week, because there is no chance they will be drawn this week…
Fact
Last weeks numbers still have EXACTLY the same chance of being drawn as every other combination! (Crazy huh)
Reason
I know it sounds logical at first. Who ever heard of the same numbers being picked twice in a row? Never happened right?
But the reality is it could happen.
Yeah, OK, so it could - but it’s still far less likely than other numbers, right..?
No!
It’s EXACTLY as likely as all the other numbers. Or to put it another way, it’s exactly as UNlikely as all the other possible results.
(Because all combinations are unlikely anyway. That’s the nature of a lottery, there are millions of combinations. So everything is unlikely.)
We Did WHAT Last Week..?!
You see there is no ‘memory effect’ here.
Those little balls have no brains, so they don’t know what happened last week. They just bounce around and pop out again without the slightest idea of what last weeks numbers were.
Don’t Believe The Hype
This myth is exactly the sort of thing those junk lottery systems use to take your money.
We’ll eliminate all those nasty unlikely combinations so you get a better chance of winning…
It’s a nice claim. But sadly it just isn’t true.
So when it comes to picking lottery numbers, excluding past results will NOT help your chances of winning. Right?
Comments ↓
1 Henry Stanley // Mar 23, 2009 at 5:19 pm
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.
2 Lottery-Guy.com // Mar 26, 2009 at 5:18 am
Hi Henry.
True enough. Luck will always be the major factor.
You can do a few things to help your luck along but of course analysing past results isn’t one of them.
LG
3 Powerball Guy // Jul 21, 2009 at 11:39 am
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.
4 Lottery-Guy.com // Jul 21, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Hi Powerball Guy
‘Some good results’ are easily explained by that old devil called… luck!
When people start doing crazy things like analysing 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
5 Corné Botha // Aug 6, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Hey lottery guy. How must I analyse past results to pick good lottery numbers, any advice?
6 Lottery-Guy.com // Aug 7, 2009 at 3:26 am
Corné, it depends what you mean by ‘good lottery numbers’? Whatever numbers you pick will have exactly the same chance of winning as any others.
Or to put in another way analysing past results is a total waste of time in terms of increasing your chances winning.
7 Eugene // Sep 13, 2009 at 8:54 am
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.
8 Lottery-Guy.com // Sep 13, 2009 at 9:33 am
Hi Eugene.
Technically 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
Please Do Add Your Comments Here...