Should I Play The Same Lottery Numbers In Every Draw?

Man walking over lottery numbers

This is one of those lottery questions that can make your head spin. Should I play the same lottery numbers or change them? It can turn your brain inside out if you overthink it…

If my numbers haven’t come up yet, surely they are more likely to in future? So I should stick to playing my selected numbers, right?

If I keep changing my numbers isn’t that like two lots of numbers changing, making it even harder to win?

Sounds plausible. But sometimes we can overanalyze a problem!

It’s Just a Load of Balls

The fact is, mathematically speaking past results have no bearing whatsoever on future results. Why would they? Because underneath all those lovely numbers… it’s just balls.

(Even if they seem to make those pretty patterns when you really, really look for them…)

They’re just little round balls bouncing around inside a draw machine (see how are lottery numbers picked). And those balls have no memory. They aren’t all polite and considerate, and therefore take it in turns to be drawn! They don’t know or care about things like the ‘law of averages’.

Does Playing The Same Lottery Numbers Increase Your Chances?

It feels like playing the same numbers should make your odds better. And a lot of people will swear to their grave that it is… but the answer is just not that simple folks. 🙂

Each draw is a unique event. Which means what happened last draw has zero effect on this draw. If ball 10 came out last time, mathematically, that doesn’t make it any more or less likely to appear next time.

So in pure math terms if you play the same numbers all the time, or change them every week – it makes no difference at all.

Because mathematically each set of numbers always has exactly the same chance of being drawn. And each draw is a single unique event. Simple as that.

But keep reading below because this is not the whole ‘real world’ answer.

Two Things To Note However…

Firstly, creating perfect randomness is not easy (just ask a programmer). That’s why I said ‘mathematically’ about 3 times. 🙂

So if you are choosing certain numbers because you think they are a little bit more likely to appear than others – for real physical reasons – then you will probably prefer to stick with those numbers. At least for a time. (You can learn about this kind of thing and lots more in my Lottery Strategy Group).

Secondly, there are some reasons to avoid picking too many of certain types of numbers (clue: think popular!), but I’ll talk more about those reasons another time.

So Is It Better To Play The Same Lottery Numbers Every Week?

Potentially, it could be better to play the same lottery numbers every week.

Depending on how you chose those numbers and why you want to continue playing them.

If you just plucked your numbers out of the air, or chose numbers from family members birthdays (as a lot of people do) – then no, it’s not better. Just continuing to play the same numbers in itself will not increase your chances at all (it won’t reduce your chances either though).

But surely my numbers have to happen eventually, and isn’t it better to hold out for that?

No. 🙂

And here’s why.

Even if a different combination came out every single draw and was never repeated, it would still take over 1,000 lifetimes (even for a typical 6 balls from 49 game) for all the combinations to appear.

But there’s nothing to stop combinations repeating in the results, so they will (see repeated lottery numbers). Which means it will take even longer for all combinations to be drawn.

And remember, just because a number was drawn does not make it more or less likely next time. The same applies to combinations of numbers – they do not get more likely just because they haven’t been drawn yet.

I know this is bit hard to accept sometimes. Just keep reminding yourself that these are really lottery balls, not ‘numbers’, so why would they behave this way?

Also slightly mind bending is the fact there is nothing stopping your numbers coming up every week (just the odds). See how many times can you win the lottery?

So if you like the numbers you have chosen, by all means keep them and play them every week. But is it better to play the same lottery numbers – not really.

And equally, if you like changing your numbers once in a while, or every single draw – feel free, because that isn’t going to hurt you either.

But if you are putting a bit more work in (using the best lottery strategies) and trying to choose better numbers, then you need to be more careful and keeping the same lottery numbers (at least for a period of time) may be better.

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149 Comments so far ↓

  • Gene

    Hello,

    How did people like Joan Ginther and Richard Lustig win multiple times?

    • LG

      In Joan’s case partly from playing wisely (she has a math Ph.D.) and partly from spending a huge amount on tickets. She played scratch-offs so simply worked out which were the best ones to play at any given time. There’s a lot more to this than most people realise – see my scratchies tips for more on this. And then she bought big, really big.

      Richard Lustig is a different case. Firstly he’s won a heck of a lot less than Joan, and less than most people realise (see his wins listed here). All the evidence indicates it’s just a combination of luck and buying a lot of tickets – note that he hasn’t reported any wins since 2010 (when he started selling his book).

      • Carl

        Actually Richard Lustig is dead. So no, he wouldn’t be posting any further winnings.
        I realize many lottery games are not the same as in the US (our match 6 is 1-49, MegaMillions 1-70, and Powerball is 1-69). You may say, “that has no effect on the game you play”. I also realize you are saying that past does not prove future yet you use the word “odds” in relation to numbers being drawn. Can you really have it both ways? Remember balls are only balls, but I say numbers are only numbers and they have a time expectancy of life and showing up; which you appear to believe also in a way by you stating knowing when numbers will play…

      • Lottery Guy

        Yup, he died in 2018 (you’re replying to my comment from 5 years ago).

        I’m not sure I follow the rest of your comment. Past doesn’t prove future – how does that ‘disprove’ odds? But bear in mind I do emphasize (a lot) in the article ‘mathematically speaking’ (and qualify why I say that).

        “numbers are only numbers and they have a time expectancy of life and showing up” – sure they will tend to average out over time (why is that different to balls being just balls?).

        “by you stating knowing when numbers will play” – pretty sure I didn’t state that. 🙂

    • Carol Kriss

      Yes Richard Lustig has passed on to the great lottery winner circle in the sky July 2018. He’s listed in Wikipedia.

  • Grace Osabu-Kle

    Dear lotto guy,
    4 out of 6 of a set of numbers I play for lotto 649 has showed up. I played the set and I have won $86. Should I keep playing the same numbers now that 4 of the numbers in the set has showed up. In A PREVIOUS DRAW 2 of the numbers showed up and I won a free ticket. My hunch tells me it must be my lucky numbers and I want to keep playing them. what do you recommend?

  • Pat

    I would like to know if you increase your odds of winning by taking out a few of the highest and lowest numbers. I.e. You can choose five numbers between 1 – 34 but you only play 5 – 30.

    • LG

      Not unless you have a very good reason why you’re choosing only from that reduced range of numbers.

      Think of it this way. If you roll a dice but decide you’re only going to guess from numbers 2 – 5, have your chances of being right changed?

      Unless there is now a reason why 1 or 6 cannot be rolled, or are less likely to be rolled, then your odds are still 1-in-6 of being right.

      • Justin

        So let’s simplify the lottery into a coin toss stretched over 1,000,0000 times. Doesn’t the heads and tails usually end up averaged out close. Although it could be heads 20 times in a row it will eventually hit tails 20 times in a row.

      • Lottery Guy

        Yes… but how does that help you? 🙂 The next coin toss is still a 50/50.

        There could have been 2, 20 or even 200 heads in a row. But that doesn’t mean that tails is more likely on the next coin toss – or the one after that. The next 200 could all be heads.

  • Grace Osabu-Kle

    Is it better to play the lotto every draw or choose to play only certain draws? I find it too expensive to play every draw so I want to wait for when the jackpot is high to play a couple of tickets.

    • LG

      It depends on your overall strategy really. But there’s nothing specifically wrong with targeting only certain draws.

      Also read this: Are My Chances Of Winning Better If I Play Less Often

      • Giuseppe

        I won’t risk playing by targeting certain draws – I rather play all draws just in case my numbers come out.

        If you are playing Powerball or Megalotto you need a timeline of 30 to 25 years, and you can pass it to your son or daughter the numbers you had been playing so it will not be wasted.

        (Amended from ALL CAPS)

      • LG

        That’s just superstition though really :-). It just doesn’t work like that.

        There is no ‘memory’ to the draw. So (in simple terms, but read the post) a result that hasn’t happened in 50 years is still no more (or less) likely than the one that got drawn last week.

  • Rachel

    What about the people who have won 649 or Lotto Max, do they pick their own numbers or quick picks?

  • Ed

    I have been playing the same numbers for Lotto, Take 5 and Mega Millions for over 20 years and won a few Take 5 2nd places, nothing more. I am going to be losing my job soon and I can’t afford the $25 a week anymore. How do I just quit cold turkey and not worry about if my numbers will come out one day and I didn’t play it. If I used quick pick it would be easier, but playing the same numbers it’s very hard to stop.

    • LG

      Two ways:-
      1. Recognize they are only ‘your numbers’ when you play them. When you don’t play them they are nothing, just irrelevant.
      2. Understand that the chances of those numbers coming up are no better now than 20 years ago.

      And if you find yourself playing when you genuinely can’t afford it – then seek help, because that’s superstition becoming an addiction. Sorry if that bit sounds harsh 🙂

    • Grace Osabu-Kle

      I was also playing the same numbers every draw without any luck. I felt a big relief when I switched to using quick picks. I think I prefer the quick pick method because when you cannot afford to play for while you don’t have to worry about your numbers coming up. As at now I have quit playing the lottery for a while because I need to save money for other priorities in life. If I was playing the same numbers all the time quitting for a while will just be a problem because you will be worried your numbers will come up.

      • LG

        I do get why it ‘feels this way’ – but that’s really just superstition. They are only your numbers when you play them. And your numbers can’t come up if you don’t play.

        But if switching to quick picks makes this feel easier, than that’s not a bad thing 🙂

  • Angela

    In the history of lotto numbers do you know say Mega or Powerball game – have the same exact numbers been drawn more than once?

  • Simon Matthews

    I recently developed a Lotto simulator. There are various methods of choosing your numbers, including ‘Manual’, ‘Random’, ‘Overdue Based’ and ‘Modify on Match’. You enter the amount of draws or years to run the simulation and then wait for the results.

    It is interesting to note that the ‘Overdue Based’ method of choosing numbers turns out to be consistently the worst method. The only reason I can think for this happening is that by only picking from the most overdue numbers it is limiting itself on the range of numbers it has to choose from.

    Here are some of my results based on 1,000,000 draws:

    Draws: 1,000,000

    Overdue Based:

    Jackpots: 0
    5+Bonus: 0
    5 nums: 4
    4 nums: 454
    3 nums: 10601 *
    2 nums: 97558
    1 num: 381778

    Modify on Match:

    Jackpots: 0
    5+Bonus: 0
    5 nums: 10 *
    4 nums: 456 *
    3 nums: 10246
    2 nums: 97760 *
    1 num: 381573

    Manual:

    Jackpots: 0
    5+Bonus: 0
    5 nums: 9
    4 nums: 452
    3 nums: 10512
    2 nums: 97398
    1 num: 381987 *

    • LG

      I’d suggest running a lot more draws – is this a 6/49 draw you’re simulating? If so, that’s 13 million+ combinations so 1 million draws isn’t all that many statistically. Run a billion 🙂

      Also bear in mind coding a random number generator (RNG) isn’t easy, depending on how it’s done it can vary from being heavily biased to outright predictable. Different programming languages handle random number generation very differently. What are you coding in? Commercial RNG’s use events like radioactive decay or atmospheric noise to seed their randomness.

      It’s all good fun though 🙂

  • Willy

    I played the same number for the last 4 months – I won but not big, like $4. Is playing the lotto a sin?

    • Ken

      Seems the matter is a conscious issue. Many USA pastors go golfing on Mondays… $75 for green fees and cart rental on some courses… compare that with granny spending a couple dollars for Fantasy Five tickets. It’s about conscious and individual views on entertainment. Nothing in syllable from scriptures forbidding lottery. Actually Moses used lots to determine tribes getting land parcels when they went into promised land, etc.

    • Carol Kriss

      No, not a sin. Something to keep you hopeful for better financial days and your retirement!

  • Carol Kriss

    I saw Richard Lustig has passed away. Well, guess his family will enjoy the winnings!

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