In lotteries, lucky numbers will only win you less

Comment #38

zirabamuzaale — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 03:08:49 GMT

Anyway, as the saying goes, the lotto depends on pure luck. Nonetheless, any combination can win big any day. As for 1,2,3,4,5,6 winning no number in the renowned lotto systems has had a winner winning using those numbers. Even the great lotto guru, Gail Howard, argues that she has never seen any lotto that wins using over three 4 consecutive numbers. A couple of years ago due to my way of playing chronologically, I played 1,2,3,4, 18,23 and I was surprised when I came up with the numbers, 1,2,3... [ More ]

Comment #37

gatorsrok — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 03:47:37 GMT

I would not play any series of numbers like 1 2 3 4 5, etc because so many people play them that you are going to have a diluted prize pool. This actually happened in Florida about a year ago.

The Fantasy 5 winning numbers were: 1 3 5 7 9

There were 200+ winners compared to the 1 or 2 winners with a regular number combination. Instead of winning ~$200,000 each, they winners walked with about $2,000 each. Still not bad, but it had to be disappointing to have your number finally come up but... [ More ]

Comment #36

DELotteryPlyr — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 20:28:19 GMT

I am not afraid to play numbers like 1-2-3-4-5-6 when they show in systems I play. But I only play those kinda numbers rarely so very little spent on them, so if I share a jackpot with alot of people - I didn't spend alot to get it.

Comment #35

Dynomitemike — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 15:19:37 GMT

Every dog get's a bone sometime. When lady luck say's its your time then and only then is it your time, if it is not your time then it is not your time. You can not fool lady luck

Comment #34

mypiemaster — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 19:29:10 GMT

Any set of numbers, allowed in any particular lottery, has the same probability of winning regardless of what anybody says. The odds are the same for that particular set of numbers if fraud is not involved. People always try to turn this into what it is not.

Comment #33

RJOh — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 16:07:44 GMT

If that's true and you play trends why haven't you ever won big? Could it be trends cover more combinations than one person would play

Comment #32

KY Floyd — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 15:46:47 GMT

The odds are extremely high. That's how lotteries work. Right now the chance of those numbers coming up in PB is 1 in 292,201,338. If they do come out it would probably be about the same payout as for any other combination because there's nothing about a combination like 1,2,3,4,26,49 that makes it unusually common. Lots of people play the entire sequence , but the number of people who use 3 or 4 of the numbers is probably comparable to the number of people who play any other set of 3 or 4 birth... [ More ]

Comment #31

jjtheprince — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 13:57:10 GMT

Therein lies the problem...a trend has never lost, not once, ever.

Comment #30

Murgatroyd — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 02:32:23 GMT

And if you do win that way, you'll split the jackpot with a bunch of other people playing trends.

Every system, without exception, has a higher chance of splitting the jackpot than pure random selection.

Comment #29

Coin Toss — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 01:08:40 GMT

edessaknight,

Those poles they added to roulette games to show the most recent spins increased roulette revenue by 26%.

I think 50 reds or blacks in a row would indicate a biased wheel or a 'mechanic' but I have heard of 16 repeats.

Comment #28

RJOh — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 19:14:49 GMT

In Ohio's Classic Lotto(6/49) 1365 drawings the combination 1 2 3 4 5 6 would have matched three 26 times and matched 4 twice for $140, that about the same as most other combinations that haven't won a jackpot.

Comment #27

jjtheprince — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 16:25:29 GMT

Best way to win is to play trends.

Comment #26

bigbear29 — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 14:43:51 GMT

Ky, well, 1,2,3,4,5,6 I think is extremely high odds, I would not play that combination. I stay with the number combinations that feel good about. Plus, I'm one of those people that don't trust the lottery. If that combination comes out, that would be a very high payout for the lottery: jackpot, second tier, and lower tiers. That's because I think a lot of people are playing that combination.

Comment #25

savagegoose — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 08:45:38 GMT

I wonder how many people will actually play 1 2 3 4 5 6 ? surely it has a lot of bad press, maybe there is a negative bias against it, same with all other sequences

Comment #24

KY Floyd — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 08:21:23 GMT

the odds of that happening were virtually the same as winning the lottery. (with a tiny bit of difference since the man had bought five lines)

The odds of it happening would be exactly the same as winning the lottery if the ticket had two lines. With 5 lines the difference is quite significant. Playing 5 lines means that lines 2 through 5 offer 4 chances to match line 1. Lines 3 through 5 offer 3 chances to match line 2. Lines 4 and 5 offer 2 chances to match line 3, and line 5 is 1 chance t... [ More ]

Comment #23

KY Floyd — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 08:15:52 GMT

I don't know if they would ever come up, I think the odds of that happening is very high.

And what do you suppose the odds of any particular random combination happening are

Comment #22

LottoMetro — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 05:39:19 GMT

Maybe because the odds of that happening are about 1 in 16,809,491,491,404,700

Comment #21

eddessaknight — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 23:01:38 GMT

CT

It will hit eventually will set a major record.....

But how come in another ostensibly random roulette game, that black or red haven't hit 50 times in a row?

Have to be willing to be lucky

Eddessa_Knight

Comment #20

RJOh — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 18:22:09 GMT

Locally we've had 6/44, 6/47, 6/49+1 over the years and now 6/49 and there has never been six sequential numbers ever drawn and no combination of six has ever repeated even in all the combined drawings.

In spite of the evidences I still think there is an advantage for picking one own combinations randomly is for no other reason then to avoid such combinations. I've gotten lucky and picked 5of6 twice in those games and keep thinking it can happen again or even better and pick a 6of6.... [ More ]

Comment #19

New York — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 18:13:53 GMT

You can't win if you don't play. So keep playing

Comment #18

bigguy5 — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 14:15:32 GMT

Math do play a big part in playing the pick 3 , you may not win million but can wint some thing,

Comment #17

maximumfun — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 04:37:19 GMT

We have one fellow who always plays prime numbers.

Birthday/anniversary numbers - when they come up I always expect the pot to be split.

Comment #16

Groppo — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 03:39:05 GMT

Wouldn't it suck if 123456 did come out? Imagine how many ways it would be split. It's certainly not a number worth playing just because of the multiway split it would generate.

My personal rule of thumb has always been:

Don't select past jackpot winners. What's the likelihood they'll hit again?

And, have you ever checked your selected numbers, to see if they ever won the jackpot or 2nd place

Comment #15

PrisonerSix — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 02:17:10 GMT

I can think of some real world examples of this. I remember reading here about a couple of Powerball drawings in which many players had won a lower tier prize by matching 4 out of 6 numbers. One incident was playing the numbers from the Lost TV series and another was playing the numbers found in a fortune cookie. If they had been the jackpot, it would have been divided amongst several thousand people. That's why I usually play QuickPicks.

Comment #14

Artist77 — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 23:38:25 GMT

Hmmm....so is this article saying Thrifty is right about his fave Maddog contest numbers....1-2-3-4-5-6. Lol

Comment #13

mikeintexas — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 23:17:00 GMT

I cannot find the news story about it on the 'net, only posts in this forum (by me) and in other forums, but not long after Texas began their lottery, there was a guy in S. Texas who bought five lines on a ticket and two of the QP lines were the same. They did a segment about it on the Amarillo news, bringing in some math professor who showed his calculations that the odds of that happening were virtually the same as winning the lottery. (with a tiny bit of difference since the man had bought fi... [ More ]

Comment #12

myturn — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 22:53:34 GMT

Actually, we all win! Even people who don't play win! 'How so?', one may ask. We all benefit from the revenue raised, which is the point of lotteries.

Comment #11

music* — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 21:27:28 GMT

Thank You Todd. I will continue to use the Quick Pick Generator you have provided for us. It is found at the Quick Links on the left side of the Home page. Find Quick Picks.

You offer a better RNG then the State's offer. And in the convenience of our home.

I now know how difficult it is to change numbers from your favorites. I think How would I feel if my numbers came up and I did not play them? I am doing both, LP's RNG and my own picks. I need some courage to discontinue my favorites.... [ More ]

Comment #10

TheGameGrl — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 18:33:18 GMT

The irony in qp's is that on various occasions the very numbers I would have picked, showed up on the QP ticket, So really be it man or machine...the odds remain the same. You either win or you don't. Not much math to that final analysis.

The other part is the allocation of number sets given to state terminals....That too plays a part....

Will be bias on the fact that ball drawn games tend to give you the visual whereas with Computers...its all behind the curtain and rarely disputable shou... [ More ]

Comment #9

GoogilyMoogily — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 17:59:46 GMT

I often thought about the physics of the machine and started to build a fairly complicated physics simulator in Blender, with more than a little help from Matlab and Ansys. It was more fun than function. If anything, a truly RNG based on geometry and physics rather than suspect calculations, clock times, etc. Nevertheless, I have learned that the balls (for MM) are loaded randomly. Then, the non-linear physics of balls deforming slightly as they bump and the wildness of the airflows in the tumbl... [ More ]

Comment #8

noise-gate — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 17:40:21 GMT

The Game in Random- if it was not, people would be winning each every time and the game as we know it would fold.There is no such thing as Lucky Numbers - sure they are for you, should you win, but overall, every ticket has as much chance as another. I have be saying that for years..but has anyone been listening? Consider this, prior to Gloria cutting in line there were untold millions of individual players along with folks in lottery pools getting their ducks in a row * meself included hoping t... [ More ]

Comment #7

Coin Toss — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 17:23:47 GMT

If - or when - 1 2 3 4 5 6 were to hit it would probably set a record for how many ways it would be split.

Comment #6

savagegoose — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 17:22:25 GMT

given a long enough time, 1 2 3 4 5 6 will be drawn in some draw, go grab 6 dice and try to get ea number on 1 dice with just one throw ea. If you hhave ever played yahtzee its not impossible. it just doesnt happen every game.

Comment #5

cbr$ — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 17:18:17 GMT

Computer - generated quick pick do have a up side. I prefer a selection of both my own theirs. I can believe more people choose numbers important to them.

Comment #4

bigbear29 — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 16:56:05 GMT

I personally would not play 1,2,3,4,5,6, I don't know if they would ever come up, I think the odds of that happening is very high. So, if a person has time on their side go and play that combination. It is hard enough to win playing regular combinations.

Comment #3

hearsetrax — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 16:23:18 GMT

I still stand by a comment I made a while back

Comment #2

Todd — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 15:37:53 GMT

Regarding your statement, Also, playing 1,2,3,4,5,6 you will never win. Certain combinations will never happen due to the fact of how the balls enter the machine and the physics of the machine itself.

That is totally wrong. You might have a personal opinion that 1,2,3,4,5,6 can never win, but factually you are wrong. There is nothing about the way the balls are loaded or the physics of the machine that would cause that combination -- or any other combination -- to not be selected.

Hopeful... [ More ]

Comment #1

Zebekyia — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 15:17:12 GMT

It's popular in the U.S. as well and in 2011, four of the numbers hit in the Mega Millions lottery. More than 40,000 people had played the winning combination, and each one walked away with a slice of the multimillion-dollar prize.

This is incorrect. 4/5 pays a set amount not part of a multimillion dollar jackpot. The person who wrote this article seems like they don't know how to play the games, but it does state that people playing birthdays have a higher chance of splitting the jackpo... [ More ]

In lotteries, lucky numbers will only win you less

Lottery Post — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:59:41 GMT

It goes without saying the chance of winning the lottery is minuscule. But if you play the numbers, you should know that certain tactics commonly used to make picks reduce the likelihood of collecting the maximum payout.

Grab a pencil, and we'll try it out.

Let's say a $1 lottery ticket allows you to choose six numbers between 1 and 75. Write down your choices and make a mental note regarding the significance of each one.

If you are like many people, you picked numbers with personal mea... [ More ]