quick pick or your own numbers

do you quick pick or choose your own numbers?  or both?

it depends on how much time i have...but even if i have alot of time to pick my own numbers for each play i usually do quickpick for at least 1 out of every 5 plays...

Win or lose I pick my own numbers. 

 I like to feel I have a little control of my destiny.

Super8

i agree super8,i feel like if i'm spending my money i would like to pick the numbers i want.

If more jackpots have been won with quickpicks then wha't the big deal with picking your own numbers and getting one qpick to go.

Quote: Originally posted by LOTTOMIKE on February 24, 2005

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do you quick pick or choose your own numbers?  or both?

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I play insta piks and choose my own numbers as well. I have won playing either way.

Quote: Originally posted by four4me on February 24, 2005

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If more jackpots have been won with quickpicks then wha't the big deal with picking your own numbers and getting one qpick to go.

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more jackpots are won with quickpicks because more people play quickpicks.

when it comes to those games i would get quickpicks. but for pick 3/4 my picks all the way

I agree completely with Justin.

I use to play quick picks, but got tired of getting tickets with repeat numbers, etc. There were times
when I would buy 10 quick picks but only get about 10 different numbers.

Now, I pick my own in every lottery. In most instances, I play enough sets to cover all the numbers. I keep
the playslips in my car and play the same combinations for several drawings.

One day I'm going to get all 5 or 6 winning numbers on the same line!! But, maybe not!

I have a few sets of the same numbers that I play for every drawing - In fact I usually buy them for multiple draws so I don't have to buy them for each drawing separately.  Then I usually buy a few quick picks as well - best of both worlds!

 i always play my numbers, along with a quick pick...!

it depends on the game.



if it's pick 3 or pick 4, i always pick my own numbers.



if it's pick 5, lotto, or powerball/megea millions, i'll get a combination of quick picks and hand-selected numbers. i usually go half and half, depending on the size of the jackpot and the amount of money in my wallet.

Ok, I'm a real numbers junkie. I mean, a real numbers junkie. Some people don't think this goes well with being a lottery player, but the 40 cents on the dollar that goes to the state is worth the entertainment value for me. (And I've invested far more man-hours than dollars examining these things.) When I'm driving cross country and get gas in a new state for the first time, I always pick up a lottery bet slip and figure the odds in my head. I think that kind of stuff is fun.



I always pick my own numbers, but not because Quick Picks aren't random. They are VERY random. (note: I've only studied the Massachusetts lottery, and not any other states) I did a large statistical study on MA Keno numbers, and found that they're far more random than a typical "fair" roulette wheel. I also studied the QP number generator (this took some effort, but if you know what you're doing and are persistent enough, dventually you can talk to people who can help you with things like this), and it also showed more randomness than the roulette wheel.



In fact, I know my computer is more random than me, so I let it pick my numbers (I filter them against each other and against common lottery tactics, like consecutive, birthday, or pattern numbers). This does two things:



1) After I buy my tickets and check my numbers, I don't ever have to look at them again unless I'm claiming a prize. Since I always play the same numbers, a quick glance at the paper or 5-second flash on the TV will let me know if any of my numbers won.



2) I love winning, and I'd rather have a 10% shot at a $10 prize than a 1% shot at a $100 prize. So I spread my numbers out as much as possible. When I generate my numbers on the computer (I pick new numbers every month or so, or whenever I feel like changing how much I bet) I always throw out picks that have 3 or more numbers in common (on a pick 6) with any of my other plays. If I can, I throw out all of the 2-numbers-in-common, too, but this is less important. That way, I know I'll never win on the same triplet twice, so it maximizes my chance of winning some prize. (An extreme example of what I'm talking about is that if your first number is 21-22-23-24-25-26, then if you pick 21-22-23-24-25-27 as your second number, you don't really improve your chances of winning a small prize that much.)



If you play the lottery less, maybe a couple of tickets a week, then it's worth it to do QP. But the only reason for a serious lottery player to do it is that QP's are much more random than even the best human picks.



Maybe this post actually belongs in the math forum. Anyway, if you want a bit of reading on the subject (it gets a little technical) check out http://web.mit.edu/cocosci/Papers/random.pdf

I play half my own and half QP's.  Strangely, the best luck I've had has come from randomly picking numbers on the play slip.  I won 1900 plus like that getting 5 of 6 on the Illinois lotto.  Second most successful has been QP.  Never got more than small amounts on B/days etc.

lazyjim, You say you won 5 of 6 on IL. Lotto, did you use to live in IL. or were you just passing though?