I agree with Pick-4_Master; you really can do much better than any machine, with only a minimal amount of effort.
There are as many ways to pick lotto numbers as there are different combinations. Some people play birthdays, anniversaries or other dates that are special or significant to them (calendar numbers). The problem with this type of selection is that, while these numbers are significant in your life, they may not be significant to the machines spitting out the numbered balls.
Other people swear by the process of selecting non-calendar numbers; that is, those numbers higher than 31. The reasoning here suggests that if you hit, you're less likely to end up splitting a jackpot with someone else who has played the same dates.
Then again, I have a friend who plays the first four digits of his prison number, 5577, twice a day (I really should get out more and make some new friends). One day I explained to him that what he should be playing is his release date, since his prison number doesn't really make the cut as being "lucky."
Consistent winners, however, choose their numbers scientifically, based on a wide variety of predetermined criteria. They will take the game apart, whether they're playing Pick-3, Pick-4, Pick-5 or lotto. They break the game down into as many individual components as possible, and then analyze each aspect separately. Then they'll perform another analysis combining different components together, then another and another.
Some prefer pencil-and-paper systems, others like the simplicity of software, and some people like to combine the two. The important thing, though, is to do some type of analysis based on past performance of the numbers, whether it's hot vs. cold numbers, odd/ even numbers, high, low or overdue, skip/ hit charts, positional and frequency analyses, pairs charts, doubles, double-doubles and triples charts, overall hits by digit charts... I could go on and on...
So I think I will.
There is an inherent amount of luck required to win any lottery game, but a player can reduce his odds dramatically with just a little work. It's like anything else, though; you get back what you put in. If you just walk to the local Mom & Pop's everyday after work and buy a quick-pick on the Pick-3 game, my guess is you won't be cashing in many tickets. On the other hand, if you study the game for a few weeks, learning how the numbers behave in your state's game, you will begin to gain insight into how those numbers tend to fall. Carrying it a step further, if you analyzed how many times each digit has hit in the past sixty days, you'll soon discover that two or three of those digits have hit fewer times than the others within that time frame. To go another step, if you analyzed the results you've just obtained by position, you'll be able to determine, with a high degree of certainty, at least one and possibly two or three digits that are more likely to hit that night than the remaining seven or eight digits, and which positions they will occupy. You don't often get three digits to reveal themselves this way, but it does happen and, when it does, it's a great feeling (yes; I speak from experience).
These same processes can be applied to any lotto game, including PowerBall and MegaMillions, and they really will reduce your odds. For example, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the red PowerBall seldom repeats in consecutive draws (I don't have these statistics at hand, but you can check them yourself, if you're so inclined). Therefore, I would not choose the digit, "4" in the red field when I buy my tickets for Saturday's drawing, because that digit just fell in Wednesday's drawing. Now, I have a decided edge over everyone in the country who has a quick-pick or calendar number ticket with "4" as their PowerBall selection. I might not have a clue what the number will be, but I can be reasonably certain that it won't be "4." By doing nothing more than eliminating one digit, I have increased my chances of winning; not by much, but then again, I didn't actually do much.
I no longer criticize those who believe it's all luck. The way I see it, that's just one less person with whom I have to compete in upcoming drawings. I realize there are people who will disagree with my views, and that's fine. This is America, after all, so everyone is entitled to his opinion, and I, of course, am free to ignore it.
Study your games. Use any information you can find in there to gain an edge, and then use it to your advantage. You'll discover that, once you get going, you'll be spending most of your time analyzing the data you've assembled. You'll also notice more winning tickets showing up in your pocket.
Good luck!