Who hasn’t dreamt of winning the lottery? Most of us have already imagined the big house, the flash car, the exotic holidays. Some of us even hope to share our good fortune with family and friends, should our numbers come up. But choosing those numbers? There’s the thing. From sticking to a system to leaving it all to chance, here are some of the ways in which people pick their – hopefully – winning numbers.
By far the most popular method is using numbers that mean something personal to the player, with birthdays and anniversaries coming out on top. Because those numbers mean so much to us, we’re sure they’re going to bring us good luck. The problem is, so do a lot of other people! Using dates already narrows down your options between 1 and 12 for the month and 1 and 31 for the day. With so many players doing the same thing, if your special numbers do come up, you’ll most likely be sharing that jackpot.
From Statistics to Superstition
That’s why a lot of players keep their choices to numbers above 31, which makes some mathematical sense if the draw does shoot out these higher numbers. The fewer people who play them, the more your chances are of keeping a big win all to yourself. Other players rely on statistics, researching the numbers that come up most often in any given lottery game, like the EuroMillions lucky numbers, Mega Millions, and the PowerBall, to try and figure out which numbers are lucky. The most drawn are known as the ‘hot’ numbers, while the numbers that are drawn the least frequently are the ‘cold’. If this method really did work though, there would be far more lottery millionaires – so we think the statistics speak for themselves!
Superstition also plays its part for many lottery players. Some look towards the zodiac, numerology, and even psychics to help them predict the next winning combination. These players can also believe that some numbers or sets of numerals have a mystical significance and feel guided towards making their choices based on these beliefs. Others use an inner instinct to select numbers at random – such as the time showing when they felt compelled to look at a clock. Now, these might seem off-the-wall methods to some of us, but it’s not so different from choosing to play the cat’s birthday!
Make it Easy
One method that’s been shown to have a good success rate is to organise a syndicate with work colleagues, family, or friends. The more lottery lines you buy then obviously the more chances you have of matching those all-important balls. Of course, any winnings are split between the group but if a big jackpot does come your way, you could be in for a fantastic windfall. Yes, there are pros and cons to syndicates so do weigh up this option carefully before you go ahead.
There are many more supposedly ‘sure-fire’ ways of winning the lottery doing the rounds, but only one thing is certain – every lottery draw is entirely random, and the results simply can’t be predicted. That’s why the most laidback lottery players simply leave it to chance, opt for a Lucky Dip selection and simply wait to see if their numbers come up. Surely, that’s the easiest way to play!
