Are your odds better to play the same lottery numbers?

When entering the lottery, one of the biggest factors to think about is what numbers should you choose. Do you pick numbers that are significant, such as your or your family members’ birthdays or anniversaries? Do you try and pick numbers that are or aren’t drawn very often?

Or should you continue playing the same numbers that you have been playing in every lottery? Statistically, these numbers should eventually be drawn, right? 

We always hear stories of people who win the lottery after having the same lottery numbers for years. In October 2018, New York resident Robert Bailey won $343 million after playing the same lottery numbers for 25 years. Some lottery winning experts even swear that using the same numbers increases your chances of winning. 

This seems to be one of the biggest myths surrounding lotteries. So is it true – are your odds better if you play the same numbers? 

 

Should You Play the Same Lottery Numbers?

While it seems like the odds should be better if you play the same lottery numbers, because eventually those numbers will be drawn, this is not actually the case. 

Mathematically, it makes no difference whether or not you choose the same numbers every time or you pick different numbers. This is because each lottery draw is a random event – it is statistically independent of all previous lottery draws. This means that the outcome of other lottery draws does not affect the outcome of any other draw. 

So even if certain numbers were drawn last week, there is not more or less chance that they will be drawn again this week. 

This can often seem surprising to people, as it seems like every sequence of lottery numbers eventually has to be drawn, and therefore it’s beneficial to keep the same numbers. Unfortunately, even if every possible sequence was drawn, and no sequences were repeated, it would take 1000 lifetimes for all combinations to be drawn. 

The lottery has statistical independence, which makes it different from everyday life events where one outcome influences the next. For example, yesterday’s weather influences today’s weather, and there’s a correlation between the daily stock prices. The influence of daily events can often make it seem like that should be the case for the lottery. However, the lottery is more like when you are flipping a coin – just because you got heads last time, doesn’t make it more or less likely that you will get tails this time. 

So there is no reason why you should use the same lottery numbers every week. However, there is no reason why you shouldn’t play the same numbers either, as they all have the same odds. 

 

What Should You Consider Before Picking Lottery Numbers?

When you are selecting your lottery numbers every week, there are some things you may wish to consider:

• Pick numbers other than birthdays: when picking personal numbers, most people will choose their birthday or the birthdays of their family members. However, this means you are limited to choosing numbers between 1 and 31. Lotto has numbers up to 59, so you are potentially missing out on a lot of numbers. 
• Don’t change your numbers: once you are happy with your numbers, make sure you don’t change them. The only time you should do this is if you are buying multiple games for the one lottery draw. In this instance, you should choose different sequences of numbers on each ticket. 
• Look at frequently drawn numbers: there are numbers which are picked more often than others. You may wish to choose these numbers. Alternatively, you may wish to look at numbers that have not been drawn in a while and use those.
• Play consistently: the best way to increase your odds with the lottery is to play consistently and to play more games. Just ensure you have a budget for how much you can comfortably spend every week.