The odds of winning the jackpot are roughly 1 in 292 million. So, if you’re going to join the 180+ million Americans who play the lottery each year, it makes sense to do anything possible to move the needle in your favor. This post reveals 11 mathematical ways to do it.
These strategies won’t make a major difference! But they’re arguably the best options at your disposal for maximizing your chances of success. With that said, let’s dive in.
1. Buy More Tickets
The only strategy that actually boosts the chance of success is also the simplest (and most obvious): buy more tickets. While it’ll only have a minor impact, having more numbers in the mix undoubtedly increases your likelihood of winning.
Keep that in mind when deciding how to spend your lottery budget. With limited funds, it makes more mathematical sense to buy more tickets on a single game than buying a single ticket on numerous occasions throughout the month or year.
2. Pool Resources
This tip goes hand in hand with the last. More tickets equals more chance, so many people choose to operate in a group – or “syndicate.” They’ll work together, pooling resources to buy as many tickets as they can on a single game. If they won, they’d split the prize. In other words, there’s less money up for grabs but a higher likelihood of winning it.
3. Pick Five Numbers That Total Between 104 and 176
When playing a lottery where you can pick five numbers up to 55, the Lotto.com website recommends choosing a selection that adds up to between 104 and 176. Apparently, research shows that the total number for 70% of lottery wins falls somewhere in that range.
4. Avoid Birthdays
It’s natural to gravitate to significant dates, such as birthdays, when choosing lottery numbers. But doing so can backfire. Why? Because everyone else is doing the same thing. That means you’re more likely to split the prize with anyone if you do end up winning.
5. Let the Computer Do It
An article on this topic from ABC News says, “70% of past winners used Quick Picks, the computer system that spits out numbers” to choose what they put on their lottery ticket. In other words, history suggests you’re more likely to win if you let a computer pick your digits.
6. Prioritize Certain Numbers
For one reason or another – probably a fluke – some lottery numbers emerge more than others. So if you’re not going to let the computer do it, consider selecting 61, 32, 21, 63, and 36. According to a USA Today piece, those are the five most common Powerball numbers (albeit since 2015). 69, 23, 64, 39, and 37 are supposedly common, too.
7. Buy Tickets Just Before the Draw
Martyn and Kay Tott were a couple from the UK – they’ve since separated – who won £3 million in the 2001 UK National Lottery. The sickening part? They lost the ticket. It was months before they realized they’d won and proved they’d picked the winning numbers.
Yet by that time, the company that runs the lottery had no obligation to pay. That’s why it makes sense to buy your ticket just before the draw. You have less time to lose it…
8. Move to Indiana
According to Jackpocket, Indiana is officially the luckiest state for lottery winners – at least as far as the Powerball’s concerned. Apparently, 39 people from there have won the jackpot since it started in 1992. Second on their list is Missouri, where 31 people have won.
9. Aim Smaller
Everyone dreams of winning big on the lottery, so they buy tickets for lotteries with the highest jackpots. There-in lies a problem. Those jackpots are only enormous because so many other people are playing. Thus, you have less chance of taking home all the money.
That’s why it can make sense to play less popular lotteries. The jackpots are smaller, but you’re less likely to split the winnings if you get lucky.
10. Aim Smaller Take Two
If your goal is to win, then it makes the most mathematical sense to play lotteries with a) fewer balls in play and b) a smaller pick size. In other words, the probability of winning is greatest when you have to choose fewer numbers from a smaller bunch of options.
That lottery where you have to pick 6 balls from 49 possible numbers? Skip it for the one where you have to choose 6 from 42. Or, better yet, go for the one where you have to choose 5 numbers from 42.
11. Pick a Balance of Odd and Even Numbers
In a random lottery draw, the winning combination will almost always be a spread of odd and even numbers. Drawing all odd or even numbers would be exceptionally rare.
So, quick tip: don’t do it. If you have 6 numbers to choose, three odd and three even is probably the best option. For a comprehensive look at the maths involved, check out this piece on lotterycodex.com.
Keep These Tips in Mind When Playing the Lottery
Let’s face it, these strategies (or any others, for that matter) are highly unlikely to help you win the lottery. But that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering! With a big dose of luck on your side, who knows, maybe they’ll make a difference. Do you play the lottery? Do you have any strategies you swear by? Drop a comment below to let us know.