Chance Or Choice: Should you have a strategy for playing the lottery?

Winning the lottery: a dream shared by many, but a reality for only a select few.

Despite the poor odds, the allure of an eye-watering jackpot draw tempts millions of players daily. And for those that do manage to snag that ever-elusive win, is there a strategy? Believe it or not, there are ways of both improving your odds and the amount you’re awarded, should your numbers come up.

Game plan or not, you’ll need a ticket to enter. Your first step is to pick the type of lottery you’d like to play. Whether you’re looking for a traditional lump-sum prize found with jackpots like US Powerball or staggered winnings for life found with games like Cash4Life (£1,000 a day for life)there are a whole host of lotteries available online. As a great starting point, why not take a look at the selection of games available at Lotto247? You can use this platform to play lotteries from all over the world, not just ones between your country’s border.

Once you’ve chosen the type of lottery you’re going to play, it’s then time to decide whether or not you’d like to stategise. Many players prefer to leave their game to fate – this is commonly referred to as a ‘lucky dip’ – with each entry given a randomised set of numbers. However, if you’d prefer to head in with a plan then fear not; we’ve got you covered!

Plotting victory: what are the most popular tactics?

You’ve chosen your lottery, you’ve already (mentally) spent your winnings, so now we’ve reached our next step: strategy. There are a few methods we can use to increase our odds of bagging the swag:

• Buy more tickets: Maybe an obvious one, but it’s up to you to decide just how much of your hard-earned cash you’re willing to part with for another shot at the prize.
• Form a lottery club: Find a group of like-minded lottery lovers and create a pool of cash with which you can purchase your tickets en-masse. This will mean splitting your winnings in the event that your numbers come good, but we doubt you’ll be too worried about that in the case of a big win!
• Never pick consecutive numbers (or patterns of any sort): It’s likely that there are lots of players who have picked a similar sequence. By playing a completely random string of digits you ensure that you are statistically less likely to share your prize.
• Avoid numbers 1 to 31: Sounds silly, right? It’s actually rather logical… Many players choose their numbers based on birthdays. Avoiding numbers above 31 lowers the odds of sharing the glory with anyone else!
• Play last week’s numbers: Why? Because it’s unlikely anyone else will. There’s an equal chance for these numbers to appear again (no matter how unlikely it may seem) so feel free to employ this tactic if you’d rather not share your winnings.

Is randomisation more rational?

Despite the fact that many of the tactics above can be considered statistically sound, there is one small issue: Other players are just as free to use these strategies, meaning you’re still running the risk of sharing your prize!

Of course, it’s impossible to know how many others are picking their numbers based on the tactics above. The best way to play is to ensure that your numbers are completely random. A simple random number generator should work in this case, ensuring the lowest probability of sharing your winnings. Combine this with any of our strategies and in the event of a win (fingers crossed at all times!) you should come out with the highest prize-grab possible!