How To Use Lucky Numbers To Win The Lottery (2024)

Last updated on May 21, 2024

It is difficult to disprove superstitions without first learning why coincidences or lucky numbers occur in the lottery.

Someone sent me an email and said this:

My Uncle won the lottery several times (no jackpot, though) in the '90s, and he claimed that luck plays an important role. I don't know, but I am trying my lucky numbers in the lottery, yet it seems that I am not as lucky as my Uncle. Surprisingly we hear the news of players winning the jackpot twice or even more. Can you explain why sometimes the lottery favors few players?

I would agree if someone claimed he had won the lottery because of luck. That’s because in a random event where you don’t know what will happen next and you win, what else can you call that but “luck” indeed?

However, striking luck twice or several times is unusual.¹ Even if the odds of winning the lottery are seemingly improbable, some people achieve a continuous winning streak.

Every once in a while, we hear unusual stories of lucky lotto players, such as the Colorado man who won the Powerball jackpot twice on the same day.²

Such an occurrence happened not just once.³ A Newark man and a woman in Virginia experienced this, too, on different occasions.⁴

So why do all these happen in a random, fair, unbiased lottery game?

The answer is the law of truly large numbers or LTLN.⁵

Good Luck, Bad Luck, and the Law of Truly Large Numbers

Being lucky can be ascribed to randomness. When many people pooled their bets together to have fun at the lottery, someone had to be lucky at one point.

And although improbable, someone who got lucky yesterday might be the same person who may get lucky again tomorrow. That may sound extremely unusual, but mathematicians don’t look at it that way. The law of truly large numbers takes effect in a random event, whether we like it or not.

The law of truly large numbers states that given abundant opportunities (hence the term truly large numbers), even unusual events and strange coincidences are expected to occur.

Mathematicians will be surprised if we don’t see unusual stories like these in the news.⁶

This particular law in mathematics applies to lotteries and all extraordinary events and coincidences in every aspect of life.⁷

In the lottery, this mathematical law can be observed very quickly.

First, many countries worldwide operate lottery games. All these draws quickly add up to abundant opportunities. At any given time, an unexpected and unusual story can happen worldwide.

History has proven that the vast amount of daily lottery draws allows such unnatural occurrences to exist.

The inverse can happen, too, from the perspective of lucky people. These unusual events are NOT always pleasant news.

For example, in 1980, Maureen Wilcox bought tickets for the Massachusetts State Lottery and Rhode Island Lottery. Both tickets had the winning numbers. Unfortunately, her ticket for the Rhode Island Lottery matched the Massachusetts Lottery winning combination and vice versa.

Wilcox’s story takes away: do not play two different lotteries simultaneously on the same day.

Interestingly, some events can be so bizarre and fascinating that one would think such seemingly improbable things aren’t real.

For example, mathematicians use the same law to explain why we hear stories of lotto players who have won using tarot cards.⁸ Or a pet owner who got his winning numbers from his pet chicken who accidentally walked on a calculator.

Likewise, the same law answers why a Loughton man’s vivid lottery dream came true.⁹

Don’t be surprised if you hear a story about a palm reader or a paranormal psychic who helped someone win the lottery. However, please don’t believe that palm reading, psychic reading, and other supernatural tools work as a strategy to win the lottery.

The unusual lottery-winning stories you hear in the news do not affirm the effectiveness of their methods.¹⁰ These supernatural beliefs don’t apply to any random game, let alone the lottery.

The law of truly large numbers is fascinating and adds color to our everyday lives. The mainstream media likes to cover these stories and sometimes exaggerates them.¹¹

In September 2009, the Bulgarian national lottery was shaken after the same six numbers (4, 15, 23, 24, 35, and 42) were drawn in two consecutive draws.¹² This event created a media storm and led the Bulgarian authorities to order an immediate investigation.

Should we be surprised by this incident? True, it’s freakishly unusual and improbable, but it can happen according to the law of truly large numbers.

David J. Hand, an emeritus professor of mathematics and senior research investigator at Imperial College London, said this:

Sometimes, though, when there are really many opportunities, it can look as if there are only relatively few. This misperception leads us to grossly underestimate the probability of an event: we think something is incredibly unlikely, when it’s actually very likely, perhaps almost certain.

David J. Hand

Life is full of surprises. The lottery is not exempted from that powerful force of nature.

How to Be Lucky Using the Law of Large Numbers

You cannot change or manipulate your chances of winning the lottery because the underlying probability never changes. You also cannot beat the odds —no one can. However, there’s a way to play the lottery and get the best shot possible.

How?

Buy more tickets.

However, buying more tickets is useless if you make the wrong choices.
To get the best chance possible, we must add another strategy—making intelligent choices.

That’s how math can help. We can determine all your options and make intelligent choices to ensure you are not always mathematically wrong.

How NOT to be mathematically wrong in the lottery

Earlier, we discussed that some people are “lucky” or “unlucky” because all lotteries are bound to behave according to “the law of truly large numbers.”

So, here’s another question that you might ask: can you force luck on your side?

Lucky for you, yes. You can—mathematically.

How?

To borrow a line from a multi-awarded Bob Dylan song, “The answer, my friend is blowing in the wind.” I’ll explain why in a little while.

But let me give you a more concrete example. To be lucky, you must follow another law in mathematics, the law of large numbers, or LLN.

Just to be clear, LTLN is different from LLN.

While the law of truly large numbers (or LTLN) explains why unusual events occur and why some people are lucky, the law of large numbers (or LLN), on the other hand, defines the conclusion of the lottery based on a large number of draws.

Theoretically, you can force luck if you follow the conclusion. That means you intelligently play the lottery with the best success-to-failure ratio by following the general trend (I’ll give many examples below).

The depth of this strategy can be difficult to grasp at first. But, if you try your best to understand how it works, you’ll discover a powerful strategy for playing the lottery that only mathematics can provide.

A related article might interest you: Using Birth Dates in Playing the Lottery? Here’s What Math Says.

Fortunately, you don’t need to know mathematics to implement a mathematical strategy. This lottery calculator will do ALL the heavy lifting for you.

There, now you’re getting closer to being confidently lucky!

Before we continue further, let me state a little caveat.

Being Lucky and the Illusion of Control

Making an intelligent choice is a pretty straightforward statement. However, probability theory is one of the most misunderstood fields in mathematics. We need to thresh out this issue carefully and in the right perspective.

To say that you can force luck on your side doesn’t mean you have the power to control the outcome of any lottery draw. The concept is very far from that.

Have you heard of the term “illusion of control?”

An illusion of control is a dangerous belief for yourself.¹³ Some people believe that just because they have a strategy to win, they also think they control the lottery draws.

Let me tell you right off the bat that you can’t win the lottery more frequently. Some lotto gurus may try to convince you that you can win small prizes more often. On the other hand, I would suggest that you run away from these people as fast as possible.

Here’s the truth: forcing luck in your favor is not equivalent to making money in the lottery. The truth is that the expected value of each ticket is always negative.
In other words, the lottery can neither be a source of income nor a substitute for a real job.

The lottery’s real objective is to have fun, and the fun begins in the number-selection process.

I recommend exploring the fascinating world of math to appreciate how it is applied in the lottery setting. While the Lotterycodex calculator does all the hard work, it’s still best to know how it works.

So, let’s move on and explain how math works in the lottery. First, we will discuss the simplest strategy and proceed to a more advanced option.

The simplest one is your choice of lottery game. The game you choose can hugely influence your luck.

Your Choice of a Lottery Game Can Influence Your Luck

When making choices, you have the power to calculate your advantage. For example, if choosing between 6/42 and 6/49, the smart player would opt for 6/42. That’s the point of calculating the odds. You know you are “not mathematically wrong” when deciding.

Choosing the right game entails comparing the odds of the two lotteries and playing the one with the better odds of winning.

This explains why our forefathers were far luckier than us.

Before 1992, Lotto America offered odds of 1 in 18.6 million chances (1 in 18,643,560) for its 7/40 game format.

By the time Powerball replaced Lotto America in 1992, players had to deal with the increase in odds of 1 to 55 million. So, lottery players during the Lotto America era benefitted from three times better odds than when Powerball was introduced.

The Powerball game has undergone major changes in its draw format several times. The odds have tremendously increased from 1:55 million in 1992 to 1:292 million.

Comparatively, lottery players in the olden days had much better chances of winning.

But don’t despair; there is still hope of winning in the modern lottery systems.

Players nowadays have hundreds of lottery games to choose from. Powerball is not the only game you can play.

You can easily try your luck with other lottery games with better odds. How can we explain this from a mathematical point of view?

There are two factors to consider: the number field and the pick size.

To choose which lottery to play, remember that winning a game with a smaller number field is easier. A lottery with 49 balls is easier to win than a lottery with 59 balls.

Similarly, a lottery with 42 numbers is easier to win than a 49-number field.

A pick-size of six balls is easier to win than a lottery that draws seven, but a pick-five game is even better. It is that simple.

Together, these two factors determine the odds of winning a specific lottery.

The table below shows the odds for different types of lotteries:

With these odds, it is easy to see that the best way to win a lottery is to choose one with the lowest odds. Based on the table above, the 5/20 offers better odds.

Another variable that you should consider is the extra ball. The extra ball is called by different names, including “bonus ball,” “power ball,” “lucky star ball,” and others. The extra balls may be drawn from the same or different drum.

The Irish lottery and the Australian Tattslotto draw from the same drum as the main numbers. On the other hand, the U.S. Powerball and the Euro Millions used a different drum for the extra balls.

Drawing extra balls from a different drum makes it more difficult to win the game. For instance, the Powerball 5/69 has odds of 1:11 million without the extra ball. To win the Powerball jackpot, you must choose the red Powerball correctly. This ball is drawn from a second drum containing 26 balls, increasing the odds to 1:292 million.

The table below shows the odds of winning the most popular lotteries in the world:

With a 5/20 lottery, the Trinidad/Tobago Cash Pot has a favorable odds of 1 to 15,503. The Italian Superenalotto 6/90 has an infinitesimal 1:622,614,629.

Players consider the large jackpot lotteries a prime motivation to keep playing. It is also important to consider reasonable chances of winning whenever you play the lottery.

That is just a simple example to prove that calculation is important in playing the lottery.

Now, let’s go to a more advanced method.

How NOT to Be Mathematically Wrong

Besides choosing the lottery with better odds, we can be more granular in our mathematical strategy. That’s how Lotterycodex helps us explore a more advanced application of mathematics in lottery games. Specifically, we discuss combinatorial math and probability theory.

It’s very important to understand that we don’t have the power to manipulate the underlying probability.

And there’s no way you can beat the odds of the lottery. No one can!

So, how can we use math to improve our playing strategy if that’s the case?

The answer is simple: “Know your success-to-failure ratio and be wrong less.”

The secret to lotto success involves calculating all the possible choices and making an informed choice based on the ratio of success to failure.

We keep repeating several things about probability and the lottery. One of these is that any combination has the same probability of being drawn.

We don’t know what combination will be drawn beforehand, but we know it can be any possible combination. As such, each combination has an equal chance of winning.

If we take a combination like 5-10-15-20-25-30, it has one chance of winning out of all the possible combinations.

If all combinations have the same probability, then there should be nothing wrong with playing numbers like 1-2-3-4-5-6 or 5-10-15-20-25-30. However, these combinations and others like them rarely get drawn.

It is easy to say that players have a gut feeling about not playing these combinations. However, intuition does not have a place in playing the lottery. These groups of combinations, along with others that have non-random patterns, are considered “unusual,” “coincidences,” and “rare” events.

We avoid these numbers because they do not appear to be random enough. However, we still expect them to occur at some point. The law of truly large numbers states that even the most unlikely combination will happen if given enough draws.

Let’s examine combinatorial groups to understand better the concept of combinations that seldom occur compared to more likely combinations.

Lucky Numbers Using Odd-Even Analysis

We should see something interesting if we compare a combination of 6-even-0-odd combination against a 3-odd-3-even combination.

In a 6/49 system, the following are the comparisons between a 6-even (no odd numbers) combination and a 3-odd-3-even combination:

The probabilities above show that 3-odd-3-even combinations are drawn around 333 times in 1,000 draws, while a 6-even combination with no odd numbers is drawn only nine times in 1,000 draws.

If all combinations have the same chances of being drawn, how do we explain the above difference in odds?

The simplest explanation is that there is a difference in definitions between the “odds” and the “probability.”

Probability is the measurement of the likelihood that an event will occur, so we express the formula in the following way:

The odds, on the other hand, refer to the ratio of success to failure, and we use this formula instead:

In a 6/49 system, a single combination has a 1 in 13,983,816 chance. There are 4,655,200 ways to combine 3-odd-3-even combinations. So, out of 3 games, you get one opportunity to match the winning combination against two ways you will not. Simply put, if you play 100 times, you get 33 favorable shots to win the jackpot against having 66 ways you will not.

Compare this with the odds of a 6-even combination with only one opportunity to match the winning combination against 100 ways you will not. This means you have less opportunity to match the winning numbers and more chances of losing.

If you want to improve your odds, you should choose a combination from a group that gives you a better ratio of success to failure. This means that you should look for combinations with more favorable shots.

When choosing combinations, always consider the number of ways you can win and the number of ways you can fail.

In a 6/49 lottery, these are the sets of odd and even numbers:

Odd numbers = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49}

Even numbers = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48}

We can mix numbers from the above sets to create different combinatorial groups. We then compute the probabilities based on their compositions.

The table above shows that the balanced mix of 3-odd-3-even numbers has the best success-to-failure ratio.

Whether your game is a 6/49, 6/45, 5/69, or 5/50, probability theory behaves similarly across all lottery games.

Take a look at the results of the Australian Saturday Lotto from January 7, 2006 to November 13, 2021:

Other lottery games follow the same subordination to probability theory, as you can see from the graph below:

The results closely match the expected values. We recommend that when you play your lucky numbers, you balance your odd and even numbers to get a better ratio of success to failure.

Lucky Numbers Using Low-High Analysis

Much like we did with the odd-even combination, we compare different high and low combinations. Although it seems obvious where this is headed, going through the exercise clarifies the matter.

Using the 6/49 lottery system, we can divide the numbers between high and low, as follows:

Low numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25}

High numbers = {26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49}

See the table below for the possible combinatorial groups and their probability. I’ve added a column for the approximate occurrence of the combinations for every 100 draws.

If your strategy uses lucky numbers, balance low and high numbers to achieve a better ratio of success to failure.

As usual, the results of the actual draws are very close to the expected frequency.

The actual lottery results validated the predicted results. It only shows that probability theory can predict the likely outcome of any lottery draw based on the law of large numbers.

The Power of the Lotterycodex Calculator

Finally, here’s the Lotterycodex calculator, a superior type of lottery wheel.

The Lotterycodex is the only lottery calculator that combines combinatorics and probability theory in a single calculation. It performs as a lottery wheel and can separate combinations based on their varying success-to-failure ratios.

This feature provides lotto players with a complete picture of how the whole lottery game works according to the law of large numbers.

Read on: Lottery Wheel: A Clever Mathematical Strategy That Works

In the earlier discussions, we discussed odd-even in one analysis and presented the compositions of low-high numbers in a separate analysis.

The problem with these two separate analyses is the existence of “contradicting conclusions.”

For example, according to the odd-even analysis, 1-2-3-4-5-6 is a dominant combination; however, we know this combination cannot have a favorable success-to-failure ratio.

We must solve this contradiction. The Lotterycodex wheel is designed to combine odd-even and low-high in one combinatorial design to provide an accurate conclusion.

For example, in a 4/20 lottery game, the high and low numbers are:

Further dividing the sets into odd and even numbers:

These sets are the basis of the Lotterycodex Combinatorial Design:

We can use these sets to analyze combinations based on their compositions. For instance, one group can be a 2-low-odd, 1-high-odd, and 1-high-even number. The following are combinations that follow such composition:

Different combinations would be created from the numbers you chose. Using Lotterycodex, we can separate those groups with the best success-to-failure ratios.

All combinations have the same probability of occurring, but the lottery’s randomness has shown that combinatorial groups exhibit varying success-to-failure ratios. You must make sure that you’re picking combinations from the dominant group.

Calculation Is Always Different for Each Lotto Game

Combinatorial and probability calculations are always different depending on the lottery format. Make sure you are using the right calculator.

For example, in a 5/50 game like the Euromillions or Eurojackpot, out of 56 groups, only two will give you the best success-to-failure ratio.

If we don’t calculate, we cannot make an informed choice. That’s why it’s very important to use a Lotterycodex calculator.

Generated by Lotterycodex Calculator

Lotterycodex analysis helps the player separate all these dominant groups. You can read more about the math in this free guide: The Winning Lottery Formula Using Math

The Lottery as a Form of Entertainment

I mentioned Bob Dylan’s song Blowing in the Wind a while ago because the answer strongly relates to what you do as a lotto player.

It’s important to understand that math can help. Surely, the law of large numbers will work in your favor “if and only if” you follow the same game behavior.

However, like what the song emphasized in many verses, no matter “how many times” you try to understand, you still don’t appear to get the answer.

Similarly, it’s pointless to keep chasing for one in the lottery because it is random.

The key takeaway in playing the lottery is to face the odds and have fun.

As discussed earlier, being lucky doesn’t have to be a long waiting game. You can force your luck to your side if you understand the law of large numbers.

But I would like to reiterate that the lottery is still gambling. It’s never an investment.
In truth, each ticket’s mathematical expectation is always negative. The lottery is just for fun and not for profit.

Mathematics doesn’t recognize superstitions. Fortunately, we can use mathematics to mesh with your lucky numbers. That’s how we make the lottery game more interesting and entertaining and keep everything fun.

Summary: How to Use Lucky Numbers to Play the Lottery Step by Step

1. Choose the lottery with better odds. If you want to win the lottery, you must choose one that offers the best chance of winning. The chances of winning for a 6/70 are higher than a 6/49. The chances of winning are better in a 6/45 compared to a 6/49. The chances of winning are even better in a smaller lottery like a 5/24. The prizes may be smaller and would not reach the hundred million dollar mark. Still, the low number of combinations results in a better ratio of success for matching the correct numbers, making it easier to win the top prize. Mathematically, you don’t want to play a lottery with almost impossible odds of winning. An example of that is the African 5/90 game or the Italian Superenalotto.
2. Choose your covering size. It could be 10, 12, or 14 numbers. You decide. Lotterycodex will allow you to play more. Your choice of covering size depends on your budget. It can be very expensive if you want a larger cover. So you must consider how much you can afford to lose for entertainment.
3. Pick all your lucky numbers and follow the dominant group. For example, if you pick 12 numbers as your covering size, you can pick 12 lucky numbers. This set can include your favorite numbers, such as birth dates, anniversaries, etc. Choose the numbers that work for you. But remember to follow the dominant group that will give you the best ratio of success to failure.
4. Use the Lotterycodex calculator. Once you have the final list of 12 lucky numbers, you can enter them into the Lotterycodex calculators.
5. Download the dominant group. The resulting combinatorial groups are separated based on the success-to-failure ratio. The top groups are always the dominant ones. Manage your list in your spreadsheet.
6. Decide how many lines you can afford to play. If you play five lines, you can divide the initial list generated by the Lotterycodex calculator into five groups. Then, pick one line from each group. So, that will be your final five lines.
7. Save money for lottery entertainment. Refrain from participating in a draw until you have enough budget to play all your lines. It’s ok to skip some draws if your budget is not enough. The important thing is that you save money.
8. Play the lottery using the same list of combinations. You should play the same set of combinations over and over each draw.
9. If you lose in the draw, go back to step 7.

Questions About Lucky Numbers

Additional Resources

1. Man named Larry Gambles wins the lottery twice in nine years with the same numbers [↩]
2. A man hit the Powerball jackpot twice in the same day, after playing the same numbers for 30 years [↩]
3. Virginia Fike buys 2 Powerball tickets, wins $1 million for each [↩]
4. Newark man played $50,000 winning POWERBALL® number twice [↩]
5. The Law of Truly Large Numbers [↩]
6. Math Explains Likely Long Shots, Miracles and Winning the Lottery [↩]
7. Lottery jackpot winners who won more than once [↩]
8. Psychic doles out a fortune — again [↩]
9. Loughton man’s ‘vivid lottery dream’ comes true [↩]
10. Confirmation Bias [↩]
11. £26m lotto winners say mum’s ghost is behind their jackpot scoop [↩]
12. Bulgaria probe says lottery repeat a fluke [↩]
13. The Illusion of Control – You Are Your Worst Enemy [↩]