If you are a regular lottery player then you may have your own system as to how you choose your numbers each week. Perhaps you have a set of numbers that you always stick to, perhaps you just ask for a lucky dip each time, or maybe you pick your own numbers randomly or based on events each week. The question is do any of these really provide you with more of a chance of winning than the others?
Some people believe that sticking with the same numbers week in and week out is the way to go. But is there any evidence you should play, or indeed shouldn’t play, the same lottery numbers every week? Let’s take a look at whether or not this does improve your chances at winning and what other implications sticking with the same numbers may cause.
Anyone playing the National Lottery should understand that the odds aren’t specifically in their favour anyway. However, it is the case that most people play because they have a hope that the balls will be drawn from the machine in their favour. The thrill of obtaining large sums of money just for picking out some potentially random numbers is quite exciting for many people. Yet, it is also this thrill factor that introduces levels of superstition, too.
Odds Do Not Change Regardless
Let’s say that you partake in the National Lottery’s main draws that take place every Wednesday and every Saturday. The odds of you hitting the jackpot win on each of those draws does not change. To be able to win the largest payout, you need to match your six chosen numbers (from a selection of 59) with the ones drawn from the ball machine. The odds of this taking place is 45,057,474 to 1.
Now, let’s say that you pick six numbers for the first time and you keep on playing those same numbers each and every week on the two draws. Or even if you choose to go for a lucky dip as an alternative one or two weeks, the odds of you matching all six numbers remain the same. Still 45,057,474 to 1.
If you think about it logically, then there is no reason why choosing the same numbers each week would see those odds alter. Every single time that a lottery draw occurs on a Wednesday and every time one happens on a Saturday, it’s as though a draw has never even occurred at any point before then. You have exactly the same chance of seeing a single number being drawn each time, and that’s regardless of whether or not it has been drawn out for a while.
If you are one of those players who looks for sites that tell you which lottery numbers are ‘hot’ because they’ve been drawn more frequently or ‘cold’ for their infrequency, you’re wasting time. These sites are quite pointless because the odds don’t actually change.
Considering these points, it really doesn’t matter whether or not you elect to use the same numbers each week from a mathematical point of view. Many people opt for sentimental numbers when making decisions – such as birthdays or home address numbers or wedding anniversaries. An argument exists that states that this is not the correct route to take, though. Most of these sentimental numbers will be relatively low, and the issue is that more people tend to select such numbers, If they do come in, you’ll be more likely to end up sharing a jackpot payout with multiple other players.
Locked in to Playing The Lottery
As you can probably tell from what we have said already, there isn’t really any positive side that comes from selecting the same numbers every week for your lottery numbers – other than perhaps it makes it easier to check if you have won or not. Yet, on the flipside, there are plenty of potential negatives.
Choosing the same sentimental numbers each week can end up locking you in to always playing and always picking those numbers. It’s easy enough with the National Lottery to open an online account where you can purchase your tickets. You can set this to repeat the same numbers each week, meaning that you don’t have to remember them of your own accord.
On the other hand, if you are the one that is manually entering those numbers each week, you’re not likely to forget them as they are sentimental to you. If you get into a routine of having these numbers placed for you or placing them manually every week, then you can become locked into having to play them every week. This is because there is a certain fear there that if you don’t play them one week, they will come in and be the winners.
Despite the fact that you may have the mindset to change the numbers that you always play, they will likely always be in the back of your mind, and you’ll probably be hesitant to do so. Of course, even if you did decide to change your lottery numbers to alternative ones, it’s true that the odds would remain exactly the same again.
In this instance, you’ve got two outcomes – either continue playing the lottery being locked in with those same numbers or choosing alternatives with the same odds or stop playing altogether and potentially see those numbers come up as winners later on.
There is an argument to say that those who play the same numbers weekly are likely to enter more draws more often, therefore increasing their chances of winning a jackpot overall. Although this means people also need to spend more to do that, which then locks you in. This is a circular argument that many people end up getting into when playing identical numbers each draw.
When the Lottery Brings Bad Luck Your Way
It’s not so surprising that people playing the lottery have experienced a wealth of bad luck, perhaps as much as those who have experienced good luck from playing it. Sometimes, people forget to play their numbers and go about their business without worrying about it.
Unfortunately, the nature of playing the same numbers each and every week isn’t always something that can be looked upon positively – even if they are chosen for sentimental reasons.
A Girlfriend Overrules Her Boyfriend’s Numbers
Forgetting to play your preferred lottery numbers is one thing, bit to have them changed by someone else is almost akin to a form of sacrilege. Plasterer Jacob Simon is all too aware of how that feels. The 32-year-old from Leicester had been playing the same numbers throughout 2020, and saw that the EuroMillions draw for Friday, December 4, 2020 had a record £175 million up for grabs.
Clearly looking forward to potentially getting his hands on some of that, Jacob left his numbers – 14, 20, 27, 34, 38 and lucky stars 2 and 11 – active on his lottery account. Unfortunately, his girlfriend clearly didn’t have as much faith in his numbers as he did, and decided to proceed with changing them without telling him. She had decided that they were not lucky numbers at all. However, all of them with the exception of the number 2 showed up on the EuroMillions draw. Had they kept the numbers the same, the couple would have shared £7.5 million with six European winners, netting themselves £1,071,420.
Needless to say, Jacob admitted that he and his girlfriend Chantelle Avossa, had fallen out quite a bit after the revelation came to light. “I feel sick. The more I think about it the more I can’t believe it”, he told The Sun. “We haven’t’ slept at all. We’ve fallen out a bit”.
When You Rely on Your Bank Balance without Checking It
It’s not uncommon for people to forget to buy their lottery ticket each week. After all, there are various other things happening within our lives on a day-to-day basis. It is for this reason that many people choose to set up an online account where the tickets are automatically purchased each week, taken out in the form of a direct debit. Liam McCrohan and his partner Rachel Kennedy had set this sort of process up for the EuroMillions draw on February 26, 2021. The pair always played the numbers 6, 12, 22, 29 and 33, with lucky star numbers 6 and 11 alongside.
As it happens, those numbers came up on that date, meaning that McCrohan, 21 and his girlfriend, 19, would have been £182 million richer! Yet, upon checking their lottery account, they discovered that this wasn’t the case. As it happens, there wasn’t enough money in the bank account that was linked to their lottery account to purchase the ticket in the first place. When there is no money available to purchase a ticket, it isn’t bought. Of course, this left the young couple completely heartbroken.
In this instance though, there is absolutely nothing that the National Lottery can do. Camelot, the operator of the EuroMillions draw, spoke of the incident with the response: “We’re aware of Rachel’s story and hope she gets in early to buy a ticket for the next big draw. We have a £20 m Must Be Won Lotto jackpot up for grabs on Saturday, so wish her the best of luck in that or any future draws”. Of course, if the National Lottery is lenient for someone not having money in their account to buy the ticket, what’s to stop someone else from claiming the same thing?
Man Forgets to Renew Ticket Leading to Tragedy
Perhaps the story of Timothy O’Brien is one of the most difficult to digest. The father-of-two decided to enter into a joint lottery partnership with one of his work colleagues, with them both deciding they would do a line each week on the lottery at a cost of 50p each. This took place back in 1995 when the lottery was in its early stages.
O’Brien, 51, and his colleague utilised the same numbers each time they entered the lottery draw 4, 24, 33, 38, 42 and 47. On Sunday, April 9, O’Brien checked the tickets from the previous day’s draw, and he believed that all six had come up. This would have netted the pair £2.7 million from the National Lottery jackpot. However, the player had forgotten to renew their ticket following its expiration the week before. This left him “very distressed” according to his wife of 26 years.
As it happens, only four of the numbers had been drawn in total, but he didn’t realise this. O’Brien had been trying to contact his friend in order to explain his error of not renewing the ticket and losing out on the winnings (which there would still have been some of, but not nearly as much as a six-number win). He wasn’t able to though, and in a tragic turn of events, the tool-room servicer ended up taking his own life as a result.
O’Brien went into his attic where he kept a licensed revolver, as he was a member of a gun club, too. His wife later went into the attic herself, where she found her husband slumped in a pool of blood, Liverpool Coroner’s Court heard. A single gunshot wound to the head above his right ear was noted as the cause of death.
This was such an unfortunate outcome from playing the lottery, especially considering the drawn numbers 17 and 22 were not on his ticket. From the four numbers matching, the ticket would have brought a reward of £54. Split between the two colleagues, O’Brien lost his life for a total of £27.
A Story of Success to End Things
It seems fairly evident that choosing to play the same numbers on the lottery each week is not something that provides a swift track towards a positive outcome.
However, this is not always the case. Denis Fawsitt, a former miner and builder, and grandad of 80-years-old played the EuroMillions each and every week with his wife, too.
Usually, his family birthdays would operate as his weekly numbers, but Denis had forgotten to take his spectacles to the store with him to fill out the lottery slip in April 2021. He asked the assistant in the shop to give him a Lucky Dip ticket instead.
Good fortunes smiled down on him, as he matched five draw numbers and a single Lucky Star. From that, he managed to bag a total of £116,124 as a payout.
The Derbyshire couple decided that they would have a home and garden makeover, but that most of the money would be donated to their family of two daughters and three grandchildren.