Can you use statistics to win the lottery

Firstly, we operate on the assumption that all outcomes are completely random and independent. Random because they are not based on changeable values such as in horse racing or a sport where the outcome is reliant to some degree on strength etc. The numbers also do not repeat themselves and discounting the Powerball for the time being since it only goes up to 10, we have the following outcome:.

Perhaps we can look for patterns, sequences or frequencies instead of taking each number in isolation. If we use a coin; it has two sides and therefore can only have 2 possible outcomes when flipped. However, if we were to test this theory in practice, the outcomes are not as uniform as you would expect. A quick search on the Lottery website will confirm this theory as you will be able to recognize that each individual number occurs with varying frequencies.

In that case, we can try using the Law of Large Numbers which states that the expected frequency of a particular number should closely match the observed frequency given a sufficiently large sample of draws. Assuming we use the broadest probability of 36, this only narrows the possibilities very slightly.

Maybe the key is to look for patterns and assume that each pick is somehow related to the next one. Since we know that the outcomes are completely independent, maybe we can try the Multiplication Rule:.

I myself have not tried it yet, so am unable to comment on its efficiency. The big question remains, therefore, can someone win the lottery using statistics? Or even use its predictions to narrow the possibilities within an acceptable degree of certainty? I was able to locate two instances online. The first is that of Joan D. If two of you won the same number, you will have to divide the jackpot price into half.

If you want to boost your chance of winning the lottery, here are the nine helpful tips to increase your winnings. Did you know that Richard Lustig won seven lottery grand prizes including a:.

Lustig has been playing the lottery game for almost 25 years. He claims to play lotto every day. He shared that in the first few years, he was not winning that much. In his book, he shared tips on how to win the lottery. It took Richard 20 pain-staking years to develop a winning strategy that increase his chances of winning the lottery.

He said that his journey was not an easy one. In fact he lost, many times. He failed several times. It took him hours, days, and months to figure out the correct strategy. He did his homework in trying to find out how to win the lottery. Richard pointed out that he did not win seven grand prizes in lottery by just simple luck. He shared that you need to:. Indeed, Richard is the man to asked, if you want to know your probability of winning. He shared that a sure way to boost your chances of winning lotto is to pick your own numbers not the quick-pick option.

Lustig shared that there is no magic method to pick a winning number. In fact, he got a lot of emails asking him how to get the correct set of numbers. He pointed out that the lazy way is to buy a quick pick number. Lustig believe that the most important thing in How to Win the Lottery - is to pick a good number.

To get a good number, you need to follow the method that he taught in his book. Researching for the right number takes time. You see, anything that is worthy to have takes time. He also pointed out that you need to set a budget on how much tickets you can afford to buy. Never use your rent or grocery money just to buy lottery tickets. You see, if there is only one winner for that day, millions of people will be losers. Lustig advise that buying and picking the same set of numbers regularly gives you more chance of winning in the next draw.

Who knows, your numbers may be pick next time. He also spent some of his winnings in travelling across the world with his wife.

He also shared tips on how he won the lottery and how you can develop such method. Watch the full video here:. Richard Lustig pointed out that in playing lottery, you need to put the odds on your favor.

Meaning, you need to lessen the things that prevents you from winning. Perhaps the most popular combination that epitomizes the consecutive pattern group is the infamous According to a report by TheGuardian, about 10, people are playing this type of number combo every draw.

But aside from that, a combination of this type can come in different flavors such as the following:. All these seemingly improbable combinations are not impossible to occur as history shows strange winning numbers occur in real lottery draws occasionally.

As a smart lotto player, your main objective is to follow the probable trend based on the law of large numbers. They are two different laws. The law of truly large numbers LTLN explains why unusual events occur in all random events. Let me show you the actual results of real lotteries and see if you can spot a trend. Another type that you should avoid at all costs is the combination that exhibits regularity in patterns. Winning numbers in a random draw tend to balance across the number field.

And therefore, probability says that you should pick combinations to represent number groups in a balanced way. We say that according to probability, this kind of combination is highly improbable and therefore not a good bet. Those I mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg.

In short, there are millions of improbable combinations in the lottery. For decades, many lotto players think that the way to understand the lottery is through statistics. They collect the past results, and they derive predictions out of what they have observed. However, applying the method of statistics in the lottery often fails because it tricks you into believing that something works until enough data proves it wrong.

First of all, probability and statistics are two closely related disciplines, but they are two distinct concepts that approach a problem differently.

And the main difference has to do with our knowledge of existing facts. That is, we first determine what are the known facts when we try to solve the problem. And depending on our knowledge, our problem could be either statistical in nature or probabilistic. For example, we have a box of 49 marbles. But this is not the case in the lottery. The lottery has a finite set of numbers, and therefore, we have adequate knowledge of the composition of the whole game.

What is the probability that we draw a combination compose of 3-low-odd and 3-low-even numbers? And voila! It gives you the power to calculate the best shot possible. However, probability theory in the lottery can be better understood with the application of combinatorial mathematics.

The results are high-precision and high-accuracy prediction, which statistics fails to provide. Given enough opportunities based on the law of large numbers, probability calculation is always precise and accurate.

You must understand what works in the lottery, and you must back it up with solid evidence. Any conclusion you derived from observation must be falsifiable. And there is a bunch of silliness going on ever since the lottery was invented. By just avoiding silly lotto strategies, you are way ahead of other lottery players, even without employing a bit of math strategy.

The quick pick machine is not quite a silly lotto strategy. If you know your way around math, then use math and forget about the quick pick. Why rely on the quick pick machine when you can do better than that. You can increase your chances of winning the lottery. But the likelihood that you win the grand prize is still minuscule. Put all the winning factors together, and lottery playing is going to be an expensive entertainment.

You have to save money and wait for the right time to play. More lines play a significant role in your winning chances. Winning only comes after a long streak of losses, so anyone playing without a proper attitude can be at risk of lottery addiction. Therefore, a lottery game plan is necessary to prevent any adverse consequences that lottery playing may bring to your life.

Moreover, a lottery game plan teaches you how to save money, understand the value of waiting, and improve your patience. No one can predict the next winning numbers in the lottery. Not even the most gifted math prodigy in the world can tell the next winning numbers. But let me tell you right now, there are two groups in the lottery.

One is a group that always lose in the lottery. I am sure you want to be part of the latter group. Imagine that. In each lottery draw, you win all the time. This inverse strategy will provide you the real advantage that should be yours for the taking. Be creative, you can turn the lottery into a profitable hobby, and you will never lose a red cent. Ok, you follow the game plan I proposed. You follow my advice to save money.

And you get some big savings now. How about you put some of those savings in a mutual fund or stock market investment? What do you think? When you put some money for investments either a mutual fund or stock market , that money will grow exponentially over time. As I said if you have to play the lottery, have fun, and at least have some mathematical sense for picking numbers. But if you are open to more productive entertainment, I invite you to consider the stock market as an alternative playpen for you.

Hey, you can do both. Consider playing the lottery as a hobby and, at the same time, invest for your retirement. But you can analyze your game mathematically and improve your ratio of success to failure. With proper planning, perseverance, some mathematical sense, winning is just a matter of time. Just plain sensible approach that this article tries to share with you. I have explained the mathematical way to win the lottery. But we are only talking about the tip of the iceberg. Here are some more honest lottery tips for you.

And of course, the most important pieces of information are available in our free guide section. Play the lottery as a group. A lotto syndicate can play with the covering strategy by spreading the cost of tickets among the members.

The result is more chances of winning while each member is not spending too much. The best way is to start doing the right thing based on mathematics. Avoid superstitions, hot and cold numbers, quick pick, and picking numbers randomly. There are three factors to consider when picking your numbers. First, decide on the size of your covering. More numbers you cover means more opportunity to trap the winning numbers.

Second, make a balanced selection. Ensure that low, high, odd, and even numbers are evenly represented. Third, get the combinations with the best ratio of success to failure.

The calculation of this ratio is possible through the study of combinatorial patterns. First of all, the main objective of playing the lottery is to have fun. Winning the jackpot is simply the byproduct of being in it to win it. The expected value of the lottery is always negative. In other words, you lose more money than you are capable of gaining. Playing the lottery is not a profitable exercise. These people use manipulative biases such as confirmation bias and availability bias to convince you of their scheme.

The truth is that the lottery is never an alternative to a full-time job because winning the lottery takes a long streak of losses. Math does not lie. In a random game like the lottery, you never know the best time. As entertainment, the best time to play lotto is when your budget can afford a better covering.

That is especially true for players who play as a syndicate. However, if you are a solo player, one ticket is enough, and play only when your budget is ready.

When I talk about budget, I mean the money set aside for entertainment purposes. A truly random lottery game follows the dictate of probability principle, so by definition of the law of large numbers, you can predict and draw a reasonable expectation of its outcome to an extent.

If anyone is claiming to have the power to know before the draw, go away as fast as you can. Extremely hard. For example, in Powerball, with million combinations, you need 5. The odds are worse when you play the Mega Millions since the game has million combinations. I always recommend choosing a game with better odds. Examples of lotteries with better odds are Fantasy 5, Northstar Cash, Cash 5, Weekly Grand, Gimme 5, and all the lotteries with no extra balls.

Please join and add value to the conversation. Let me know your thoughts by leaving comments below. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Thank you for a very pragmatic and lets be real approach to demystifying the lottery as a mathematical system. But this right here worth the read. I thoroughly enjoyed the straightforward explanation and power of maths.

Thank you. This article is the most detailed and comprehensive guide to playing the lotto. The advice given here is extremely intelligent and practical. I have even used Markov Analysis to try to zero-in on timing.

I have also studied the mathematics of the Brazilian LotoRainbow and I understand it very well. It remains possible that we can always adopt additional strategies to augment the many tips given in this article. We can therefore always arrive at a very small statistical cluster of numbers that provide an almost safe and confident set of affordable numbers that can be frequently and consistently played with a decent measure of small wins.

I checked each ticket manually, thinking needing all numbers to win. Several month later I realized that I had four or five tickets with five numbers correct on each. Only played lottos sparingly since then. The problem is the odds are always against you. Probability dictates that all other people who try your strategy will end up with less money than they put in. In that respect, I won the scratchcard lottery and beat it by not playing again.

I do play the UK national lottery and win small prizes. This is a good position to be in as it means you are winning some of the time vs people who have rubbish numbers and never win.

The key is understanding the odds are against you and your bank balance will always go down over time until you win big and stop playing. Your goal should be, how can I reduce the speed my bank balance reduces over a period of time. You do this by increasing the probability of picking good numbers. The fun part of the game is comparing your games to your friends. Seeing who wins the most and looses the least amount of money.

I have already designed my mathametical and probablistic approach to playing lotto. In the last 5 years I have been playing soccer bets but I decided to change course and that is how I came across your articles. Table of Contents. What is the best way to play the lottery? What is the best way to pick lotto numbers? Is it possible to profit from the lottery? What is the best time to buy a lotto ticket? Is it possible to predict the next winning numbers?

How hard is it to win the lottery? This has been the most worthwhile article I have read in all my time as a lottery hobbyist.