I’m a lottery expert and you’ve been playing it all wrong – here’s what to do to increase your chances of winning

WE HAVE all dreamt of winning the lottery at some point in our lives, and most of us will be prepared to admit that nabbing the jackpot is something of a pipe dream.

However, according to experts, there are ways of increasing your chances.

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Gaming expert Francisc Csiki has revealed his top tips for increasing your chances on the lottery[/caption]

Gaming expert Francisc Csiki from CasinoAlpha has shared some top tips that could increase your chances, from changing the game you play to a secret code for picking numbers.

Avoid ‘big win’ games

EuroMillions provides the biggest jackpot, but choosing the winning numbers is unlikely. This is generally the case for all options: a high maximum prize is counter-balanced by low odds.

For the EuroMillions, for example, there is a 1 in 139,838,160 chance of winning the jackpot but a 1 in 13 chance of winning any amount of payout.

Up your odds

For your best chances of success, the People’s Postcode draw is the go-to game – an option further recommended considering the high revenue margin donated.

Participants can play in daily, biweekly, and monthly draws, with jackpots of £1,000, £30,000, and £7.9 million.

The daily draw awards the money to one winner in 20 postcodes, and the Saturday and Sunday draws provide the award to a player in one postcode. The monthly draw money is spread among one postcode area’s participants.

However, receiving a return for entering the raffle does not mean you will necessarily break even.

Ditch lucky numbers

The argument is simple. While you may think these numbers to be very personal to you, there is a big chance that you share your lucky numbers with thousands of other players.

Additionally, lucky numbers, dates of birth or other such combinations usually cover a small range of possibilities.

You are essentially lowering your likelihood of getting the right match alone.

Do not choose birthday numbers, common strings (1,2,3,4,5,6), or “lucky numbers.”

Since many will do just that, pick double digits higher than 31, as they will not be included in birthday tickets.

The secret number formula

There is a secret code to choosing numbers.

We can draw this conclusion based on Arin Zargarian’s 2020 paper on the statistical analysis of Powerball winning numbers.

Essentially, Zargarian went back and checked all the hit frequencies for the game balls beginning in 2010. He found two numbers with a multiple hit frequency: 21, with a 43% greater chance, and 23, with a 58% greater chance.

Therefore, statistical data indicates that you may want to choose 23 and 21 on your ticket.

Same numbers don’t increase chances

Lottery draws are independent and random events. This means that they do not influence each other.

Many sense that if a combination came up in last week’s draw, it would not do so this week.

However, this is just as likely as any other string of numbers. Fortunately, even though playing the same ticket will not increase your chance of winning, it will not decrease it either.

Buying more tickets helps

If you play multiple ticket variations in the same draw, you will have a better chance.

If each ticket has a 1 in 100,000 probability, buying ten tickets with different combinations gives you a 10 in 100,000 likelihood or 1 in 10,000.

This still does not considerably lower the probability but gives you a better chance.

Remain level-headed

Do not fall into the rabbit hole of lotteries and master plans for the next big draw. The odds of winning should show that your actual chance of getting something is slim, no matter your approach.

You should not obsess over the results or treat them as anything more than a pastime and most importantly, knowing how to stay in control is vital in any gambling activity.