How to pick lottery numbers like a boss

Ask a number of people what their dream is and the majority will probably tell you that they want to win the lottery. Sure, you’ll get people who say they want to play for Manchester United or go on a trip to the Maldives or drive down Route 66 in a classic American muscle car, but winning the lottery can genuinely change people’s lives for the better so the response comes as no surprise really.

The problem is, there is no surefire way of winning the lottery – or it wouldn’t even be a lottery! You can’t select your numbers knowing that you’re going to win the jackpot, but there are ways in which you can at least increase your chances whether you play euromillions online or the traditional game where you select your numbers on a slip and hand it to a cashier.

The first thing you need to think about, obviously, is the numbers you’re going to choose. Lots of people pick the ones that are special to them like birthdays, ‘lucky’ numbers or the kind that have meaning to them for whatever reason, like the shirt number they wear playing football for example. Stop doing this!

When you pick on sentiment you rule out so many numbers leaving you with a much smaller chance of winning. If you’re choosing birthdays for instance, you rule out 18 numbers from the British lottery because there are no days after 31. You’re much better off, (in some cases but not all), choosing your age because this opens up so many more (unless you’re 50 or older of course).

Another tip is to look at the statistical data available online for your chosen draw. The lottery bosses will publish stats around the number of times a certain number is drawn or how long it’s been since it last came out of the machine and you can make your decisions that way.

If one number is particularly common (there is always at least one number that is the most drawn of all time in that particular draw) it may be worth selecting it; while those that were drawn the week before might be worth ruling out – it’s very, very unlikely that the same numbers will come out again.

Finally, ensure that your chosen numbers add up to more than 177. According to a study of the Swiss National lottery, this improves your chances of winning significantly! Hey, it’s got to be worth a go!