In the National Lottery do you stand the same chance by doing numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 or any six consecutive numbers as doing any six random numbers?

Baloo55th

Yes. Any 6 numbers out of 49 are as likely as any other 6. Very few people will believe this when filling out their tickets, though. It's just that six consecutive ones would be so noticeable, whereas 3, 8, 29, 36, 38, 47 wouldn't be noticed. (Except by the winner if it was the winning line!) Feb 25 06, 2:52 PM

sue943

Also quite a lot of people use 1,2,3,4,5,6 each week so the amount of prize money, should it come up, would be relatively small. About 10,000 choose them each week according to this site... http://lottery.merseyworld.com/Info/FAQ_tickets.html Feb 25 06, 4:04 PM

ogicu8abruok

hmm... so I guess there actually IS a method to playing the lottery- choose numbers you think nobody else will choose, so that you have a greater chance of winning a larger amount of money without having to divide it with other winners. Choose numbers that can't be dates (because lots of people use birthdays, etc), by putting, for example, 13 where the month would go. Feb 25 06, 4:14 PM

helenasykes

It puts it in perspective though doesn't it, you don't think it possible for 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 to be drawn, or certainly extremely unlikely but as it is just as likely as any other combination...wow the chances are small! Feb 25 06, 4:22 PM

Baloo55th

The only problem there is that, as Sue says, a lot of people are picking numbers that 'no-one will pick' for that very reason. You can't get a better choice - you can only hope that you have a bigger payout because of fewer sharers. Although a lot of people chicken out and get the random selections anyway. The argument that a certain number will come up because it hasn't come up for weeks is wrong as well. Random is random. 1 1 1 1 3 4 5 1 1 can be randomly generated. Mind you, if the machine returns 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 check to see if it's stuck.... Feb 25 06, 4:37 PM

SOTHC

Knowing my luck if I could afford to buy 13,983,816 different tickets in the UK lottery by Camelot it would be in the week when the machine blew a gasket and the number eleven ball would split in half so that there would be two number ones. Feb 25 06, 5:27 PM

jackjani

Yes, you certainly stand the same chance of winning...I just think it's very unlikely that the six consecutive numbers would appear on a lottery draw. Feb 25 06, 10:54 PM

lomast

Also, it is just as likely that last weeks exact numbers will come up again this week. This again gives you some idea of how unlikely you are to win. Mar 01 06, 10:35 AM

lindarandell

Yes as the numbers are drawn at random. There are many people who do the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 every week. Mar 22 06, 8:36 AM