Lotteries are games of chance, but people use many strategies to try and tip the scales in their favour. We’ve researched helpful tips and strategies on how to win the lottery that people use to make lottery playing more interesting and possibly boost their chances of getting a prize.
Contents
- 1. Use Hot Numbers
- 2. Try Cold Numbers
- 3. Pick Personal Lucky Numbers
- 4. Include Odd and Even Numbers
- 5. Make Sure You Have Low and High Numbers
- 6. Use Random Numbers
- 7. Pick Less Popular Numbers
- 8. Join a Syndicate or Lottery Pool
- 9. Try Out Numerology
- 10. Use Patterns
- 11. Learn to Use Systems
- 12. Avoid Previous Jackpot Winners’ Numbers
- 13. Use Lottery Software
- Final Words
- FAQ
1. Use Hot Numbers
Hot numbers are the numbers that for a certain time have been drawn most often. Although the outcome is always random, if statistics show that certain numbers have been popping up more often, they could stay ‘hot’ for a while. Use them in your sequence and they could bring you luck.
These hot numbers may change over time, so it’s important to double check which numbers are currently relevant for this strategy. Online tools like a Lotto Hot and Cold Numbers checker come in very handy!
2. Try Cold Numbers
For clarity, cold numbers are the ones that have a very low frequency of being chosen. The data is based on all historical results for a specific lottery.
In contrast to using hot numbers, you could include some cold numbers on your ticket, or use a few hot and a few cold numbers together. The reasoning for this is based on the rules of random selection. After all, if a number has not been drawn for a while, it has the same likelihood as the hot numbers of being picked next.
Many people choose to play hot numbers, rather than cold numbers. This makes the ‘Cold Number’ strategy another tool to use if you want to increase your chances of not having to share the jackpot with anyone else, should you win.
3. Pick Personal Lucky Numbers
With lotteries being games of luck, using your own lucky numbers may carry some value. Below we discuss numerology as a way of calculating lucky numbers but this strategy can also be as simple as:
- Using dates of important events as inspiration. You can take your own or a loved one’s birthday or an anniversary and use the day, month and year. If those numbers appear on a lottery ticket’s number range, pick them and see if it brings you luck.
- Think of scenarios and objects that contain numbers. For example, your house number of your childhood home or your postal code.
- Is there a number you’ve always preferred or seen as your ‘favourite’ number?
Using this sentimental approach as your strategy also makes playing the lottery a bit more personal and enjoyable.
4. Include Odd and Even Numbers
A quick look at historical Daily Lotto or historical Mega Millions numbers prove that it very rarely happens that all the drawn numbers are equal or that all are odd. Therefore, you’re limiting your chances of winning the jackpot if all your numbers are even or odd.
Keep this tip in mind if you use another strategy, such as using patterns or numerology (see below). Give your numbers a final check and if all are even or odd it may be worth making some changes first.
5. Make Sure You Have Low and High Numbers
The same guideline of odd and even numbers applies to high and low numbers. The numbers in a draw are usually spread throughout the lottery’s number range. Results history of Powerball or any other lottery can show it’s not likely that all numbers are under 10, or in the first half of the number range. Rather pick low numbers AND high numbers to increase your chance of winning.
Tip: to get a spread of numbers across the number range, it’s also best to avoid picking consecutive numbers.
6. Use Random Numbers
With lottery results being random, perhaps it’s time to take a chance on random numbers, rather than just numbers you view as ‘lucky’. Many of South Africa’s biggest lottery winners report that they used random number sets and still got lucky.
This shows the value of the random option you’ll find on most platforms, online lottery sites like Lotto Agent and even your banking app if you’re playing SA games like Lotto Plus 1. It’s usually called ‘Quick Pick’ or ‘Easy Pick’ or will have a similar description.
Source: Lotto Agent
Tools like an online Powerball number generator can also help make playing the lottery fun. Run the tool a few times until you get a set of numbers that feels lucky to you and see if it brings you a win.
7. Pick Less Popular Numbers
This strategy helps reduce the likelihood of needing to split a jackpot with another player.
Pick numbers that are used less often than others, because if your ticket wins there will be a low chance that someone else selected that exact same sequence.
An easy guideline to follow in this technique is to include higher numbers, above 31, in your sequence. Many people use significant dates as inspiration for their lucky numbers. By avoiding 1 – 31, your sequence won’t easily be similar to those who use numbers related to days and months of the year.
Also, don’t include numbers that many people view as ‘lucky’, such as 7.
8. Join a Syndicate or Lottery Pool
This is a popular strategy because not only do you increase your chances of winning big, but some players find the social aspect fun.
With a pool or syndicate, different people put their money together and purchase multiple tickets. Thanks to having more capital, the group can buy a higher number of tickets than just one person’s budget would allow. This increases the chances of the group winning a prize. The more tickets you buy – each with a different set of numbers – the more likely it becomes that one of them will match some or all of the winning numbers.
If you do win, you’ll only get a portion of the winnings, but winning some is better than none! Remember to set clear rules about how the prize money must be divided between participants. It’s best to have it in writing – this can help avoid disputes and should you need to initiate legal action against a participant, you’ll have proof of the agreement.
Remember, lotteries will always be games of chance. Since one of the only ways to increase your chances of winning is to purchase more tickets, this is one of the most effective strategies on our list.
Handy tip: many online lotteries like theLotter allow you to join syndicates, along with people you may not even know. With everything managed by the online platform, you have peace of mind about fair payouts.
Source: theLotter
9. Try Out Numerology
Numerology is based on a belief that there can be a connection between a certain number and events. The concept also studies numerical values of aspects like names and words.
You can use this approach to find significant numbers that relate to your birthday or your own name.
Some practical examples:
- Add up the numbers of your birth year and use it as one of the numbers on your ticket.
- Use the date of the draw or the day you buy your ticket as a starting point and add up all the numbers in that date.
- Take the numbers of your own birthday’s month and day. Add the numbers together.
- Use the table below to find a numerical value for your name. You’ll use each letter and its corresponding number value. Write them down and then add them all together to find a lucky number to use on your next lottery ticket.
| Letters of your name | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | |
| S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ||
| Number value | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Example:
John: 1 + 6 + 9 + 5 = 21
- Using lottery math (trying to reduce all number to a single digit), you can keep adding to find another lucky number: 2 + 1 = 3
- You can also subtract: 2 – 1 = 1
Lucky numbers can therefore be 1, 3 and/or 21.
10. Use Patterns
A fun game to play each time you fill in your lottery ticket is to pick numbers according to a pattern on the grid. Use the same pattern each time, or pick a different shape each time you play to keep it interesting. For example:
- A line of numbers
- Numbers forming a shape like a cross or square
- Zig-zag across the grid
Note that many people use straight lines when they apply this strategy. If you use a different pattern and win, you’ll be more likely to be the only jackpot winner and you won’t have to share your prize.
Source: Lotto Agent
11. Learn to Use Systems
Using lottery systems is another fun approach to planning your tickets. It does require some time, but it makes the game more interesting and many people find it’s an enjoyable way to have a strategic approach to playing games of chance.
Here you’ll follow a certain system to identify a range of numbers to play on your lottery tickets. You may find this especially helpful if you need numbers for multiple tickets and you want a systematic approach, rather than simply selecting random digits.
We share basic information on the popular Delta System:
| Description | Step-by-step Method | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The strategy is based on studies about adjacent numbers.You first create a set of numbers, called the Delta number. You use this to create your final set of lottery numbers. | Pick a low number (less than 5). | 2 |
| Pick two numbers between 1 and 8 | 3, 6 | |
| Pick a number that’s close to 8 | 9 | |
| Select two numbers in the range 8 – 15 | 12, 14 | |
| Write down your Delta numbers | 2,3,6,9,12,14 | |
| Add the numbers together and make sure that the answer falls within the number range of the lottery you’re playing | 46 | |
Scramble your Delta numbers into a different sequence – there’s no strict rule, as long as they’re not in numerical order anymore. This is your final Delta Number | 9,6,14,2,3,12 | |
| Use the first number as your first lottery number | 9 | |
| Second lottery number: First lottery number + second Delta Number | 9 + 6 = 15 | |
| Third lottery number: Second lottery number + third Delta number | 15 + 14 = 29 | |
| Fourth lottery number: Third lottery number + fourth Delta Number | 29 + 2 = 31 | |
| Fifth lottery number: Fourth lottery number + Fifth Delta Number | 31 + 3 = 34 | |
| Sixth lottery number: Fifth lottery number + Sixth Delta Number | 34 + 12 = 46 | |
| Final lottery numbers to play | 9,15,29,31,34,46 |
It may take some time to learn such a system, but once you’re familiar with it, it’s worth setting aside the time to do it for each ticket. You can see the sequence above results in both odd and even numbers. Also, there are both low and high numbers, which we’ve already mentioned the importance of.
Tip: you can even use it as a brain exercise, so playing the lottery is part of keeping your mind sharp.
12. Avoid Previous Jackpot Winners’ Numbers
With randomness being a major element of lotteries, the chances of the exact same sequence of numbers being chosen twice is very slim. Therefore, try to avoid using a set of numbers that jackpot winners have used already to win big. You should even try not to use any set of numbers that have been selected in the past.
Luckily, technology makes it easy to implement this strategy. An online Lotto number checker can compare numbers with historical data. It allows you to enter a set of digits and it quickly lists draws where those numbers have featured. If there hasn’t been a draw with all your numbers being selected, it’s safe to play them.
13. Use Lottery Software
Get technology to help you speed up the process by using lottery software. Using algorithms, these programmes can analyse data, such as Powerball hot and cold numbers. They’re able to find patterns and identify numbers that are more likely to be drawn next.
Final Words
It’s important to understand that lottery draws are completely random and no strategy can guarantee that you’ll be a jackpot winner. Still, when browsing our tips and strategies on how to win the lottery, some of them make a lot of sense. Using these techniques it will be easier to pick your next set of Lotto or Powerball numbers and possibly be a winner.
FAQ
The easiest lottery to win in South Africa is the Daily Lotto. For one thing, fewer people enter the draw compared to Powerball and Lotto, so it’s easier to be the only big winner. The odds are 1 in 376,992 of winning the jackpot, making your chances of a big win much better than Powerball or Lotto draws.
The most common lottery numbers chosen by South African players are 2, 8, 16, 23, 30, and 48. These numbers aren’t considered hot or cold but are simply chosen by players at random, or for personal reasons, to add to their tickets.
The biggest player in South African History is an anonymous man from Cape Town. The player won a large R232 million fortune in 2019. There are no details of where the man is today and what he’s been doing with his winnings.
The best strategy to use when picking your lottery numbers is studying past draws. Look at hot and cold numbers and use them to create new combinations. Also, make sure you choose both low and high numbers.
There’s no guarantee that those numbers will show up in the draw but many jackpot winners have said they use Quick Pick as their strategy of choice. Also, it’s a fast way to choose numbers so it’s helpful especially if you’re in a hurry.
There is no specific way that you can win the SA Powerball. But if you use various lottery strategies you may increase your chances of winning the Powerball jackpot. In order to win, you must choose five numbers between 1 and 50 and one number between 1 and 20.
The SA Powerball has the biggest payouts in South Africa because it doesn’t have a jackpot cap. This means that the jackpot will keep rolling over until someone wins it. Also, as a very popular lottery, it has a high number of ticket buyers and this creates a very large prize pool. Jackpots can easily reach R100 million or even R200 million.
DailyLotto is ZAR 300,000 on