How to Choose the Best Lotto Numbers Using Combinatorial Math and Probability Analysis

Edvin Hiltner
7 min readApr 8, 2021

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Each ball in the urn is equally likely. All these balls have the same shape, size, and textures to ensure that the draw has no bias toward certain balls. So it doesn’t matter what numbers you pick.

Every combination offers the same winning probability. However, your gut feeling tells you that buying a ticket with 1–2–3–4–5–6 on it is not the most sensible decision you can make for yourself.

But why is that? To answer this question, we can look at the composition of each combination.

Composition refers to the quantity of odd, even, low, and high numbers in a combination. It tells your winning odds or how many ways to win and to lose from that combination.

Remember, though, that we cannot predict the next winning numbers. That’s because the lottery is random. (Read A Visual Analysis of a Truly Random Lottery with a Deterministic Outcome)

That said, all lotto players are advised to play responsibly, keep losses to a minimum and optimize winning opportunities. This is the best way to play a game of chance where losses are inevitable. (Read Free Guide: The Winning Lottery Formula Based on Combinatorics and Probability Theory)

Let us use a 6/42 lottery draw game as an example.

Suppose you came up with three combinations: 1–2–3–4–5–6 and 6–28–30–32–40–42.

You may determine the odd-even pattern of each combination using the table below.

Source: How to Win the Lottery According to Math

Below is a table you can use to determine their low-high patterns.

Source: How to Win the Lottery According to Math

The 1–2–3–4–5–6 line has 3-odd-3-even and 6-low-0-high patterns. While the composition of this combination is good under odd/even analysis, it failed under the low/high analysis. Most winning combinations are composed of balanced low and high numbers.

The 6–28–30–32–40–42 line has the patterns 0-odd-6-even and 1 -low-5-high. You rarely see a winning combination with no odd numbers. As a lotto player, you should look for patterns that dominate the draws most of the time.

From the examples we have, none of the above met the quality of a winning combination. But sometimes, picking the best lotto combinations can be very confusing, especially when dealing with math.

Do not feel burdened by complex math computations. There is a calculator that can simplify the process. (See Lottery Calculator: Knowing the Best Lotto Combinations Without a Math Degree)

However, there is a way you can simplify these taxing and overwhelming steps.

Let’s continue.

Play The Lotteries Using Advanced Combinatorial Analysis

Advanced combinatorial analysis may be complex to hear, but you can do this fairly easily with the help of Lotterycodex.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Come Up With Numbers You Like To Use

There are different methods that players use to get lottery numbers. Some use hot and cold numbers from statistics of previous draw results or lucky/unlucky numbers from superstitions. Other methods include numerology, horoscope, dreams, psychic readings, and tarot cards.

Regardless of what, where, and how you get numbers, you can always use them with Lotterycodex.

Source: Lotterycodex Calculator

Just run the application and enter the numbers you want to use. Notice the table above has conveniently divided the number field of the 6/42 game into low-odd, low-even, high-odd, and high-even. You can do the same thing with another lottery format.

Let us try using the table for our example lines above.

1–2–3–4–5–6 contains numbers from just two sets. Notice that there are no numbers from the HIGH-ODD and HIGH-EVEN sets.

6–28–30–32–40–42 also has numbers from only two sets. Notice that numbers are missing from LOW-ODD and HIGH-ODD sets.

You must pick numbers from all four sets to make the right choice. According to probability theory, this is the optimum strategy because a random draw must pick numbers distributively across the number field.

2. Decide Which Group to Pick Combinations From

The advanced combinatorial analysis will ultimately tell you which combinatorial groups are best, good, bad, or worst. These combinatorial groups are expressed using patterns. You are free to use this information in whichever way you like.

Naturally, you should choose the group that dominates lottery draws over time.

Source: Lotterycodex Calculator

For example, a 6/42 game of the Louisiana Lottery has 84 advanced combinatorial patterns, and only 1 is the best pattern to use. The rest are middle and worst patterns. You would want to use only a few combinations with middle and worst patterns. Why?

These millions of combinations will not give you the best shot possible. Incidentally, many players must know if their favorite combinations have middle or worst patterns.

Knowing a game well involves knowing the dominating patterns and choosing the best ones.

Let’s take a look at a 6/42 lottery game below:

Source: Lotterycodex Calculator

With advanced combinatorial analysis, you will know your options, and you can choose which you like to use on actual games.

Let us compare some patterns from the table above to help you make decisions.

Pattern #1

Its ratio of success to failure is 1 to 17. This means playing in 18 draws could give you one favorable shot. If a 6/42 game has two weekly draws, 18 attempts could mean playing for nine weeks.

Pattern #19

Out of 2,000 draws, this pattern gives 31 opportunities to match the winning combination. That means you get one favorable shot in 65 draws. It’s very far from ideal.

Pattern #35

With a ratio of 1 to 87, you must make 88 attempts to get the best shot at the jackpot. With two weekly draws, it could mean playing for 44 weeks before having a winning opportunity.

Again, you are free to select among the possible options that advanced combinatorial analysis provides. Yet, logic will guide you toward the best and the most reasonable choices.

Select the combinations with the best ratio of success to failure

You cannot affect the underlying probability of lotteries. You cannot beat the odds of lotteries. However, you can calculate the ratio of success to failure and make the right choice. Even choosing not to play is a strategy by itself.

3. Set Your Lottery Budget

Players are advised to play responsibly since a lottery game is just entertainment. Set a spending limit and stick to it. This will help you have fun without sacrificing necessities.

When you have determined the amount of money to spend on lottery games, you may use this as a guideline in choosing which combinations/patterns to use.

Pattern #1

It has a probability value of 0.0576653337, so you can expect it to appear five times in 100 draws.

Pattern #19

It has a probability value of 0.0155696401, so you can expect only two shots in 100 draws.

Pattern #35

With the probability value of 0.0113233746, you could have one favorable shot in 100 draws.

Let us say you have set a budget of $100 for lottery games. Will you spend $100 on pattern #35 or pattern #19? Thus, the best pattern you should choose is pattern #1.

4. Time Your Games

Since the most sensible option is to play pattern #1, schedule your games based on this pattern.

Pattern #1 has an approximate interval of 17 in between occurrences. If pattern #1 occurred in today’s draw, it would not likely appear again in the next draw.

Thus, you may skip playing on draws you do not expect this pattern to show. During this idle period, save money to buy more combinations of the same pattern when you play again.

Be Less Mathematically Wrong

We recognize the abacus as the first calculator. Its invention made it easier to count large numbers.

As the quantity increases, the more complex and confusing it can be to count. Yet, people know that errors in counting could lead to crucial consequences. Thus, the evolution of calculators began.

Calculators continue to evolve and improve today to adapt to different applications like lottery games. A Lotterycodex calculator, for example, allows you to count possible combinations.

Using combinatorics and probability theory lets you know which combinations will give you the best shot of winning. It can help you become less mathematically wrong in most draws without going through the taxing ordeals of computations.

Such a solution might not tell you the exact winning lottery combinations. Yet, it allows you to play lotteries strategically using the most favorable combinations.

With such combinations, you can have the fewest chances to lose and the most opportunities to win. This will let you experience lottery entertainment, get the best value for money, and be as close as possible to winning the jackpot.

Every decision in playing the lottery is yours to make. Yet, would you decide against using an option that will make you a smart and responsible lottery player?

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Edvin Hiltner

Edvin Hiltner runs Lotterycodex.com to prove that a sensible lotto strategy is practically feasible through the use of mathematics.