SOME say it’s a game of luck, others vow it’s their chance to strike it rich – but either way, seven numbers can change your life.
And it turns out that if you want to win big with EuroMillions, there is a lot more to picking your digits than you might think.
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Expert analysis has revealed what to do – and what to avoid – when it comes to choosing your magic seven.
Here are nine clever ways to boost your chances of becoming a staggering £110million richer.
1. Don’t favour special dates
It’s pretty common to opt for birthdays and anniversaries when choosing Lotto numbers.
But it might not be so wise to do so because it seriously limits your options.
If you’re relying on special dates, you’re never going to pick a number higher than 31 so you’re ruling out 19 possibilities.
Don’t be afraid to explore your options between 32 and 50.
2. Bunch your choices
It can be tempting to try to spread your numbers evenly across your ticket – going for some lower, some higher and some in the middle.
But draws rarely work out like this – plus it’s what most people do.
To stand a better chance of scoring a win, go for numbers closer together.
For example, instead of choosing 3, 7, 14, 19, and 26, you could give 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14 a go.
3. Keep things balanced
As well as keeping your digits closer together, experts suggest keeping them well-balanced.
They recommend adding them up once you’ve made your choices to ensure the total is between 90 and 160.
This is because numbers between these two account for almost three quarters of the five-number successful EuroMillions sets.
4. Avoid repeats
Another top tip is to ensure you are always choosing numbers that weren’t drawn last week.
While it might seem 3 is a lucky number, just because it appeared in the previous draw, it doesn’t mean it will again next time.
5. Odds and evens
According to expert analysis, all-odd and all-even line-ups are drawn less than three per cent of the time.
It is therefore recommended to have a relatively even split.
As there are seven gaps to fill, this means it is best to pick three odd and two even, or two odd and three even.
One of these patterns will occur in 68 per cent of EuroMillions draws.
6. Shun same last digits
Similarly to odds and evens, it’s good to mix things up when it comes to the second digit of your numbers.
Even if seven might be your lucky number, think twice about choosing 7, 17, 27, 37 and 47.
Almost 90 per cent of draws have no more than one repeated last digit.
And your chances of winning with four same final digits drop to less than two tenths of one per cent.
7. Omit one bundle of ten
Punters keen to win the lotto might think that picking a number in each bundle of ten – 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s – will put them in good stead.
And with seven numbers available, and 50 to choose from, you might expect one from each to come up – but this is actually relatively rare.
For example, the winning numbers on November 26 were 1, 20, 41, 42, 50, 3 and 7.
As you can see, there are no numbers in the teens or the 30s.
So when putting together your list, go for an uneven combination and don’t include at least one number group.
8. Club together
Although it means you’ll have to share your winnings, pooling your luck will increase your chances of scooping some cash.
The same goes for buying multiple tickets yourself – but this way you only have to pay for one.
So gather your friends, family and colleagues and club together – but don’t forget to choose different numbers!
9. Lottery syndicates
The final way to increase your chances of winning big with EuroMillions is to join a lottery syndicate.
This is a group of people who play the lottery together, with the agreement they will share their winnings.
There are hundreds out there, but they all allow players to take part every week.
These people, or companies, will arrange everything for you to ensure you’re in with the best shot.
Syndicates are perfectly legal and can be a great way to share prizes.
One such firm, Yourlottoservice, helped compile the top tips list.
FIRST TIME WINNER
A WOMAN won £184million on her first ever EuroMillion lottery ticket after buying it “on a hunch”.
The young woman – who wanted to remain anonymous – was presented with the prize at her home in Tahiti after it went unclaimed since October 15.
According to the EuroMillions website, her ticket was the only entry that matched all seven numbers after the jackpot had hit its cap of €220m (£184m).
The mystery woman said she had never entered the EuroMillions draw in her life but had grown up watching her grandfather play.
“I was waiting for the right moment to play, and that day I had a hunch,” she said.
“Everything is possible, you just have to believe in it. Before checking my ticket, I felt a shiver in my back.”
A spokesperson for the company said: “Participating in a syndicate already increases the chances of winning in itself due to the extensive list of lines played by each person in each draw, in comparison to solely playing a few lottery tickets per draw.
“Organising such syndicates and bringing people together for this purpose is our job.
“When you play with us, you are playing in two of the biggest lotteries in the world, the UK National Lottery and the UK EuroMillions.
“Because we use the model of a gaming syndicate, we multiply your chances of winning many times over.
“And the more participants there are in the game, the less expensive it becomes for each player.
“Although you share the winnings with your fellow players, the enormous sums that can be won each week are so large that if you win, you will still be getting a big piece of the pie.”
- If you want to talk about your gambling, contact GamCare for free on 0808 8020 133.
I won £1million on EuroMillions after my lover told me he wasn’t ‘gullible enough’ to play
