A LOTTO expert has revealed the worst number you can pick that rarely ever gets drawn.
We all know the odds of picking a winning ticket are pretty slim – around one in 45million to be precise.
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But one digit gives you even less of a chance of hitting the jackpot than others.
Danny Waites, data analyst at Embryo Digital last year analysed all of the draws since the UK’s National Lotto started.
His theory is that machines should eventually be able to predict the outcome of draws based on historical data.
Looking at the data he found some balls were drawn more often than others.
Number 38 was most common with 407 appearances, while 23 was the second most drawn at 392 times, followed by 31, 11, 45 and 25.
Unlucky number 13 has been the least drawn ball with 298 appearances – 26.7% less frequent than number 38.
While Danny says numbers 50-59 also have a much lower frequency count.
Camelot only introduced them to make winning more difficult and to increase the prize money with multiple rollover prize pots.
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Danny also found the order of the balls appeared to have impacted the likelihood of some being drawn.
The data showed number seven is most likely to be drawn first, with 14 most likely to be drawn second.
Number 21 is the favourite for being third and 29 for fourth, followed by 36 and 43.
Unfortunately, Danny found there is not yet enough data for machines to reliably predict the outcome.
The Lotto whiz said: “There are over 45million different combinations of numbers that can be used and we’d need about 20 million draws to get something that would be 80% correct.”
He added that overall there was not much deviation in appearances across the numbers.
Luke Cope, odds expert at AceOdds.com, agreed that taking account of differences between the games can make a big difference to winning potentials.
He said: “Some lotteries may have bonus numbers or other features which could improve someone’s chance of winning.
“Researching these additional elements and understanding them can help someone make a more informed decision when choosing their numbers.”
The best way to improve your chances of winning is to buy more tickets for a single draw.
But it’s worth remembering that you should never spend more than you can afford.
Overall, the best way to approach any lottery is as a game of fun because there is no way to guarantee a winning ticket.
Only spend what you are comfortable with losing and if you’re worried about gambling you can get help and advice from the NHS, GamCare and BeGambleAware.
