When you select your Lotto numbers, try to have a relatively even mix of odd and even numbers. All odd or all even numbers are rarely drawn, occurring less than 3 percent of the time. The best mix is to have 3/2 or 2/3 which means three odd and two even, or two odd and three even. One of these two patterns will occur in 68 percent of the drawings.
HIGH-LOW TIPS
Winning numbers are usually spread across the entire number field. If we take a number field and cut it in half, we have the low half and the high half. In a 56-number game, numbers 1 to 28 would be in the low half, and numbers 29 to 56 would be in the high half. All high or all low numbers are rarely drawn, occurring only 3 percent of the time. The best mix is to have 3/2 or 2/3 which means three high and two low, or two high and three low. One of these two patterns will occur in 64 percent of the drawings.
NUMBER GROUP TIPS
Look at a list of past winning numbers for the Lotto game you play, and you'll see, more often than not, that one or more of the number groups is not represented. For example, in the combination 5-14-32-43-56, there are no 20's. Tracking and studying Number Groups can help you decide which group to omit and which group to give extra heavy play.
GAMES SKIPPED TIPS
List the number of games skipped (games out) since the last hit (win) for each of the winning numbers during the last five games. Then mark the number of times each skip occurred. If any skip from 0 to 5 did not occur, play the Lotto numbers that are out that many games.
SUM TIPS - PLAY A BALANCED GAME>
After you choose five numbers you want to play, add them together and make sure that the sum of the five numbers adds up to somewhere between 106 and 179. Sums that fall within that range will account for over 70 percent of all jackpots won.
REPEAT HITS TIPS
In the 5/56 MEGA Millions, on average, one number will repeat from the last drawing every other drawing or 42 percent of the time.
HOT NUMBER TIPS
Numbers that have been out (losers) for six games or less account for about half of the winning numbers. Losing numbers that have been out for 10 games or less account for about two-thirds of all the winning numbers. Losing numbers that have been out for 13 games or less account for about three-quarters of all the winning numbers. This tells us that hot numbers are more likely to hit, but don't forget to include at least one long shot in your group of 5.
AVOID COMBINATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN DRAWN BEFORE
Many players like to bet the numbers that have won someone else a big jackpot, and by doing so, they are almost guaranteed NOT to win one themselves. In MEGA Millions, with two drawings a week, a set of five numbers plus the Gold MEGA Ball has a chance of being drawn once every 1,689,534 years!!! This should also answer the question I am so often asked, "Shouldn't I keep playing the same set of numbers every week because they are due to hit sometime?"
AVOID BETTING FIVE CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS
Even four consecutive numbers is a very rare occurrence that, in most Lotto games, has never happened once.
AVOID BETTING ONE NUMBER GROUP
Never choose all five numbers from one number group, such as all single digits, or all teens, or all 20's, etc. All five winning numbers drawn from one group is highly unlikely.
AVOID THE COMBINATION 1-2-3-4-5
The most popular set of numbers most often played is: 1-2-3-4-5. Thousands of tickets are bought with this combination every drawing. The selection is too far out of balance to come up in a random drawing.