Are Birthday Numbers Really Luckier?

Dear Mark,
In a past column you stated that you only play the lottery when the jackpot approaches true odds plus playing quick-pick (random) numbers. I can see your first point, but I, like most people, play my family's birthday numbers because of the luck factor. What is wrong with that?
Also, you used the odds of hitting a California 6/51 ticket as an example. Our state lottery has 54 numbers. What are the chances of hitting it? Mary G. Chicago, IL

The most popular method used by players for the selection of lottery numbers is calendar dates such as birthdays or anniversaries.
More than 65% of the tickets played in state lotteries have numbers all marked under 31. By eliminating numbers above 31, two problems emerge.
First, there is a much greater chance of sharing the bootie because such a high percentage of people, like yourself, play this way. It is odd, Mary, to have only one winner when all the numbers picked are under 31.
Second, track your state lottery draws and note how often just the numbers 1-31 occur. Fortunately for you, I did the homework by researching every draw of every game ever played in California. Even to my surprise, a ticket limiting the numbers between 1-31 appears, on average, only 3.5 times a year (104 games per year-Wednesday and Saturday draws).
So for the above two reasons, Mary, I subjectively recommend random numbers, in addition to, waiting for the lottery to get close to true odds.
For your second question, I listed the staggering chance of hitting the Illinois lottery (6 out of 54) below, plus additional state lottery games, indexed in ascending order of difficulty.

Dear Mark,
My brother-in-law loves to brag how playing his way is the "statistically" correct approach to gambling. Believe me, he's no math genius and generally loses more than he wins. Any one-liners to shut him up? Susie L. Las Vegas, NV

"Most people use statistics the way a drunk uses a lamp post. More for support than illumination." ­p;Mark Twain

Before I Shuffle: So what's a tougher beat? Your state lottery or getting involved with your brother-in-law's newest Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scheme. Mine is the latter; yours-you decide.

6 out of 25 - 1 chance in 177,100
6 out of 30 - 1 chance in 593,775
6 out of 33 - 1 chance in 1,107,568
6 out of 36 - 1 chance in 1,947,792
6 out of 39 - 1 chance in 3,262,623
6 out of 40 - 1 chance in 3,838,380
6 out of 41 - 1 chance in 4,496,388
6 out of 42 - 1 chance in 5,245,786
6 out of 44 - 1 chance in 7,059,052
6 out of 46 - 1 chance in 9,366,819
6 out of 47 - 1 chance in 10,737,573
6 out of 48 - 1 chance in 12,271,512
6 out of 49 - 1 chance in 13,983,816
6 out of 50 - 1 chance in 15, 890,700
6 out of 51 - 1 chance in 18, 009,460
6 out of 54 - 1 chance in 25,827,165

Powerball (5 out of 45 + 1 out of 45) 1 chance in 55 million.

Got a question about gambling? Write to: Deal Me In, 774 Mays Blvd. Suite 10, Incline Village, NV 89451 or e-mail:winners@winner.com · To order Mark Pilarski's "Hooked on Winning" audio cassettes--laminated win cards package ($12.95 plus $2. S&H) call (800) WINNERS.

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