After years of EuroMillions experience, the thing that has come to interest me the very most is this one question – how do you choose your numbers, those sacred beings that are exactly what separates the champagne chugging winners from the saddened losers?
The numbers we play with are obviously very important to us, and it’s the same both for the player who buys a ticket once a year, and the ardent EuroMillions lover who wouldn’t miss a drawing no matter what. So do you use the same number every time, or change them? And what do the number come from? Let’s dive deep into the mind of the player with an analysis on the topic.
The Importance of Numbers in EuroMillions
Let’s just start out by facing the facts – whoever say they don’t really care about what numbers they choose for the EuroMillions drawing, they are either straight out lying, or they miss out on a massive deal of what’s fun with the EuroMillions lottery. In all truth, sure, you could just pick numbers from random, but you’re missing so much. Like exchanging Santa Claus with a present spewing machine, you might get the same end results but you miss the whole point.
Because yes, the numbers aren’t magic – yes, it’s all the same odds no matter which numbers you pick and yes, there are no perfect systems. But still. Why do you pick the numbers you pick?
The Classic Ideas for EuroMillions numbers
There are some classic reasonings that have always been around and that will always remain – that doesn’t make them any more wrong, there may be some good reason why they have remained for so long. Many feel like there are “magic” behind certain numbers because they are special to them – many might for example pick a birthday, an anniversary, or maybe the day their idol was born or died.
Indeed, years and dates are very popular for classic EuroMillions numbers, maybe because they work so perfectly – use the first four numbers to represent the year, the fifth to represent the month, and the two lucky stars to represent the day. If you want to play using the birthday of someone who was born • January 23, 1999, you would for example use numbers 1, 9, 9, 9, 1, with lucky stars 2, 3. This of course assumes you want to play with single numbers for the first four, but there are alternative versions if you prefer other systems.
To Repeat or Not to Repeat Numbers in EuroMillions
Another thing that I discovered varies a lot from player to player is whether one uses the same numbers in every EuroMillions drawing, or varies between different numbers, either in a specific system or for other reasons. It turns out that a lot of people will keep using the same numbers a lot, or at least until they win with them. Others consider numbers to be “used up” and have a need of finding new ones every time, until they finally find the perfect numbers that hand them the big jackpot.
And there comes a problem – what happens if you run out of numbers? Well, first of all, there is an amazingly huge list of numbers to choose from, but the real problem is if you run out of numbers that seem like winning numbers to you. What if you play using your kids’ birthdays, and you’re sure the numbers only work for a month until they “go bad”? Well, then if you better start producing more children before you run out of numbers!
Getting Numbers by Lottery Systems
Some solve the problem of running out of numbers by inventing complex systems for getting new ones, that don’t rely on simplistic ideas of birthdays or such, but rather on advanced mathematical formulas or chemical processes. There are some brilliant mathematicians working out much more advanced systems than I would ever be able to wrap my head around.
My favourite, however, is also the simplest EuroMillions number system of them all. I know of a guy who simply started out with using the number 1 for every number, then went on to pick 2, and then 3, and then 4…
Yes, I’m serious. The first drawing would be 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, lucky stars 1, 1. Second would be 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, lucky stars 1, 2. Now this is a grande example of numbers never running out – after a full year of EuroMillions drawings twice a week, including special events and the like, that’s still just over a hundred numbers. If you go on like that, it will take quite a bunch of year before you run out of numbers.
Picking Your Numbers for EuroMillions
But let’s bring it all back down to Earth again, and I’ll repeat just what I said in the beginning – while numbers help make the EuroMillions game more exciting, we must face the fact that in the end, it is all a lottery, it is all random, and the game procedures make it clear that you could just as well just pick numbers by random.
But well, there is one case where it does matter, and that’s when you want to have your win all for yourself. That’s right, a shared number also means a shared EuroMillions jackpot if you happen to win, and so it might therefore be wise to try to find a unique string of numbers that you won’t have to share. This could mean avoiding today’s date, a particularily famous number, and maybe skipping on starting with 1 and 9 (or 19) as these could be used a lot to start off dates.
But in the end, the one important thing is to have fun, no? We all know the chances of winning are small, and that’s part of the fun – the point of EuroMillions isn’t winning in and out of itself, it is enjoying the ride. So pick your number whatever way it suits you, and get ready and buy those tickets today!