Choosing a Winning Combination Beyond Handpicking

Richard Lustig wrote his book “Learn How To Increase Your Chances of Winning The Lottery” based on techniques he used to help him nail the jackpot seven times over. In a March 2013 interview with CBS News, Lustig said the “quick pick” is ill-advised because the person's entrusting his good fortune on numbers picked by the computer instead of handpicked ones.

There's no guarantee that handpicking numbers will get you any closer to the jackpot, as lotteries are all about being lucky. Experts dispute statistics that people quick-picking their numbers win more than handpicking them. As it turns out, more people simply prefer quick-picking over handpicking. It won't matter whether or not you trust the computer or your heart more.

There are even instances when mathematics is used to win the lottery, namely probability. As the typical lottery combination consists of six numbers and Powerball numbers, for example, which are from 1 to 59, the odds of hitting the jackpot is 1 in more than 175 million. Take note that only the first five digits in Powerball can be 1 to 59, the sixth one, aptly called the Powerball, can only be 1 to 45.

Buying more tickets with different combinations, however, is a great way to increase your chances of winning. It's sensible not to stick to the same combination on a different ticket, which makes number-picking even more random.