Australia Set For Life Results
In Australia’s version of Set For Life, eight winning numbers and two supplementary numbers are picked in every draw. On Monday 28th October, seven of the eight numbers ran consecutively; the winning numbers in ascending order were 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,35, and 36, with the supplementary numbers 14 and 18.
It turned out that hundreds of players like to pick consecutive numbers such as these, resulting in 323 ticket holders matching seven of the eight winning numbers. The prize pool for matching seven in that draw was $5,474, and as the prizes are pari-mutuel, the winning ticket holders had to share that amount between them. That meant each individual walked away with around $17, just a dollar more than those who only matched five numbers.
Had these players matched that eighth number, they would have been in line for a share of the annuitized top prize. Usually, that’s worth $20,000 a month for 20 years, but if there are more than four winners, they share a total payout of $80,000 per month for 20 years, a total of $19.2 million.
With 323 winners, however, that would have worked out at just under $250 per month to each winner, or a total payout of around $60,000 each. It would have been the bitterest of bitter-sweet wins.
The Do’s and Don'ts of Picking Lottery Numbers
This goes to prove that it doesn’t pay to pick your lottery numbers in obvious patterns. Consecutive numbers are a big no-no, as this recent result shows. Outcomes like the one in this example are very uncommon, but every set of winning numbers has the same chance of being produced, so it does happen. And when numbers like these do come in, they provide for some spectacular - and for the winners, disappointing - payouts.
Here are three other strategies to keep in mind when it comes to picking your numbers:
- Don’t use dates: Using memorable dates, such as birthdays or anniversaries, is a hugely popular method for picking numbers. It shouldn’t be, though. Not only are you limiting the numbers you have to choose from to between 1 and 31, you’re increasing your chances of picking a line that other people have gone for too.
- Do avoid patterns on the playslip: Picking your lottery numbers according to certain visual patterns on the playslip is a form of ‘spatial selection’. For example, you might mark all the numbers that run diagonally from number 1 on the slip, or you might mark numbers to make an ‘L’ shape. Don’t do this, as these are habits that other players commonly adopt.
- Do pick as randomly as possible: The more random your numbers, the more chance there is that no one else has picked them. Remember that every single combination of numbers has the same chance of being drawn, so while you don’t improve your odds of winning by picking randomly, you do improve your chances of not sharing the prize money if you do win.