A lot of players pick a string of consecutive numbers when playing lotteries and, although each combination has as much chance as any other of coming up, if you win with one it is likely others will have chosen the same balls and the pot will be split. There are estimates that 10,000 people play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in every UK Lotto draw, meaning that even if they hit a £5 million jackpot, they would each bank just £500. Of course, having a couple of consecutive numbers is no problem, but picking long runs is best avoided.
Lottery experts suggest another pitfall to steer clear of is choosing the same numbers as were dispensed in the previous draw. This isn’t because they won’t appear again; for example, in September 2009 the numbers 4, 15, 23, 24, 35 and 43 appeared twice in the space of two Bulgarian lottery draws, but because it is thought that many players do just this, any potential prize you earn would again be watered down.
Significant dates should also be given a swerve if possible, as you limit yourself to 31 numbers at most. With 50 main EuroMillions balls in play, you will instantly be excluded from winning tonight’s £99 million prize pot if anything greater is pulled out of the machine in Paris this evening. Using people’s ages is a good alternative, or picking the numbers of houses in which your family and friends live and you could even consider taking digits from your phone number. All these options mean that you have the potential to spread your picks around the board and not exclude yourself from winning a gigantic cash haul.
You can increase your chances of winning big tonight by taking part in one of the supplementary EuroMillions games on offer around the continent. If you play in Ireland, you can add EuroMillions Plus to your ticket for an extra €1, offering the chance to win €500,000 in a separate draw using your EuroMillions selections. In France, a My Million code is automatically generated with every EuroMillions line played, with one ticket holder guaranteed to win €1 million, and in the UK tonight will be Mega Friday, where seven Millionaire Maker codes will be drawn out, each offering a prize of £1 million and a VIP trip to Dubai to each lucky winner.
However you choose your numbers tonight, you need to make sure you buy EuroMillions tickets in plenty of time so you can sit back, relax and keep a keen eye on the Lottery Results page after the draw to see if you are a winner!