Why birthdays are the worst numbers you can pick
· Every figure is worked out from the game's rules.
A line made of dates has exactly the same chance as any other: in EuroMillions, 1 in 139,838,160 for the jackpot. The trouble is not the chance. It is two other things, and both can be counted.
Dates fit in one corner of the slip
A month has at most 31 days, so a line of birthdays and anniversaries uses only the numbers 1 to 31. In EuroMillions you pick 5 numbers from 50: there are 2,118,760 ways, and only 169,911 of them, 8%, are made of numbers up to 31 alone.
That says something about the draw too: in 92% of draws at least one main number is above 31. In those draws no line of dates can win the jackpot. This does not lower your line's chance (the few draws left are exactly the ones it can win), but it shows how tightly every line of dates is packed together.
If you win, you share with more people
When many players choose dates, their lines all fall into that small part of every possible line. If such a line is drawn, it is more likely that others played it too, and a prize that is shared, such as the jackpot, is cut into more pieces. Your chance of winning stays the same; what changes is how much you would get.
In every game
| Game | Lines of 31 or under only | Draws with a number above 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Powerball | 169,911 of 11,238,513 (1.5%) | 98.5% |
| Mega Millions | 169,911 of 12,103,014 (1.4%) | 98.6% |
| EuroMillions | 169,911 of 2,118,760 (8%) | 92% |
| Eurojackpot | 169,911 of 2,118,760 (8%) | 92% |
| Tzoker | 169,911 of 1,221,759 (13.9%) | 86.1% |
| Greek Lotto | 736,281 of 13,983,816 (5.3%) | 94.7% |
| Extra 5 | 169,911 of 324,632 (52.3%) | 47.7% |
| Lotto 6aus49 | 736,281 of 13,983,816 (5.3%) | 94.7% |
| Irish Lotto | 736,281 of 8,145,060 (9%) | 91% |
| UK Lotto | 736,281 of 45,057,474 (1.6%) | 98.4% |
| SuperEnalotto | 736,281 of 622,614,630 (0.1%) | 99.9% |
Only the main numbers count here; bonus numbers have their own, smaller draw. The larger the pool, the more tightly the dates are packed.
What to do
If you play, pick numbers from the whole slip and avoid patterns. The number checker tells you whether your line looks like the ones many people play, and gives you a random one that does not. The chance stays the same; your share, if you win, is likely larger.