Popular Lottery Number Combinations: What the Math Says
The classic, birthdays, patterns, lucky numbers. An honest collection of the most popular combinations and what the statistics really say about them.
Why people pick patterns
Hardly anyone picks six numbers entirely at random. People pick birthdays, lucky numbers, nice patterns on the ticket, mathematical sequences or simply the numbers that feel right. That's understandable, because a lottery ticket is also a small ritual.
This page collects the best-known combinations and looks at them soberly. It is not about selling you a winning strategy, because there isn't one. It is about a distinction that hardly anyone draws cleanly, but which makes all the difference. You can click on every combination to see what it would have cost you since 1955.
A real example: 23 January 1988
How concrete the co-winner problem can get is shown by a draw from 1988. On 23 January the numbers 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32 were drawn. Two blocks of three, a clean pattern on the ticket.
The result: 222 people had picked exactly this combination. All of them had six matches. Instead of a multi-million prize, each of them received only around 43,000 euros (converted from 84,803.90 marks).
The 222 people had done nothing wrong. Their probability of winning was exactly the same as that of any other combination. They had all just thought the same thing: that two neat blocks of three are a nice pick. That is the co-winner effect in its purest form.
Camp 1: The co-winner magnets
These combinations are popular, pretty, catchy. That's exactly why they are tipped by many people at the same time. If one of them is drawn, you share with an above-average number of other people.
The classic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
The most famous combination of all. Many pick it ironically, others from the conviction that such an "unlikely" sequence has to come up at some point. Neither makes a mathematical difference, because 1-2-3-4-5-6 is exactly as likely as any other combination. Lotto Baden-Württemberg confirms this in their fact check. The real problem: it is one of the most frequently picked combinations in Germany. If it ever came up, thousands of people would have to share the jackpot.
Birthday numbers: 4, 11, 19, 24, 27, 31
By far the most common real-world picking strategy. People pick birthdays, anniversaries, important dates. As a result, all numbers from 1 to 31 are picked far more often, while 32 to 49 are picked less often. Lotto Baden-Württemberg itself confirms that birthday-number winners therefore have to share more often when they win. Source: Lotto BW fact check. Anyone picking only birthdays also uses only 31 of the 49 numbers.
Fibonacci sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
The famous number sequence in which each number is the sum of the two previous ones. Popular with people who like mathematics. Pretty, elegant, and a pattern many know and pick at the same time. Also stays entirely in the low number range.
Only primes: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13
The first six prime numbers. Another math favourite. As with Fibonacci, the rule is: elegant, but well known and therefore picked more often than average. Here too the focus lies on low numbers.
Square numbers: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36
The squares of 1 to 6. A pretty pattern for everyone who made friends with numbers at school. Tipped less often than the classic, but still a recognisable system several people independently pick.
Double digits: 11, 22, 33, 44, 5, 6
Repeated digits have a special appeal. 11, 22, 33, 44 are easy to remember and look pleasing on the ticket. Since only four double-digit numbers are within the range up to 49, two further numbers have to be added. The double-digit reflex is still widespread.
All odd numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
Six odd numbers in a row look systematic. Real draws, however, are almost never that tidy: a mix of even and odd numbers is the statistical normal case. A pure odd row is a pattern like any other and therefore picked more often than average.
The lucky 7: 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42
The multiples of 7. The number 7 is considered a lucky number in many cultures and is one of the most frequently picked single numbers overall. In Austrian lottery statistics 2022, the 7 was the most picked number. A full row of multiples of seven combines several popular numbers.
Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18
The first six multiples of three. Another mathematical pattern that is easy to remember and attracts by its regularity. Like the other math sequences, it stays in the low number range and therefore overlaps with birthday players. Anyone who wants to know more about number theories and their missing statistical effect will find it in our guide Are some lottery numbers more likely?
Cross on the ticket: 4, 10, 18, 25, 32, 46
On the ticket certain numbers form a cross when you tick them. It looks tidy and feels systematic. That's exactly why it's popular. Visual patterns on the physical ticket are among the most frequently picked shapes.
Diagonal on the Ticket: 1, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41
The slanted line across the play field, from top left to bottom right. The diagonal is picked regularly. Nice lines on the ticket are a widespread reflex. The drawn balls don't care what the pick looks like on paper, but many other players share the same visual preference.
Camp 2: The anti-co-winner combinations
The following strategies are worth a second look. They are sometimes described as a "secret tip" you can use to "win more". That isn't quite right and is easy to misread.
All High Numbers: 38, 41, 44, 46, 48, 49
The direct opposite to the birthday numbers. Because almost all date players stay within 1 to 31, the high numbers from 32 onwards are systematically under-played. The mathematical statisticians at the University of Stuttgart even have a rule of thumb for this: the sum of the picked numbers should be at least 164. The important thing remains: this combination is not drawn more often, it only leads to fewer co-winners in the rare event of a hit.
The Messy Spread: 3, 14, 22, 29, 38, 47
People tend to spread their numbers "nicely" across the ticket. Real draws are often more clustered, with uneven gaps. A deliberately irregular distribution across the whole number range deviates from the human reflex for order and is therefore picked less often. Here too the unavoidable repetition applies: no effect on the probability of winning, only on the possible number of co-winners.