# Lottery: Number picking tips

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-number-picking-tips/231524>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [February 27, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-number-picking-tips/231524 "2004-02-27T21:16:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-number-picking-tips/231524/21 "2004-03-06T01:53:48Z")

</div>

> [@C K Dexter Haven](#):
>
> If you are playing multiple numbers, then you are decreasing your chances by imposing any restrictions (birthdays, non-birthdays, etc.) on your choices… even though any set of numbers has exactly the same chance as any other set.

[You might want to take that up with the boss.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_119.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-number-picking-tips/231524/22 "2004-03-06T14:22:46Z")

</div>

Thanks, **manny**. I had forgot that Cecil has handled this question.

It thus has become a dead issue in this forum, and I was correct in having closed this thread originally. I therefore go back to my original statement – the Staff Report is concerned with annuities vs lump sums, and not with how to pick winning numbers. If you want to continue the discussion, start it again in a different forum.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-number-picking-tips/231524.md?page=1)