Playing the Same Numbers

Is it a good idea to play the same numbers in each lottery draw? Simple question, but one that is fraught with problems.

Playing the same numbers from week to week does not increase our chances of winning, of course, but there are still two big advantages to taking this approach. These are:

• Playing the same numbers in every draw allows you to play many lottery games by subscription. Simply complete a subscription form with the numbers that you want to play, pay the required fee for the number of draws you want to enter, and then sit back and watch the results week by week. No queing in shops and no need to check your ticket manually.

• If you play the same numbers for every draw then checking to see if you have won or not is as simple as it can be, because once you have memorised the numbers you play you can see at a glance whether they match the ones that are published in newspapers or broadcast on television.

Of course, there is also a disadvantage of playing the same numbers, and that is that if you happen to forget to buy a lottery ticket for any reason, you will instantly know whether or not you would have won. Imagine the stress if you've played the same numbers for 10 years and then forget to enter one week or you can't get to a retailer. Murphy's law dictates that will be the week they come up.