No? Just me then...

Still religiously avoiding birthday numbers and playing Thunderball twice a week. The dream lives on!

I think we all know the odds are terrible and we're basically throwing money away, but there's something about having those numbers that makes us feel like we're 'in the game'.

Just bought my tickets for tonight's draw. Same random selection as always, because I'm apparently incapable of learning from this thread!

Maybe that's the real addiction - not the possibility of winning, but the illusion that we can somehow crack the code. We're all amateur mathematicians convinced we can beat a system designed by actual mathematicians to be unbeatable.

Philosophical crisis aside, I'm still buying my Thunderball ticket this week. Because I'm only human.

Those pattern apps are just modern snake oil. If there was a reliable pattern, don't you think the lottery companies would have figured it out by now?

I tried one for 3 months - it kept suggesting numbers based on 'frequency analysis' and 'hot streaks'. Won absolutely nothing. My random selections have done just as well (which is to say, not very well at all).

As for buying every combination - theoretically yes, but practically impossible. You'd need to fill out over 45 million tickets manually or find a system that accepts that many online entries. Plus, if someone else wins and you have to split the jackpot, you've just lost £45 million!

There was actually a group that did this successfully in Virginia in 1992, but lotteries have since made it much harder to pull off.

One question though - do any of you use those lottery apps that claim to analyze patterns? Keep seeing ads for them but they seem like snake oil to me.

Also, is there a maximum number of tickets you can buy for one draw? Theoretically, if you had £45 million lying around, could you just buy every possible combination for the main Lotto?

So the consensus seems to be:

1. Numbers don't matter mathematically
2. Avoid birthday numbers to reduce prize sharing
3. Thunderball offers the best realistic odds
4. We're all probably losing money long-term but hey ho!

Think I'll stick with my current random selection but switch more funds to Thunderball. At least the odds of winning SOMETHING are vaguely achievable.

What gets me is people who play the same numbers religiously for decades. The sunk cost fallacy is strong with lottery players. "I can't change my numbers now, what if they come up next week?"

It's like being in an abusive relationship with a random number generator.

But can we talk about the real elephant in the room? How many of you have actually calculated how much you've spent vs won over the years? I did this exercise last month and it was... sobering.

15 years of playing: roughly £3,200 spent
Total winnings: £420

Still play occasionally because someone's got to win eventually, right? RIGHT?!

But here's a comparison of actual UK lottery odds for those asking about best UK lottery odds:

Thunderball's your best bet for actually winning something.

I spent 3 years analyzing historical draws, looking for patterns, hot and cold numbers, all that nonsense. Won absolutely nothing significant. Then last month I let my 8-year-old pick the numbers by throwing darts at a board. Won £180.

The house always wins, but sometimes they let you have a small taste to keep you coming back.

I play occasionally but only when there's a rollover. No point playing when the jackpot's at the minimum - if I'm going to throw money away on 45 million to 1 odds, might as well be for a massive prize.

Thunderball and Set For Life have much more reasonable odds if you actually want a realistic chance of winning something decent.

1. Pick 3 numbers under 31 (birthdays, anniversaries)
2. Pick 3 numbers over 31 (avoiding the birthday crowd like @casino_dan said)
3. Stick with them for exactly 10 weeks
4. If nothing, completely random selection for the next 10 weeks
5. Repeat

Has it won me millions? No. But I won £1,500 last year so something's working!

I've been tracking the frequency of drawn numbers for about 2 years now (yes, I know it's pointless but it's become a hobby). Some numbers do come up more often, but the sample size is nowhere near big enough to be statistically significant.

Currently playing Thunderball mostly - much better odds than the main draw.

If you pick popular combinations (birthdays, anniversaries), you're more likely to share your jackpot with others who picked the same 'meaningful' numbers. Go for numbers above 31 to avoid the birthday crowd.

Still won't increase your chances of winning, but might increase what you take home if you do win.

For the main Lotto (6 from 59): P = C(59,6) = 59!/(6!(59-6)!) = 45,057,474

So your odds are 1 in 45,057,474 regardless of which 6 numbers you pick. Whether it's 1-2-3-4-5-6 or your gran's birthday mixed with your lucky numbers - identical odds.

The only strategy that makes mathematical sense is playing the games with better odds, not picking 'better' numbers.

I go completely random every time. Use the Lucky Dip or just close my eyes and pick. The way I see it, 1-2-3-4-5-6 has exactly the same chance as any other combination. People just think it looks 'wrong' because our brains aren't wired to understand true randomness.

For best UK lottery odds, you want to look at the smaller games. EuroMillions might have massive jackpots but your chances are astronomical.