Using Birth Dates in Playing the Lottery? Here’s What Math Says

Have you ever asked yourself? Are birth dates a good strategy for number selection? What does the math say about it?

Let’s set one thing straight from a mathematical perspective.

What Lottery Experts Say About Birth Dates

Many experts recommend that you should never make a combination composed purely of birth dates or special dates. At least add some numbers higher than 31.

Explanations are varied. Some may be valid, and some are mere assumptions. Here are some of the most popular ones:

1. Birth dates restrict your combination to calendar numbers 1 to 31. So, you neglect other numbers in the process. This approach doesn’t adhere to the natural behavior of random selection.
2. Winning numbers in the lottery tend to be evenly distributed over the entire number field. So restricting your numbers from 1 to 31 reduces your chances of hitting the grand prize.
3. Many players are using dates in the lottery. If you indeed win, chances are, you will likely share your jackpot prize with other winners who use dates.

Are they right? Let’s use math to find out.

Using Birth Dates and The Mathematical Proof

The mathematical calculation differs from lottery to lottery. We will use a Lotto 649 system.

Here, we only use birth dates as the primary topic as it is the most commonly used approach. Nonetheless, the calculations we will be doing here also apply to anniversaries and memorable days in your life.

As usual, we will use probability theory.¹

Let’s group numbers into two sets. We will call numbers from 1 to 31 as calendar numbers, which we will refer to as C. The rest are non-calendar numbers, which we will refer to as N.

Thus, we get:

C = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,…,31}

N = {32,33,34,35,36,37,…,49}

So, we produce the following number patterns with these sets of numbers.

Composition	Description
6N	All numbers are non-calendar numbers.
1C and 5N	One calendar number and five non-calendar numbers
2C and 4N	Two calendar numbers and four non-calendar numbers
3C and 3N	Three calendar numbers and three non-calendar numbers
4C and 2N	Four calendar numbers and two non-calendar numbers
5C and 1N	Five calendar numbers and one non-calendar number
6C	All numbers are calendar numbers.

We can determine the number of combinations each composition can produce using binomial coefficients.²

Composition	Possible Combinations
6N	18,564
1C and 5N	265,608
2C and 4N	1,422,900
3C and 3N	3,667,920
4C and 2N	4,814,145
5C and 1N	3,058,398
6C	736,281

All of these patterns can produce a total of 13,983,816 possible combinations for a Lotto 649 system.

Therefore, the probability for each pattern is computed as follows:

Composition	Probability
6N	0.00132753463003232
1C and 5N	0.0189939570143085
2C and 4N	0.101753341148081
3C and 3N	0.262297501626166
4C and 2N	0.344265470884342
5C and 1N	0.218709828561817
6C	0.0526523661352524

Based on the probability value, we can estimate the likely outcome of the lottery in 100 draws.

Composition	Estimated occurrence in 100 draws
6N	zero occurrence
1C and 5N	twice
2C and 4N	10 times
3C and 3N	26 times
4C and 2N	34 times
5C and 1N	22 times
6C	5 times

Based on the mathematical estimation, the best combination is 4C and 2N, followed by 3C and 3N.

Again, this calculation applies only to the Lotto 6/49 game. The calculation can be very different in Powerball and Mega Millions.

So, What Math Says

These mathematical calculations tell you one thing clear:

Using birth dates as a lotto combination is not a bad thing.

So, in the case of lotto 6/49, your best bet is 4C and 2N. You select four calendar numbers: birth dates or special dates in your life, and then two non-calendar numbers.

In the case of the Powerball 5/69 game, you might want to consider two compositions—the 3C and 2N composition and the 2C and 3N composition.

Below is a table of possible compositions and the number of possible combinations in the Powerball game.

C = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,…,31}

N = {32,33,34,35,36,37,…,69}

Composition	Possible Combinations
5C	169,911
4C+1N	1,195,670
3C+2N	3,159,985
2C+3N	3,922,740
1C+4N	2,288,265
5N	501,942

Advanced Lotterycodex Analysis

Some preach that all combinations are equally likely, whether you use birth dates or whatnot. Of course, that’s true.

But don’t forget that combinations have different compositions. Therefore, combinatorial groups exist with varying frequency ratios.

There is more to a lottery game than meets the eye. Deep within its finite structure are layers of combinatorial groups that can help you make informed choices when playing. Read How to Win the Lottery According to Math.

Using Lotterycodex analysis, we separate combinatorial compositions into dominant, occasional, and rare groups. As a lottery player, you aim to pick numbers based on the dominant group to get the best shot possible.

We describe these combinatorial groups as Lotterycodex templates.

Lotterycodex Templates as a Simple Guide

Here’s an example of how Lotterycodex analyzes a 6/49 lottery game:

Generated by Lotterycodex Calculator

In a 6/49 lottery game, only three of 84 templates are the dominant groups. These dominant groups will give you more favorable frequency ratios when playing.

Here’s the one for a 5/50 game:

Generated by Lotterycodex Calculator

In a 5/50 game, only two of 56 templates are dominant groups.

You must pick numbers based on these dominant groups, as these groups represent most of the winning numbers in a 5/50 game.

Make an Informed Choice When Using Birth Dates

Remember that you cannot manipulate the outcome of a truly random lottery game. You cannot change the probability or beat the odds. But you can use math to get the best shot possible. Use the Lotterycodex calculator to guide you in the number selection process.

Questions and Answers

Explore more:

• Lottery Wheel: A Clever Mathematical Strategy That Works
• Free Lottery Calculator
• The Lottery Formula: Combinatorics and Probability at Work
• How to Win Tattslotto According to Math
• The Trick to Winning the Lottery

References

1. Probability Theory    [↩]
2. Binomial Coefficient    [↩]