Playing Pick 5 lottery games can be really fun but challenging at the same time, as the pool of possible numbers tends to be quite large. That is when a Pick 5 lottery numbers strategy comes in handy, and this complete guide shows you all the possible ways to use one.
While Pick 5 is not limited like Pick 3 and Pick 4 games when it comes to combinations and possible numbers, the possibilities are many, and the prizes tend to be higher as well. Either manually or with the support of recommended software, you will easily learn to build your own Pick 5 lottery strategy.
Quick Jump
What is a Pick 5 Lottery Numbers Strategy?
Before talking about strategies, we may understand that a Pick 5 lottery is a drawing game in which a valid ticket contains 5 numbers. You need to pick five numbers from a given pool, which varies from one game to another. That is enough to consider the game a Pick 5 lottery and apply the strategies listed here.
You will find games and prizes from all levels within that category, from a simple Cash 5 with a $20,000 prize to the astonishing millionaire prizes of Powerball.
A Pick 5 lottery numbers strategy is a method applied to that type of game of chance to choose the numbers. It is common for people to be tired of picking numbers themselves or who believe that there is a specific way to pick lottery numbers with increased odds of winning.
In both cases, the Pick 5 strategy is a way to still have control of the numbers you play instead of choosing yourself, unlike a quick pick. There are many of them, and the most important ones are presented and taught to you in this guide.
Reasons to Use a Pick 5 Lottery Strategy
- It’s fun. Choosing the Pick 5 lottery numbers can be quite boring, but having a method to generate them like the ones shown here can be entertaining.
- Get confident. Have you ever used the quick pick and wondered whether it was worth playing those random numbers? Now you have control of the numbers you generate.
- Great games. There are many excellent Pick 5 lottery games out there, like Mega Millions.
- It’s safe. You can never lower your odds of winning by applying a Pick 5 lottery strategy, according to the math in the lottery.
- Many options. With the many Pick 5 lottery numbers strategies found here, you can try all of them and decide which one works better for you.
The Best Pick 5 Lottery Strategy
Finally, it is time to begin understanding and learning the strategies that exist for that lottery format. Within a couple of minutes, you will be capable of deciding which one is the best Pick 5 lottery numbers strategy.
1. Tic-Tac-Toe Pick 5 Strategy
To complete a Pick 5 tic-tac-toe, we need a large 5×5 grid to be able to generate a few combinations for our next ticket purchase. Before actually filling it, you will need five initial numbers that will not necessarily represent a combination of yours.
You may use a quick pick to generate them, use lottery predictions, or even get the hottest numbers of the Pick 5 game you want to play. In my case, for this example, that is what I did for Eurojackpot:
Therefore, I’ll use 01, 11, 17, 19, and 49 as my starting numbers. Thanks to them, I’ll be able to fill the following grid:
In order to fill the blank spaces that will generate our Pick 5 lottery numbers, I choose the 2468 method. In short, it is a sequence that adds 2, 4, 6, and 8, respectively, to the previous number. Taking “1” as our first example, this is what we need to do:
1 + 2 = 3
3 + 4 = 7
7 + 6 = 13
13 + 8 = 21
Those numbers go below “1”, the very first space of our Pick 5 tic-tac-toe. We will do the same for the other numbers, restarting once we get past the maximum number (50 for Eurojackpot) and filling the spaces above when there is no room left below the previous number. Here is the result:
Now, your options may appear by creating horizontal, vertical, or diagonal sequences from that tic-tac-toe or identifying those that repeat the most. For example, mixing 1, 3, 7, 13, 19, 21, 23, and 37, which are the ones that appear the most. You could put those special numbers in a lottery wheel, which is the next strategy.
2. Pick 5 Lottery Wheeling
As you have most probably already noticed, the Pick 5 lottery strategies are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to apply more than one at once and generate a few possible winning combinations instead of dozens or hundreds of possibilities that you cannot play all at once.
We already have a complete guide on how to wheel lottery numbers, so I’ll focus on how lottery wheeling can be applied to Pick 5 games.
Before anything, you might decide to do it manually or use one of the lottery software that wheel numbers for you. In both cases, this example with the eight common numbers in our tic-tac-toe above will work.
We have eight numbers and a game that requires five numbers. That is when wheeling numbers is useful, and we simply need to make sure that we cover them all in our combinations:
1 – 3 – 7 – 13 – 19 – 21 – 23 – 37
1 – 3 – 7 – 13 – 19
1 – 3 – 7 – 13 – 21
1 – 3 – 7 – 13 – 23
1 – 3 – 7 – 13 – 37
1 – 3 – 7 – 19 – 21
1 – 3 – 7 – 19 – 23
1 – 3 – 7 – 19 – 37
1 – 3 – 13 – 19 – 21
1 – 3 – 13 – 19 – 23
1 – 3 – 13 – 19 – 37
(…)
3 – 7 – 13 – 19 – 21
3 – 7 – 13 – 19 – 23
3 – 7 – 13 – 19 – 37
(…)
7 – 13 – 19 – 21 – 23
7 – 13 – 19 – 21 – 37
The combinations may be too many for a player to guarantee the purchase of all of those tickets. Therefore, lottery wheeling will present you with all the possibilities within the chosen range of numbers, but you might have to add a rule to help you shorten the possibilities.
For example, you could be only playing the combinations that contain “13” because it appears 3x in the tic-tac-toe and “21” because it is your lucky number. There is not one single solution for everyone, and that is why you are still challenged when using Pick 5 strategies.
3. The +1/+5/-1 Method
If you have paid attention to the Pick 5 tic-tac-toe strategy, understanding this method will not be a problem. Instead of drawing a tic-tac-toe grid, you only need the starting numbers and a sharp mind or a calculator. To begin, you will add +1 to the first number and then the previous number to the next one in the sequence.
For our practical example, let’s get back to our Eurojackpot hot numbers: 1, 11, 17, 19, and 49. Notice that we restart the count when we reach the maximum number for that game (50):
1, 11, 17, 19, 49 | Initial Numbers (+1) |
---|---|
2, 13, 30, 49, 48 | First Sequence (1 + 1 = 2 || 11 + 2 = 13 || 17 + 13 = 30 || 19 + 30 = 49 || 49 + 49 = 48. |
3, 16, 46, 45, 43 | Second Sequence (2 + 1 = 3 || 13 + 3 = 16 || 30 + 16 = 46 || 49 + 46 = 45 || 48 + 45 = 43. |
4, 20, 16, 11, 4 | Third Sequence |
5, 25, 41, 2, 6 | Fourth Sequence |
6, 31, 22, 24, 30 | Fifth Sequence |
Numbers may repeat, and that is when you might consider adding a number that matters to you, like your horoscope lucky number. Also, that is only the first part of the +1/+5/-1 method. Repeat the process starting with +5 and -1, respectively, instead of +1.
1, 11, 17, 19, 49 | Initial Numbers (+5) |
---|---|
6, 17, 34, 3, 2 | First Sequence |
11, 28, 12, 15, 17 | Second Sequence |
16, 44, 6, 21, 38 | Third Sequence |
21, 15, 21, 42, 30 | Fourth Sequence |
26, 41, 12, 54, 24 | Fifth Sequence |
And:
1, 11, 17, 19, 49 | Initial Numbers (-1) |
---|---|
50, 11, 28, 47, 46 | First Sequence |
49, 10, 38, 35, 31 | Second Sequence |
48, 8, 46, 31, 12 | Third Sequence |
47, 5, 1, 32, 44 | Fourth Sequence |
46, 1, 2, 34, 28 | Fifth Sequence |
Once again, you are facing many possible combinations, but they are not that absurd if you consider that the chosen game has 95,344,200 possibilities. In order to make it a realistic purchase, you might define the rule that you prefer and test the outcomes. For example, playing the most common numbers or sequences that may appear.
4. Numbers Rundown
The +1/+5/-1 method above is a complex Rundown strategy, but you might not have that much time on your hands and prefer something simpler. You may do the exact same process but choose a specific rundown to be performed only once.
The 12345 is a very common Rundown, as it is simple, but maybe too simple for a Pick 5 lottery. Instead, try to find a 5-digit pattern that makes sense to you. For example, I have won a Pick 3 two times with a 368, so I’ll definitely add it. Also, 17 is my favorite number, so I decided to go with a 36817 Rundown.
Let’s see how it works with our 1 – 11 – 17 – 19 – 49 hot sequence for Eurojackpot:
1, 11, 17, 19, 49 | Initial Numbers (+3 | + 6 | + 8 | + 1 | + 7) |
---|---|
4, 17, 25, 20, 6 | First Sequence |
7, 23, 33, 21, 13 | Second Sequence |
10, 29, 41, 22, 20 | Third Sequence |
13, 35, 49, 23, 37 | Fourth Sequence |
16, 41, 7, 24, 44 | Fifth Sequence |
Therefore, we could play 5 tickets – or 6, if we want to include the one that contains hot numbers exclusively – that would look like this:
4 – 6 – 17 – 20 – 25
7 – 13 – 21 – 23 – 33
10 – 20 – 22 – 29 – 41
13 – 23 – 35 – 37 – 49
7 – 16 – 24 – 41 – 44
Of course, there is no such thing as a limitation when it comes to Pick 5 strategies. You could play all of those, each one with 1 bonus number (in the case of Eurojackpot) or all the possible bonus numbers for each ticket. Also, you could wheel them to create a single ticket. Basically, the sky’s the limit to your creativity now that you know all the Pick 5 strategies.
Preparing Your Pick 5 Lottery Strategy
The theory might sound great or just boring to you, but the time has now come to apply your recently acquired knowledge. I strongly advise you to make at least one purchase with it within the next hours, as that should solidify what you have learned so far.
Define Your Starting Point
It should be clear that you will always need a starting point to use your Pick 5 lottery numbers strategy, regardless of which one you might have chosen. That could be a sequence of five randomly generated numbers, but I suggest trying to identify five numbers within the possible lottery pool to begin.
In our examples, I went with the hottest numbers found in the last 10 Eurojackpot drawings. By checking our worldwide lottery results, you can get that information for any lottery that you want.
After you define your starting point, you can begin to actually play. Let’s keep our example of 1, 11, 17, 19, and 49 for now.
Choose One of the Strategies
The tic-tac-toe strategy, simple lottery wheeling, or varied rundowns can be used to generate your tickets. You may try them all at once or go with one at a time. In our example, I’ll consider the combination of my 36817 rundown shortened by a lottery wheeling that considers the most common numbers 20, 23, and 41 in that rundown. Since we need two more, I wheeled them with the starting numbers to create the following sequences.
36817 Rundown + Lottery Wheeling Result
1 – 11 – 17 – 20 – 23 – 41
1 – 11 – 19 – 20 – 23 – 41
1 – 17 – 19 – 20 – 23 – 41
1 – 11 – 49 – 20 – 23 – 41
1 – 17 – 49 – 20 – 23 – 41
1 – 19 – 49 – 20 – 23 – 41
11 – 17 – 19 – 20 – 23 – 41
11 – 19 – 49 – 20 – 23 – 41
11 – 17 – 49 – 20 – 23 – 41
17 – 19 – 49 – 20 – 23 – 41
Select the Winning Combinations
I could play all the 10 tickets above and possibly get a good discount playing on one of the best lottery sites. When you apply this process to your own sequence, feel free to wheel the numbers even further or choose only some of them to play. It all depends on your budget.
For this example, consider that I decided to play all 10 of them.
Purchase Online Pick 5 Lottery Tickets
The only way to win the lottery is by playing it, so all this effort must culminate in the purchase of the tickets. If you have still not decided where to buy your tickets online, where you do not risk them going unclaimed, it is time to make that choice. Make sure that you write down your sequences to avoid forgetting them and sign up in less than two minutes.
Pick 5 Lottery Software to Use With the Strategies
If all that work to shorten your pool of possible combinations in a Pick 5 lottery looks like too much, there is a way out. You can use Pick 5 lottery software to do most of the hard work and play with the same efficiency of a quick pick while using valid strategies.
1. Win Slips
Win Slips does not process any of the Pick 5 strategies here itself. However, it does generate anything between 1 and 8 sequences that its algorithm understands to create better chances for the player. If you are willing to try it, you can generate your starting numbers from it and then apply one of the strategies.
2. Lotto Pro
The Lotto Pro software has a lottery wizard that plans the best sequences based on statistical analyses, a lottery wheeling tool, and filters that can help you sort out your Pick 5 numbers. Since its database includes Pick 5 games from all around the world, it is a valid option for those willing to play online lottery games from abroad.
3. Lotto Wheels Pro
Wheeling lottery numbers that you have chosen into a few tickets that match your budget might be one of the most difficult challenges in Pick 5 strategies. Lotto Wheels Pro was specifically designed to wheel numbers, as that is all that the software does. If that is what you are looking for to save your time and effort, it might be worth checking it.
Tips & Hints to Play Pick 5 the Right Way
- Understand your beliefs. If you believe that drawings create and follow patterns within time and that they are not truly 100% random, apply a strategy that matches that belief. The same goes for horoscope numbers or lucky numbers. That way, you will find the right numbers for your Pick 5 strategies.
- Plan your budget. Sometimes, especially when you are first trying the Pick 5 strategies, it is not hard to get overly excited and decide to play every possible combination. Since you cannot buy every possible lottery combination, decide how much you can spend and plan the number of tickets from that.
- Forget common numbers. Sequences that many people may play, like 1-2-3-4-5-6 or the lucky number 7 might result in sharing your prizes. Even if your wheeling system gave similar results, prefer to keep them out of your tickets.
- Keep playing. If there were any guarantees with a specific strategy, the lottery would cease to exist before more than a few people became rich. Understand there are odds at play and keep trying if you truly believe in it.
- Do not forget bonus numbers. Many games have an additional drum of bonus or special numbers that are necessary for the jackpot. Do not forget to wheel them or apply those strategies to them too.
Are Pick 5 Lottery Strategies Worth Using?
Any type of lottery strategy for virtually any game has the power of giving you a sense of control and making lotteries way more entertaining. However, understand that you will have the same odds as anyone else, at least mathematically speaking.
That means that investments in expensive software or spending too many hours on getting a single combination might not be worth it. Other than that, those strategies are certainly a better way of enjoying lotteries than only using random numbers.