What percentage of lottery winners are quick picks?

Everyone has been there. The lottery prize is at a record high and you rush to the nearest convenience store to buy a ticket and have a shot at it. Now you are faced by a rather challenging dilemma. Do you play “your numbers” which have sentimental and superstitious value to you or do you play the quick pick? There are good arguments on both sides. People who play a specific set of numbers typically believe that if they faithfully keep playing the same numbers they have a much higher chance of eventually hitting them then someone who plays a different set of numbers every time such as a quick pick player. Quick pick players dismiss this as superstition. Well, as they say, the numbers don’t lie. There are statistics out there which may sway you toward one side.

The statistics change from lottery to lottery but an overwhelming majority of winners across many different lotteries are quick pick players. Some estimates are as high as 70 percent of winners being quick pick players. There is also a correlation seen in some lotteries between the amount of quick pick players and amount of quick pick winners. For example, if 70 percent of the players are quick pick players then the amount of quick pick winners will also be around 70 percent. This is not true in all lotteries but is worth noting.

That being said, statistically, every series of numbers has the same odds as being picked as any other series of numbers. Just like when you flip a quarter, it has a 50 percent chance of landing on either heads or tails every time. Statistics can be fun to observe but they do not predict what will happen in future drawings in the slightest way. Just do whatever feels right to you. If you prefer playing your numbers then play them. If you rather just go with a quick pick and be done with it that works too. Neither one will give you an advantage over the other so just have fun with it.