Everyone has that one set of numbers. Maybe it’s your kid's birthday, the day you got married, or just a string of digits that "feels" right. But if you think you’re being original by playing 07, 11, or 21, honestly, you're not. You’re actually following a script that millions of other people are reading at the exact same time.
When people ask what are the most picked lottery numbers, they’re usually looking for two different things. Some want the "hot" numbers—the ones the machines actually spit out most often. Others are curious about what everyone else is marking on their play slips. These are two very different worlds. One is governed by cold, hard physics and randomness; the other is driven by human psychology, superstitions, and a weird obsession with the number 7.
The numbers people actually pick (The Psychology of the Slip)
Humans are remarkably predictable. If you give a thousand people a grid of numbers from 1 to 70, they won't pick them evenly. Not even close.
The "Birthday Trap" is the biggest factor here. Because people love using dates, the numbers 1 through 31 are wildly overplayed. Think about it. If you use your birthday (say, March 14th) and your anniversary (the 22nd), you’re stuck in the bottom half of the number pool. In games like Powerball or Mega Millions, where the numbers go up to 69 or 70, most players completely ignore the top 40% of the board.
What does this mean for you? It doesn't change your odds of winning—the machine doesn't care if a number is someone's birthday. But it drastically changes your payout. If the winning numbers are 03, 05, 12, 18, and 21, you’re likely sharing that jackpot with dozens of other people who also have birthdays in those ranges. If you pick 58, 61, and 67, and you win, you’re much more likely to keep the whole pile of cash for yourself.
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- Lucky 7: Across almost every culture, 7 is the king. It is consistently one of the most selected numbers on manual tickets.
- The Center of the Plate: Studies on "edge aversion" show that players tend to avoid the numbers at the very edges of the paper slip. We gravitate toward the middle. It feels safer, or more "random," even though it’s anything but.
- Sequences: Believe it or not, thousands of people play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 every single week. If those numbers ever hit, the jackpot would be divided into so many tiny pieces you’d barely be able to buy a used car with your share.
What the machines are actually drawing: The "Hot" Numbers
Now, let’s look at the actual data. If we look at the history of the Powerball since it changed its format in late 2015, some numbers just seem to love the spotlight.
As of early 2026, the white ball that has appeared more than any other is 61. It has popped up over 100 times. Close behind it are numbers like 32, 21, 63, and 36. On the flip side, the number 13—the one everyone is scared of—is often one of the least frequently drawn. It’s a "cold" number.
In the Mega Millions world, things are slightly different. The new matrix introduced in 2025 has shifted things a bit, but historically, 11, 10, and 03 have been heavy hitters.
But here is the catch: The "Gambler’s Fallacy." Just because 61 has been drawn a lot lately doesn't mean it’s "due" to come up again. Or that it’s "hot" in a way that defies physics. Each drawing is a totally independent event. The balls don't have memories. They aren't sitting in the machine thinking, "Man, I haven't been out in a while, I should probably jump in the tube today."
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The "Quick Pick" Paradox
If you want to know what are the most picked lottery numbers in terms of winning tickets, the answer is usually: whatever the computer picked.
Roughly 70% to 80% of lottery winners are "Quick Picks." This isn't because the computer has a secret algorithm to beat the system. It’s simply because the vast majority of tickets sold are Quick Picks. Most people are lazy (or busy) and just let the terminal do the work.
The advantage of a Quick Pick is that it’s truly random. It doesn't have a "favorite" birthday. It’s just as likely to give you a set of high numbers (55, 62, 68) as it is low ones. This naturally helps you avoid the "crowded" numbers that everyone else is playing.
Common Winning Patterns (According to the Stats)
When you look at thousands of draws, you start to see shapes in the noise. You’ll rarely see a winning set that is all even numbers or all odd numbers.
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- The Odd-Even Balance: About 60% of all winning draws have a 3/2 or 2/3 split between odd and even numbers.
- The Spread: Winning combinations usually span the entire field. You rarely see all the numbers clustered in the 20s or 40s.
- The Sum Total: In a game like Powerball, the sum of the five white balls usually falls between 130 and 180. If your numbers add up to 45, you're playing a very statistically unlikely "cluster."
Why the "Most Picked" can be a trap
There’s a famous story from the Bulgarian lottery in 2009. The exact same set of numbers (4, 15, 23, 24, 35, 42) was drawn in two consecutive rounds. The odds of that happening are 1 in 4.2 million. But the real kicker? In the second draw, 18 people hit the jackpot.
Why? Because after those numbers appeared the first time, people saw them and thought, "Hey, those are lucky!" and picked them for the next round. They "won," but they had to split the prize so many ways that the win felt a lot less life-changing.
This is the fundamental problem with following the crowd. If you play the most picked lottery numbers, you are effectively lowering the "Expected Value" of your ticket. You want to be the lonely winner, not the one standing in a crowded room of 50 people all holding the same ticket.
Actionable Tips for Your Next Ticket
So, you’re standing at the gas station counter. What do you do?
- Go High: If you're picking your own numbers, make sure at least two of them are above 31. This instantly separates you from the "Birthday Brigade."
- Avoid Patterns: Don't pick numbers that make a pretty shape on the slip (like a cross or a diagonal line). Thousands of people do this every draw.
- Check the "Cold" List: Some people like playing the most frequent numbers, but "Contrarian" players look for the ones that haven't been seen in months. Again, it doesn't change the odds of the draw, but it keeps your selection unique.
- Look at the Red Ball: In Powerball, the number 04 has historically been the most frequent red ball. If you're a believer in "hot streaks," that's your target.
- Don't ignore the "Quicks": If you don't have a strategy, just take the Quick Pick. It’s the easiest way to ensure you aren't accidentally falling into human bias traps.
The lottery is, at its heart, a tax on people who are bad at math—or a very expensive form of entertainment for those who like to dream. Either way, understanding which numbers are being "over-loved" by the public can help you make a smarter play. Pick the numbers that no one else wants. After all, if you’re going to beat the 1-in-292-million odds, you might as well make sure you don't have to share the trophy.
Focus on creating a balanced ticket that avoids common sequences and spans the entire numerical range available. If you want to dive deeper into the specific frequencies for your local state game, check the official lottery website's "Number Frequency" page, which is updated after every single draw. These sites are the only source of truth in a sea of "prediction" scams that try to sell you "guaranteed" winning systems. Stick to the data, play for fun, and never bet more than you can afford to lose.