Read on for a detailed look at the advantages and disadvantages of both…
Spoiler alert: neither option makes you more likely to win, but it’s still worth thinking about which one suits the way you like to play!
What is Lucky Dip?
Lucky Dip basically means that instead of choosing your own lottery numbers, you leave it to chance.
So, if you’re not superstitious or don’t have a set of lucky numbers, it can be a quick way to play without needing to select lottery numbers.
If you’re buying a ticket for The Big Win at your local shop, then choosing a Quick Pick ticket means the numbers will be randomly selected for you at the terminal.
If you’re playing The Big Win online, the Quick Pick option uses a random number generator (RNG) to choose your numbers for you.
You can also use Quick Pick to remove the need to choose the numbers you play in All or Nothing, the lottery game with the best overall odds in the UK.
If you choose to play QuickWin, not only can you tap Quick Pick to randomly pick your numbers for you, you can automatically generate five lines at once with Quick 5! Handy when there is never more than three minutes until the next draw!
So, now you know what a lucky dip is, let’s take a look at the pros and cons…
Winning numbers are less likely to share a prize pot with others
When numbers are chosen truly at random it means you are less likely to share the pot with other winners.
There are common patterns and themes that appear when people choose lottery numbers. For example, people often choose multiples of other numbers (e.g. 7, 14 and 21).
This means that if those numbers win the big prize, the winnings will be shared with other people who chose the same numbers.
Quick Pick numbers have been selected randomly, so are unlikely to have any sort of pattern or theme, which could make them less likely to match with other people’s choices.
More even spread of numbers
Having a random selection of numbers can mean you get a more even spread than if you selected numbers yourself. This is because players often select their lottery numbers based on meaningful dates like birthdays and anniversaries. As dates can’t be more than 31 for days and 12 for months, this means that these lower numbers are chosen more often than higher numbers.
Numbers that are chosen more often will appear on more lottery tickets – meaning a higher chance of sharing the top prize if you do win. By going with a Quick Pick or Lucky Dip option, you avoid this skew towards numbers that are in dates so could be less likely to have share your winnings.
Picks not determined by superstition
Not choosing the numbers for yourself frees you from getting superstitious over number choices. If you’re not the kind of person who believes in lucky numbers, then Quick Pick could be the perfect way to play – after all every number is just as likely to appear as any other.
Those are some obvious pros, but what about the cons?
They're not your numbers
For some people, not choosing their own numbers takes some of the excitement out of playing.
If the numbers have been chosen at random, they don’t really feel like "your" numbers.
That said – if they’re the winning numbers then they’re definitely exciting!
There's no strategy
Some lottery players pride themselves on having a strategy behind the numbers that they play. If you decide to play with numbers that you didn’t select yourself, then there’s no strategy.
For example, with Quick Pick you can’t follow our guide on how to pick lottery numbers.
If this kind of thing is important to you, it’s better to choose the numbers yourself.
Some people prefer consistency
Finally, it could be heartbreaking to see your lucky numbers come up in the lottery if you hadn’t chosen them and had gone with lucky dip instead!
For this reason, some players like to have a ticket of picked numbers they play every week plus a randomly selected ticket – that way there’s no chance of their lucky numbers coming up and them not having bought a ticket.
Ultimately, there’s no real statistical advantage to choosing your own numbers or using a Lucky Dip option – both are good for different reasons. The most important thing is to go with the method that suits the way you like to play the lottery – whichever one you choose is the right choice for you!
