How often do consecutive Lotto 6/49 numbers turn up together?

49.0% of Lotto 6/49 draws contain at least one pair of neighbouring numbers, like 17and18. Chance predicts 49.5%.

Across 4,458 draws, 2,185 had a neighbouring pair where 2,208 were predicted. Three in a row turned up 212 times against a predicted 227. Draws that look "too tidy" turn up about as often as the arithmetic says they should.

What was measured

Draws counted
4,458
every draw on record
With a neighbouring pair
49.0%
chance predicts 49.5% (-0.7 standard errors)
Neighbouring pairs per draw
0.61
chance predicts 0.61
Three in a row, in total
212
chance predicts 227

Red marks a figure outside the range ordinary variation produces

How to read this what counts as a pair

A neighbouring pair is two numbers one apart, such as 17and18, both in the same draw. Three in a row is three numbers like 171819. Each draw was sorted and checked for both.

The chance prediction is exact. The number of ways to choose 6 numbers with a given number of neighbouring pairs is a counting formula, so no simulation is involved. It is worked out for each draw using that draw's own pool and then added up, because the pool changed size during the record and a larger pool makes neighbours less likely.

How many pairs a draw holds 4,458 draws

Neighbouring pairs in the draw Draws Predicted vs chance
None 2,273 2,250 +1.0%
One pair 1,712 1,731 -1.1%
Two pairs 423 433 -2.3%
Three or more 50 44 +14.3%

Predicted counts add up each draw's own chance, using that draw's pool.

Which neighbouring pair has come up most 48 pairs ranked

Together most often

PairTogetherPredictedvs chance
41and42 76 56.9 +33.7%
33and34 69 56.9 +21.3%
07and08 68 56.9 +19.6%
05and06 67 56.9 +17.8%
10and11 67 56.9 +17.8%

Together least often

PairTogetherPredictedvs chance
14and15 39 56.9 -31.4%
37and38 46 56.9 -19.1%
15and16 46 56.9 -19.1%
42and43 47 56.9 -17.3%
17and18 48 56.9 -15.6%

A pair is compared only with the draws it could have appeared in, so a pair that exists only under the larger pool is measured over those draws alone.

The recent run latest 200 draws

In the last 100 draws, 50.0% held a neighbouring pair. Over the whole record it is 49.0%, and chance predicts 49.5% for these draws. That is inside the range ordinary variation allows for 100 draws.

79.4%15.6%
2024-11-13 to 2025-01-18: 50.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2025-01-22 to 2025-03-29: 65.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2025-04-02 to 2025-06-07: 20.0% (chance predicts 49.5%), outside the ordinary range2025-06-11 to 2025-08-16: 45.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2025-08-20 to 2025-10-25: 55.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2025-10-29 to 2026-01-03: 75.0% (chance predicts 49.5%), outside the ordinary range2026-01-07 to 2026-03-14: 55.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2026-03-18 to 2026-05-23: 40.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2026-05-27 to 2026-08-01: 50.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)2026-08-05 to 2026-10-10: 30.0% (chance predicts 49.5%)
2024-11-13each dot is 20 draws2026-10-10

result for the blockrange ordinary variation allowsoutside that range

A good run says where the measure has been, not where it is going. Each draw is drawn afresh, and a neighbouring pair is exactly as likely next time as it was before.

Applied to the latest draw draw 4458 · 2026-10-10

121823272845

This draw held 1 neighbouring pair: 27and28 Of the five pairs that have come up together most often, 0 appeared in it.

The chance of a given neighbouring pair showing up together in the next draw is 1.28%, the same for every pair, however often it has come up before.

Why the top pair is not a discovery

41and42 lead the list, together 76 times against 56.9 predicted (+33.7%). It is the best of 48 pairs, and the best of 48 tries is above average by definition: rank any 48 pairs of a random record and one has to come first.

2 of the 48 pairs sit more than two standard errors from their predicted count. With 48 tries, about 2.2 would be expected to do that by chance alone. The lowest, 14and15, is the mirror image and means as little. Nothing here says anything about the next draw.

What to ask next

If this report does not answer your question, tell us what you need and we will look at building it. Contact

The same page for another lottery