Description
HotPicks from the UK’s National Lottery is a side game to the main draw. Essentially, it uses the same numbers as Lotto; however, you get to choose how many of them (between one and five) you want to match up. If you prefer to try and match all six, you’ll need to play the main UK Lotto game instead. You win if you match the number of balls you’ve chosen to play.
HotPicks offers the chance to enjoy Lotto with a bit of a twist and to pick up bigger prizes by matching up fewer lottery numbers. So playing it could be a really smart move – how would you spend the top prize of £350k?
Here, we discuss the main Lotto draw’s HotPicks offering – which is different from the EuroMillions version.
How to play
This game is all about playing for bigger prizes with fewer numbers. You choose how many, rather than just going for a straight six per line.
The first step is deciding how many numbers you wish to play with, between one and five. These will need to be between 1 and 59, as they’re from the main Lotto game. Choose your own, or go for the Lucky Dip option and the decision will be made for you at random.
At the same time, decide the draw days and how many weeks you want to play. And you can be organised and save time by playing up to four weeks in advance.
Each entry costs just £1 and draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday. Buy your tickets online or from a National Lottery retailer. You can play online daily between 6 am and 11 pm, but if you want to play on draw day, you’ll need to sort out your tickets by 7.30 pm.
National Lottery HotPicks prize structure
Here’s what you can win when you play HotPicks. Pick and match:
- Five main numbers to win £350,000
- Four main numbers to win £13,000
- Three main numbers to win £800
- Two main numbers to win £60
- One main number to win £6
- Remember, you can only win for the number of matches you choose, and nothing else.
The odds for HotPicks can seem rather complicated, but essentially these vary from 1 in 10 (for the lowest £6 prize for Pick 1 Match 1) to 1 in 834,398 for the highest £350k award.
Checking your results
As with all the National Lottery games, there are various ways to check if you’ve won, including on mobile, online and by watching the draw live over the web.
Verdict
Lotto HotPicks could be just up your street if you’re feeling on the ball! It’s fun, original and offers the chance to try something a bit different if you’ve just been playing the Lotto main draw for a while. And the odds aren’t bad, either.
The National Lottery is serious about responsible gambling and has a number of tools on its website to help ensure players always remain in control of their betting. So playing HotPicks is a very safe gaming option. Give it a go – and try out HotPicks for yourself.
Lottery 
