Random Picker

1. Using the random picker
2. How to randomly draw multiple items from a list
3. Is the item picked truly at random?
4. Applications of an online random picker

    Using the random picker

To perform a random pick of an item from a list, start by feeding the tool with a list of things, one thing per row. It could be a list of names (e.g. if you are picking a winner for a raffle), prizes (e.g. for picking prizes for a tombola), or anything you'd like. If you have the list in a spreadsheet as a single column, then simply copying it and pasting it in our tool should work. Our random picker can handle lists of up to 10,000 things.

Finally, simply press the "Pick Randomly" button and let our randomizer do its job. What it does is equivalent to rolling a fair dice with as many sides as there are things in your list - each one has an equal probability to be picked.

    How to randomly draw multiple items from a list

You start in similar fashion to how you would draw one random thing from a list and then you change the default value of the "Number of items to pick" field from 1 to as many as you'd like to select from the provided list. The maximum items you can randomly pick in one go is 1,000. Obviously, the number of things you provide should be larger than the number of items you want to randomly select from it.

If you have picked a lot of items you can easily select them all using Cltr+A (on a PC) and then copy and paste as necessary.

    Is the item picked truly at random?

Yes, the picked items are as random as they come. Our tool first assigns incremental integer IDs to each thing you enter, then uses a strong random number generator to produce a number in the range from 1 to the total number of things. The algorithm results in an unbiased draw meaning that each item from the list has an equal probability of being picked. The picker can be used instead of a coin toss, a dice roll, a lottery / tombola / raffle drawing machine. You no longer need to fold papers with names or prizes written on them!

The random selector has been rigorously tested through simulations and a statistical analysis was performed on the outcomes to ensure it is doing its job of giving each item an equal chance of being picked on any particular draw.

    Applications of an online random picker

There are many possible applications for a random picker. Common ones include picking the winner of a raffle, tombola, giveaway or a lottery-type game. Prize winner (or winners) can be picked transparently and without bias ensuring equal winning chance for every participant. If picking winners one by one, you need to remove the name of each person already picked from the list so they don't get picked twice by chance.

Other than for picking a random winner, in a game of chance where everyone gets a prize you can make the opposite arrangement where people's names are called first and then you use the picker to select a prize from the list. You need to remember to remove items already drawn from the list before picking another prize at random.