Random Line Picker
Paste your list - names, entries, tickets, options - set how many to draw, and the picker deals that many lines at random, each drawn once: sample without replacement, the raffle rule. The chosen lines appear in draw order, ready to copy, with the rest of the list untouched below.
Fairness is the whole product: the pick is a Fisher-Yates partial deal, the same construction statisticians trust, so every line has an identical chance of landing in the sample and no entry can win twice. Duplicate lines in the input collapse to one entry first, because one name written twice should not buy two tickets.
How to use
- Paste the list (one entry per line), set the draw count, and the winners appear instantly - press again for a fresh draw.
- The count line tells you how many unique entries the draw came from; duplicates in the paste are collapsed before the deal.
- Copy the winners block; the unpicked remainder stays in the output if you need the runner-up order for prizes two and three.
Frequently asked questions
How do I pick a giveaway winner from a list?
Paste the entries, set the draw to 1, and the winner appears - every entry has exactly the same chance, and a name pasted twice still wins once because duplicates collapse before the draw. For second and third prizes, set the draw to 3: the sample comes out in draw order, so first line is first prize.
What does without replacement mean?
One line cannot be drawn twice: a sample of five from a hundred gives five different lines, like raffle tickets coming out of the drum. The alternative - independent draws where one entry can repeat - is wrong for giveaways and team picks, which is why this picker deals from a shrinking pool instead of rolling five separate dice.
Is the pick fair to entries pasted later in the list?
Yes - position is irrelevant to the Fisher-Yates deal: the algorithm walks from the end of the pool swapping each slot with any unchosen one, so entry one and entry nine hundred have identical odds. The classic biased shuffle sorts by a random key and quietly favors early entries; this construction has no such habit.
Can I sample survey responses or rows of data?
That is sampling without replacement, exactly what the draw does: paste the rows, request the sample size, and the selected rows come back intact - order and content preserved, one per line. For a quick audit sample of a spreadsheet column, paste the column, draw, and match the winners back by their text.
How is this different from the shuffle tool?
The shuffle randomizes every line's position; the picker keeps only the first N of a shuffled deal and ignores the rest. If you need the whole list in random order - a playlist, a presentation roster - shuffle. If you need a handful of winners or a sample from a long list, the picker saves you the scrolling: same fairness, less output.