Software and Playing the Lottery Lottery Prognosticator by Robert P. Lyon
You can play any lottery by randomly picking numbers or you can apply strategies and play smart. Indeed, there are more ways to win than just having all the numbers correct. There are many lower tier prizes that may keep you ahead of the game. For example in a game where you pick 6 out of 49 numbers, the odds of picking all 6 numbers are 1:13,983,815. Getting 5 numbers correct drops dramatically to 1:54,201, picking 4 drops to 1:1,032 and to get 3 numbers correct the odds are 1:57. Each of these lower tiers has a payout that shouldn’t be disregarded. Of course we all want to hit the big prize and become millionaires, but the smaller prizes spend just as well.
The very best way to apply a strategy is to use a computer software program. Tracking all the different statistics would be very time consuming and difficult to do by hand, especially if you play more than one lottery game. Using a top quality software program will help you develop a sound, economical playing strategy, which in turn, will help you win some of those lower tier prizes and greatly improve your odds of winning the jackpot. That said it must be recognized that no system or program can guarantee you’ll hit the jackpot. Software is only a tool that gives you a better chance of finding that winning combination.
Another important factor in playing the lottery is to play within your means. If you can only afford to play $1, don’t play $2. It also makes no sense playing $100 when you can cover the same ground playing $20. This is where a good wheeling program is worth its weight in gold. Wheeling is grouping your numbers into specific combinations for more efficient play while at the same time controlling your costs. This is a key part of any good software package. There are things we know from the game statistics that allow us to cut down the number of games we have to play while at the same time increasing our chances of winning.
Combining wheeling with filtering allows the player to cover more numbers at a reduced cost. Filtering however, does not increase your overall chances of winning. The odds of winning are based on how well you cover all the combinations required for
matching that prize.
For example, to score a 5 number win (a ticket with 5 of the 6 winning numbers on it), you would have to play every possible combination that game will draw. Lottery games are designed to make that ploy impossible, as the prize would total less than the amount you spent. Or, in the case of the Grand Prize, it would be far too expensive and time consuming to physically accomplish the task, plus risking the possibility of a huge loss by splitting the winnings with other players.
Wheeling and filtering are tools that help manage your cost by controlling the kinds of combinations you play, but require, of course, a number of decisions and givens. Obviously, you the player, must match some or all of the of the game’s winning numbers; a starting point for any kind of win. You can play 10 numbers, 20 numbers, etc. The more numbers played, the better the chance of catching matches. The amount of numbers you play is based on how much you can afford to risk, then, once the numbers are chosen, you must wheel the sets of numbers. Software can greatly simplify this decision making process.
Filtering provides a controlled efficient way to lower the cost of play while increasing the chance of a higher win. I will be discussing this aspect of the decision making process in the next issue of Gambling Times.
