Wheeling numbers is the most important function that serious lottery players use to increase their chances of winning. Wheeling also increases your chance of getting some return on your investment. Wheeling is a method which allows the player to efficiently put a series of numbers into play, at the same time controlling playing costs.
To help you understand how wheeling numbers works I am going to show you a wheel for the pick-3 game. Please remember that this same principle applies to all lottery games. I have chosen the pick-3 game for simplicity. In the pick-3 game the digits 0 through 9, a total of ten digits, are used to create one thousand possible combinations. Your odds in the pick-3 game are 999 to 1. By choosing five of the digits we can cover all possible combinations of those five digits in just ten games. This means if the number drawn has three of the five digits you picked to wheel you will win.
In this example we will use the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The numbers will be placed below each box so you can put your own digits in the boxes should you choose to use this wheel.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Write the digits you have chosen in the five boxes above. Then in each box below with the digit 1 underneath it, write in the digit you have written in the box above that has the digit 1 underneath it. Do the same thing with the box above that has the digit 2 underneath it. Do the same with the remaining three boxes.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
As you can see, all possible combinations of our five digits have been used in the ten games shown above. If you were to just pick ten numbers at random, out of the one thousand possible choices, you can see where your odds of picking a winning number would not be nearly as effective as wheeling ten numbers would be. If the three digits or the number drawn matches three of the five digits you used in this wheel your would have a boxed win and possibly a straight win. For a straight win your digits must be in the same order as the number drawn. You can place your five digits in any order in the boxes above, they do not have to be sequential for a boxed win. If you are playing for a straight win you should put the digits in the boxes in the order you think they will be most likely drawn.
Wheeling can be applied to most lottery games and increase your chances of winning the lower tiered prizes as well as a chance of winning the jackpot. Wheeling can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Good software is the real key to wheeling when you get into the pick-5 and pick-6 games. The best way and fastest way to wheel your numbers is to use a good computer program. For those of you who don’t have a computer, there are books available which show you wheels, all you have to do is write your numbers in. In my next article we will talk more about wheeling and its benefits to you the player. The statistics for each state are available free on Gambling Times.