Computer Software For Traditional Pick-5, Pick-6, & PowerBall Lottery Games

Description

Many people who play traditional Pick-5, Pick-6, or, in general, Pick-K lottery games where
each
independent drawing consists of the random selection without replacement and without
regard to order of K numbers, are unaware of the fact that certain groups of combinations
offer
statistical advantages compared to other groups of the same size. For example, if you had
wanted to purchase 10 tickets for the original Virginia Pick-5 game
, then it would been to
your advantage,
as far as the probabilities
of a 4 - and a 3 - number win are concerned, to play
the 10 combinations
that appear below
under the heading of Group 1 instead of those that
comprise Group 2; the likelihood of a
5 - number win is the same for each group of 10 Pick-5
combinations. Consequently, you
would have gotten more "bang for your buck", so to speak,
if you had spent your money on the
combinations in Group 1 rather than those in Group 2.
Group 1:
01 10 15 18 25
02 06 23 26 28
02 07 16 24 25
04 07 19 30 31
05 11 14 23 25
05 11 21 22 25
06 19 26 29 34
09 18 19 22 24
13 16 22 25 33
19 20 26 29 32
Group 2:
01 02 04 13 16
01 13 18 23 28
02 03 05 07 26
05 06 08 13 34
06 07 19 22 23
06 08 13 24 34
06 12 14 24 28
08 10 14 25 33
10 11 15 20 32
18 23 27 28 33
It's not readily apparent that Group 1 provides the greater advantage. Actually, there are many
groups containing exactly 10 combinations that are statistically more favorable than Group 1.
Some software that I have written (see the following description) can help you optimize your
ticket purchases for almost any traditional Pick-5, Pick-6, and PowerBall lottery game
. The
programs
generate groups of combinations, that can increase,
without additional cost,
the
conditional probability of various win scenarios. The programs
also
tabulate post-draw win
results for the Pick-5, Pick-6, and PowerBall games.
Program Features:
1.) The programs display and analyze user- and computer-generated wheel systems for Pick-5,
Pick-6, and PowerBall lottery games.
2.) The display may be complete (consisting of up to 4 and up to 5 separate listings for the Pick-5
and Pick-6 games, respectively, and up to 11 separate listings for the Power Ball
game) or partial
(restricting the display to any one of these listings).
3.) The display includes a summary of the conditional probabilities and winnings associated with a
selected listing.
4.) The programs offer balanced and unbalanced wheel options.
5.) The programs can generate wheels of a chosen size that may be regarded, based upon the odds
associated with each win scenario (Pick-5 and Pick-6 games) or, in some cases, upon the probabilities
produced
for a particular scenario (PowerBall game), as the best of the generation attempts.
6.) The programs enable the user to create, append, and delete Pick-5, Pick-6, and PowerBall
combination files.
7.) Post-draw win results are tabulated for the Pick-5, Pick-6, and PowerBall games.
In
particular, the winning lottery numbers are compared to each combination in a selected file,
identifying those combinations that correspond to a given win scenario. If the cash option has
been chosen, the payoff associated with the selected group of combinations will be calculated.
The programs make only one assumption, that the Pick-5, Pick-6, or PowerBall
game
you're
playing is fair (the supposition that the drawings are independent and that there is no
bias in the manner in which
the winning
lottery numbers are chosen precludes the possibility
of so-called "hot" numbers). Of
course, just
because a game is fair does not mean that it is
equally favorable to the player. The
agencies in
charge of the lotteries manipulate the games
to their distinct advantage.
This is
accomplished in several ways: by selecting large maximum
lottery numbers that greatly
decrease
a player's chances of winning; by deferring or significantly
reducing payouts to jackpot
winners;
by offering payouts to non-jackpot winners that are
smaller
and incommensurate
with
the one-play odds for those particular scenarios; and, by their
choice
of maximum lottery numbers, payoffs, and ticket prices, ensuring that the expected value
of the
game to the player is negative.
My programs can provide some help in improving
your
chances
of obtaining a non-jackpot win for
almost any traditional Pick-5, Pick-6, and Powerball
game.
Keep in mind, however, that the only way
to increase your odds of winning a Pick-5, Pick-6, or
PowerBall jackpot (or the jackpot for
any similarly designed Pick-K game) is to buy more tickets.
Lottery software was written and designed to run on Windows 98 SE;
It should also run on
Windows XP
The lottery programs( there are a total of 8 executable files) are available on a
3.5", 1.44 MB diskette
Copy protection software that is present on the diskette cannot be replicated on a CD.
To install the
programs the diskette must be inserted into your computer's A drive.
Accompanying batch files
require DOS 3.30 or greater.
Output is directed to the printer via the parallel port LPT1.
Using the software described above, I have compiled groups of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 Pick-5
combinations for the original Virginia Cash 5 game that may be regarded in each case, based upon
probability criteria, as the best of 200,000 computer generations. A PDF of these 5 -, 10 -, 15 -, 20 -,
25 -, and 30-combination groups, including  all possible win scenarios, probabilities, and payoffs
associated with each group, as well as additional information about the Cash 5 game, consists of
69 pages. I also have a PDF pertaining to the Virginia Cash 4 Life powerball game that lists groups
of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 combinations that may be considered in each case as the best of 3000
computer generations; the Cash 4 Life PDF is 24 pages long. Note that the mathematical approach
described in the original Cash 5 and Cash 4 Life PDFs can be applied to similarly designed Pick K
and Powerball lottery games. To purchase these PDF copies separately, see my other lottery ad
entitled "Virginia Lottery Original Cash 5 and Cash 4 Life PDF Files".