Lottery Number Systems
Online Gambling
Feb 24, 2001, 09:47
By Steve "Eagle Eye" Walker http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com
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Lottery systems have been around almost as long as there have been lotteries. Systems abound on the Internet, and a simple search on any major search engine will yield more than enough phony lottery systems to thin your wallet to a manageable size.
These systems cost the player in two ways. A properly constructed, and fair lottery will pick random results that are independent of all previous results. Any information gathered in the previous games is useless in terms of predictive value in future games. Since statistically, these systems cannot increase your chances of hitting a winning combination, you are wasting time and money by buying one. You would be better off taking the purchase price and buying lottery tickets instead.
The Hidden Cost
However, it even gets worse than that. Simply because a lottery system cannot yield a better chance of picking the correct combination of numbers does not preclude it from ever getting lucky and picking the correct numbers. The problem is that if and when the system does get lucky, there is a good chance that if you are using a widespread system, many other people have picked the same numbers, and you will have to split the jackpot many ways. In that way, winning by using a system is less valuable than winning by picking your own random numbers.
In fact, as mundane as it sounds, this line of reasoning leads to the only system of picking numbers that can increase the likelihood that if you do win the jackpot, you get to keep the entire amount for yourself and your government. When you pick your numbers, make sure to stay away from common patterns and combinations. Try to avoid even and square numbers. Try to play numbers higher than 31, as that excludes people who choose the days of the month of their pets' birthdays and their lucky numbers.
The Only Real Lottery System (sort of)
That having been said, there was one now-famous lottery system that was used for about six years in Italy in the 1990's. In the end, it didn't work out well for the nine people arrested in conjunction with the scandal.
The Milan, Italy lottery has its random numbers chosen by having a blindfolded child pick 6 balls from a bin. Lottery officials used children to portray an image of fairness and innocence. After all, they couldn't bet on the game anyway.
According to the media, unscrupulous lottery officials would swap some of the balls, before the drawing, for slightly larger, smoother balls. Of course, their friends would pick these numbers.
The blindfolded children were secretly instructed on how to play the game. For each smooth ball they were able to find, they would be given a toy. The gig was up when police noticed a disproportionate number of winners in Cinisello Balsamo. Over 2.7 billion lire has been seized from winners in conjunction with the scandal.
For the rest of us who are inclined to play legally, there is no free lunch. In a previous article, I have discussed the properties that describe random numbers. The number picking systems used by the major (and fair) lotteries abide by these rules of randomness. Randomness dictates that previous events must have no bearing on future results, and this dooms any lottery system.
Other games
It is worth noting that for every game invented, there is a scammer out there who will sell you a way to beat it. Literally thousands of systems and schemes have been devised as an attempt to overcome the house advantage. The law of large numbers is unyielding, and no amount of doubling up, money management or table watching is going to give you an advantage in the long run, in any game in which the house has the advantage. Don't buy a system! Use those extra dollars you would have spent on that system to extend your playing time. At least the house will give you a chance to win.
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