Let's cut to the chase.
Buying more tickets and increasing your chances of winning or
reducing your chances of losing should be a no-brainer (I love that
Americanism) for this Forum; our most ardent critics do not have a problem with this so why some members here do strains my powers of comprehension.
The real question is, "Can the odds be reduced other than by
buying more Random Selection Tickets?"
I say YES, DA, JA, SI, OUI, HAI and whatever other language you care to use.
What does my opposition say. Let me quote from a pamphlet called
"Play Smart" and issued by the Dept of Gaming and Racing in my State
of New South Wales, Australia. On the pamphlet it says "Developed with
the assistance of Professor John Croucher, Division of Economic and
Financial Studies, Macquarie University."
"... there is no playing strategy to increase your chances of winning.
... can you improve your odds in lotteries or keno? NO - because the
winning numbers are drawn at random any set of numbers has exactly the
same chance of winning as any other ..."
That should be a red rag to the members of this Forum. Notice that the
statement is basically saying not by one iota. What is your response?
Indeed, what do you say when the conversation with guests at the dinner
table turns to what you do with all that time you spend on the Computer
mucking around with Lotto stuff. You say your tryng to improve your odds
at winning at Lotto. Now, people that previously thought of you as a
reasonably intelligent person show an undisguised look of viewing a
nutcase. You need a response and I give you one that you can build on -
a simple empirical proof.
For a pick 6 from 49 Lotto the sum of each number after say 1000 draws is
about the same within 5 to 10 percent. This means on average each number
has repeated about once every 8 draws and has repeated twice every 16 draws. We know they don't conform to this but it forms a reference point. (Incidently from my Computer Model I have been able to produce a dampening wave form from the peaks of incidence which corresponds to around the 16 mark.)
If we say that any number that has not occurred in the past 16 draws is cold and falls into the slots we have reserved for such numbers and let's say there are 6 of them then the combination so formed of those numbers rarely if ever wins anything from draw to draw.
Your opponent will say OK if I toss one combination away from the 13,983,816
I've achieved the same as you. You say no - because you may have tossed
away the winning six whereas I have tossed away a coded combination that on observation hardly ever wins a low prize let alone a winning six.
For this example the odds albeit very small have moved in your favour and
you have the kernel necessary to expand your arguements.
Regards
Colin