hypersoniq's Blog

This... I do not have a better way to describe it. I notice it most prominently lately as I cycle the same combo for weeks at a time.

This is what I am trying to figure out! The Match 6 in PA is a great example of the churn... you can watch night after night and see the results come from everywhere all at once... hots/colds/neutrals/evens/odds/high and low... but they shift within a few dozen draws to show a different set of hots and colds.

Now we could chalk it up to randomness, but the churn is the only consistent part of the results. My classification experiment hoped to model some of this by mapping out the hots, colds and neutrals over a limited subset of draw history.

This churn, different groups of numbers cycling through in some "as yet to be deciphered" process are noticeable! Some weeks a 48 might come up 3 out of 7 draws, sometimes it is mixed that same week with something like a 21 or an 8, that also shows up 2 to 4 times in the same 7 draws, then BOOM... they vanish for awhile.

I am able to pull all sorts of stats for individual numbers, but have no concept of where to start trying to model this "churn"...

It is there from the power ball down to the pick 2..i have a feeling part of it will come down to sample size, which will have a different value for each game type (pick N, pick 5/60, pick 6/49 etc...)

I need a mathematical basis to describe this churn, only then can I begin to truly craft an algorithmic solution...

Though there is still the better part of a week remaining on this pick 3 cycle, the middle of the neutral numbers is not working. Day had nothing close to 390, eve's 155 was closest on 10/29 with 135. Will have time for 3 more pick 3 cycles this year.

So time to decide on the strategy changes for those cycles.

Next week I will take the highest frequency all neutral line. There is fill from the middle, but logically the ones at the edge of the hot threshold should have a better shot.

The following cycle will use the reverse, taking the lowest frequency all neutral line. Having numbers at the edge of the cold cutoff.

In the last 2025 cycle, I have yet to determine the strategy.

I will start off 2026 with a Match 6 cycle. Which ever strategy gets closest on the pick 3 will be used.

However I slice it, just need 2 wins between now and 12/31 to have next year 100% on the house... all the while remaining in budget! Cutting the 50/50 straight/box in favor of $1 straight feels like the right move, won't be playing pick 5 cycles with boxes...

The GUI version is starting to take shape, at least from a planning perspective. This can roll the pick N and Match 6 into the same program, adding the ability to plot graphs.

Turns out GUI Python programs are ran in a loop, similar to how game loops are made, only without constant redraws for the graphics... the loop is triggered by user input alone. In this way, a main screen where you choose your game and history file set up the rest of the run, including a dynamic layout based on the columns in the history file. Working through some Python web scraping tutorials now to finally get automated history updates going, that is a long term goal. Since I am not dealing with the matrix changes yet, there is no need to worry about the power ball or mega millions... by the time I am ready for them, I will just be able to create a history scraper that can go back to a specific start point and fill forward. I can then use an appropriate separate function to deal with the bonus balls, as they will have different settings than the white ball pools.

The cost of the 26 draw cycle for the jackpot games...

Power Ball with a $4 ticket = $104

Mega Millions with it's $5 ticket = $130

Not important now, it will be when the butt heads at MUSL trash the Cash 4 Life game. At a combined cost of $234, it is $6 cheaper than the Cash 4 Life "brute force" attack cost of $240. Plus both can be played on 26 advance draws unlike Cash 4 Life which only allows 10 advanced plays. Either require a pick 3 win to be played on house money... which is the only way they will be played. I did manage a go at the cash 4 life on the house this year.

The 2 wins required to pay for 2026 will also leave enough for another go at the Cash 4 Life. Having the ability to deal with history updates will be important for getting the jackpot games set up.

I will most likely end 2025 in the red... -$154. Not bad for how much I played in the last few months. Anything won will be put toward next year, so I'll take that loss, which sits at about $0.42 / day. Cheap hobby!

So, the money would be enough that you never had to work for an employer again.

What would you do to fill the time that you would get back from commuting and working 40+ hours a week?

I have several plans that I would pursue.

1. Go back to school full time for a Masters Degree in comp sci with a focus on AI. Same online school I went to for my Bachelor's in CS.

2. Build a home recording studio. Learning not just multiple instruments, bit how to get a pro quality recording.

3. Build a research lab to explore topics in alternative energy that I have been rolling around my head for decades.

Between rolling out those 3, 1 first then the other 2... I would have plenty to keep busy and keep learning. Rather than rushing headlong into each and spending a ton of money, it would be research and learning each new piece of equipment added.

But my first purchase would be a new laptop. Not any random one, but an ASUS R.O.G. Strick Scar 18. Currently way out of my budget range.

With more time for family and vacations, I think I could be set with all of that time being found!

Staring down the barrel of birthday #57 soon (11/5), I have to keep an eye on the why... I get a great deal more work done in a coding session than I used to only using spreadsheets, but I have a heavy procrastination issue, particularly when it comes to solving impossible problems. So I need to occasionally remind myself that the goal is not just money, but the freedom that comes with it...

How would you invest your newfound time?

The mid day passed the halfway point with no wins yet. Evening will do the same tonight, and also winless as of last night.

The observations from the back test point to an interesting concept... only play week 3... that would lead to a new set of combos each week.

There are two ways to do this...

1. Hold the history updates by 14 days. Seems a simple enough solution, but there is a better way...

2. Set the classify variable to 14. This would make the pick virtually 2 weeks ago AND classify the first 2 weeks of results. Why this would be better is that I do not have to modify the history file and can continue to update as normal. This solution would also be applicable to any of the other games... though I do not back test the jackpot games as rigorously as the pick N games as they only need to work once.

Why I might not... the live test is only halfway done. It is most likely to complete without any win, so maybe observations are subconsciously tinted by what I wanted to see...

So, ride the test out and see what happens in week 3... if there is a win it would mark 2 cycles in a row with a week 3 win (even if the first was paper play).

That makes the plan hinge entirely on week 3...

IF there is no win... don't change anything

IF there is a week 3 win... implement the above changes.

Next year, the pick 5 showed no such quirk, so that cycle will be business as usual.

I can't even believe that they will be taking away the Cash 4 Life in February! This changes the allocation of any hit on pick 3 to $260 towards funding next year and $240 for a shot at the C4L.

System wise, everything is finally synchronized... the method, the software, the budget... all that remains is to actually win... same as any other system or year...

First you give lucky numbers a go. Sometimes you get lucky, but rarely. Eventually these get boring.

Then you discover spreadsheets... hey, maybe I can do this... see something every one else is missing...

Eventually, you want to do more than the standard functions provide, so you may learn enough VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) to make a few simple macros. You soon discover that you have ideas your limited experience with VBA is unable to explore.

Enter the programming languages... there are many and each serves a purpose, but in my case it is Python. Of the languages I have studied, Python is closer to how I think... easier to go from idea to results. There is a learning curve, but it is a powerful tool to bring ideas to realization.

Many along the path find a comfort zone and stay there. Some push further...

I am at my comfort zone with Excel and Python.

Now we have the vibe coders who can pull software out of thin air with the use of AI. They may or may not understand the results, but it is a more accessible route to bringing an idea to life than the steep learning curve of direct coding.

Yet here we all are with years put in to solving an impossible problem via many routes... yet it remains unsolved.

Some play more tickets, some are cheap and stick to strict budgets (my take), some just have dumb luck and win regularly without any of the time invested in understanding the process...

Yet here we are continuing...

I wonder sometimes why?

After some diving for info on Python GUIs, there are several that pop out as front runners for the first experiment... most notably PySimpleGUI.

They recommend having the logic encapsulated in functions and bypassing direct user input with widgets that will ensure the proper range and values. Already done! The current functions are atomic and ready for use.

There is a great tutorial about also including matplotlib in the code to make graphs on the fly... even better!

Then there is kivy, a Python library I can use to make things mobile! That one is for later...

The cycle is 21 draws for the pick 3, I started last Thursday 10/16 and will continue through Wednesday 11/5 with the same combo for the evening and the day.

The cost @ $1 straight for both mid and eve games is $14/week.

The same script was used, once with mid day data, and again with evening data. For the entire 21 days, the combo stays the same.

Since BOTH sets contained 2 hots, 6 neutrals and 2 colds, I picked one combo from the 216 available per game.

Those picks are

PA Pick 3 Mid Day = 390

PA Pick 3 Evening = 155

The cycle being 21 days means 3 weeks of play for a grand total of $42 spent. That is the cost regardless of a hit. And only a straight hit counts... if either comes out BOX, that means I was wrong with the guess.... if one comes out for the wrong game, such as 155 in the day or 390 in the evening, I was still wrong... if one would hit if I had the wild ball... still wrong.

Though I could cut it to a 50 cent ticket, I also have a 28 draw cycle of PA Match 6 starting on 11/6, and that is $14 per week as well, so the $14 budget is not random, it is the cheapest way to play multiple games... pick 3, pick 5 and Match 6 all cost $14 per week. While I could easily play all 3 concurrently for $42 per week, this budget is more sensible. In 2026 I roll in 3 weeks of pick 5 for a 10 week cycle covering the 3 games. $140 for 10 weeks of daily play is surely a conservative budget by anyone's standards. Plus, a single hit on the pick 3 covers the cost of 3.5 full 10 week cycles. At $14 per week, there is a very possible chance to have 2026 be "on the house". I may still finish out this year only with the pick 3, much of that depends on if there is a hit in this cycle.

2026 will go Match 6, then pick 3 then pick 5... repeat cycles.

The last day of this pick 3 cycle happens to be my birthday... $500 would be a nice present...

For today, I will take the successful update to the Match 6 script, which was the multi level sort from the pick N script, and apply it to the Cash 4 Life script.

Also, after watching a few weeks go by, I am discontinuing the practice of cutting the head of the draw samples to remove the window... that means the scripts will no longer remove 21 draws from the sample in pick N, 28 draws from Match 6 or 30 draws from Cash 4 Life. It was an idea that did not yield any positive (or negative) result.

Over time, I will be moving forward with a GUI version for these scripts, with the ultimate goal of having all games in one program. Variables entered from a settings page rather than direct script editing. I believe I have followed the best path by making sure all functions for all games work and display the desired information. The GUI transform will be a puzzle put together with verified working pieces! This will also allow for graphs to be incorporated without running a different script. 

I still have to figure out how to update the draw histories by scraping the data from the PA website (The RSS feed does not provide reliable or consistent data). That consists of automating what I do manually... so I already know the steps in the process...

But then I will have a single desktop app that can handle everything I do with the lottery. It will be another chance to apply industry best practices and branch out into another new area of Python coding for me. One of the design challenges I have already started exploring is the reading of the input file to create a dynamic layout, just like the pick N script can auto configure side by side output for pick2 through pick5.

Once that is done, then the ultimate goal can be started... a mobile app! Everything in one place for calculations on the fly without needing all the time currently required to set things up.

But for today, I am sticking with the Cash 4 Life update... one step at a time...

Budget being the top concern. Setting it at $14 per week keeps it fun. I can play a variety of games at that budget...

Pick 3 mid day AND evening

Or

Pick 5 mid day AND evening

Or

Match 6

Or

Cash 5 (though I do not play this one)

The system being developed is based on frequency observation.

The 2 phases take it from 1,000 possible combinations I can pick from and narrow it down to 1.

Phase one is interesting, but results in too many combos... today's output shows 6 digits with a frequency falling within the inter quartile range, therefore neutral. So from 1,000 (10x10x10) choices, I reduce it to 216 (6x6x6) by cutting the hots and colds as outliers. Keep in mind that there is almost a 95% chance that at least one of those combos will appear straight in the next 21 draws... that was proven out by a full back test against the histories of both PA pick 3 mid and eve games.

The phase 2 currently being  used is to sort the results by frequency, which lines up 6 combos for selection. Now, 6 is not unreasonable, but the budget @ $14 per week says otherwise. 

So, my selection involves looking at the middle of that pack... since it is an even number of neutral combos, this puts the focus on combos 3 and 4. Even better to have just 2 combos, but to resolve the budget, I must pick one and reject the other. For this I take the sum of the draws out statistic for each position, lowest wins.

On the paper play test that just concluded, it worked for the 690 in the mid day, but failed for the 537 in the evening.

So at the end of the day, I am still making a best guess with 1:1,000 odds.

The selection strategy will change for phase 2 each 21 day cycle, but the process is simple... make a best guess given the information available.

So in my mind, I know that my final pick is at raw odds, but I truly feel I have done everything I can possibly do to catch a hit. There is no magic function that will deliver a hit on demand. There will be more losing cycles that winning ones, and regardless of how I tweak the process each cycle, there will be zero guarantees.

But this process has hit, and seems like the best bet for me to continue. The same dumb luck that brought the 690 in the paper play test could easily work for the bigger games (pick 5 and Match 6) in the full cycle. There is no guarantee that you win, but it is also not fully guaranteed that you will lose (likely, but not an absolute guarantee).

My best guess engine will keep me busy and interested for the remainder of the year and across ALL of 2026. I even dropped the 50 cent box from the pick 3 this week in favor of the full $1 straight. This should be fun because now just 2 $500 hits on pick 3 will not only fund the remainder of 2025, but ALL of 2026. I should probably drop the match 6 and just go all in on the pick 3 for these last 11 weeks of the year. I will start 2026 with the 3rd week of the 4th cycle on pick 3 and start Match 6 in the second week of January... that seems a solid plan.

It is important to consider the budget if you want to properly allocate wins... IF there are 2 straight pick 3 hits, play is on the house for the whole year in 2026 AND covered for the rest of this year. Since one of the goals is to have the state pay for attempts at the Cash 4 Life, that means any $500 hit after the next 2 can both accomplish that mission AND generate a profit.

When I was updating the draw files, just for fun I implemented the sorting into the Match 6 script and after adjusting a minor "index out of range" error, it worked exactly as I thought it might. Next coding task is to spin those changes into the Cash 4 Life script, which I hope gets at least one chance to run over the next 63 weeks...

The 4 week live trial of picking a neutral combo for the Match 6. Weeks 1 and 2 were 0, week 3 hit $5, week 4 had 2 hits of $2 and $4 for a net loss of $45 on the total $56 to play.

Lessons learned...

1. Playing each week and getting new QP lines (as they give you 2 QP lines for the one you buy) was the reason any hits were had at all. While it would be easier just to play one set for 26 draws, playing by the week puts 2 extra draws in and keeps to the $14/week budget.

2. Every single digit I picked came out at least 3 times, but no more than 2 at a time. The synchronization issue. Over the next 3 week while the system is off cycle, I will implement the multi layer sort I just finished for the pick N games.

 

The other test that finished was the paper play 3 week test of the pick 3. There was no cost or winnings, but the weekly result justified extending the cycle by 1 more week... weeks 1 and 2 would have cost $28, the third week brings the simulation cost to $42. No hits at all on the evening game, 2 of 3 several times. The day game hit straight in week 3 for a simulated value of $290 (still on the 50/50 plan) for a simulated profit of $248.

Lessons learned...

1. The multi layer sort helped somewhat with the synchronization issue. This must be applied to all other scripts!

2. The extra week moved the rate of seeing at least one all neutral draw in the cycle. At 7 days it was a 70% chance, at 2 weeks it was a 90% chance, and at 3 weeks it is almost 95% I expect a similar improvement when extending the pick 5 to 3 weeks next year.

 

Missing a win on a paper play pick 3 test does not bother me, I did not do the same for pick 5 and will not do the same for Match 6. Not winning $290 is no big deal... missing out on $50,000 or a part of $500,000 would be too depressing.

I just have to update the draw history files and run the script and go play the first week's pick 3 for mid and eve.

I thought of an interesting way to cut costs should there be a hit early... drop that combo for the rest of the remaining cycle. If there happens to be a hit in week 1 of the mid day, then skip the replay for the next 2 weeks... that puts week 2 and 3 under budget ($7) chasing the night combo only. Might miss a delayed repeat, but those are rare. There is no Fomo (fear of missing out) on a shoestring budget.

Should there be a Match 6 hit (highly unlikely), then that game will be removed from the cycle for the weeks it takes for the claim process to complete and to have money hit the bank. Same with the Cash 4 Life and even the Pick 5.

And of course, I will reward my hard work with a 1 year platinum LP membership on any single win of $50,000 (pre tax) or more.

So I guess the goal from now through 2026 is to go Platinum!

The sort function lines up the same as the pick 3... hots on top, colds on the bottom. There are neutral combos that just line up. Following similar rules, the picks can be made the same... from the center of the neutral combos.

When sorted by drawn numbers, they formed clusters in different regions, the same sort code used for the pick N lines these clusters up nicely.

Can't wait to try it out after this week's test finishes and the pick 3 goes through it's 3 week cycle! Gonna hold off on the pick 5 until 2026.

As this last week goes on with an added $2 hit on the match 6, I tracked the pick 3 paper play for this week as well... the mid day pick came out straight today... nothing ventured, nothing gained, but 21 days might be a better cycle length... on a limited 7 cycle back test, there was more than 1 hit in that third week including 2 straights, though most were boxed...

2026 on a 10 week cycle? Maybe... 4 weeks Match 6, 3 weeks Pick 3 and 3 weeks Pick 5... cost stays the same, so why not?

Always much to think about...

The addition of a multi layer sort arranges the numbers with the hottest at the top and the coldest at the bottom, in each position.

The resultant list creates 10 combos.

So in addition to setting up Python 3.14 in a Docker evaluation sandbox today, I will be studying the 2 weeks of paper play for the pick 3.

At a quick first glance, the only straight hit over 14 draws of the evening pick 3 came from the last row, all colds...

The significance lies in the rows and how they appear after sorting. Now, instead of trying to pick from 1 in up to 300 combos, I will only have to pick from 1 in 10. The same holds for pick 5! Only need to pick from 1 in 10...

The analysis will be useful when deciding if it is worth it to keep the 50/50 play or just go for the dollar straight. Pick 5 will only be for the one straight play to stay in the $14/week limit.

Still have to figure out the best pick of the 10 combos, for the budget is firm. As playing all 10 for 2 weeks @ 50/50 would have cost $280 and so far only brought in $290. Did not yet look at the mid day data.

I have a week to study the output as pick 3 is up after this week 4 of 4 on the Match 6, which will have a total cost of $56 and so far only hit $5. The Match 6 was hit twice in these 4 weeks so far, each time by one winner.

By what I am going for with the neutrals... I probably would have cut that straight hit right out as it was a CCC draw.🙄

Python 3.14 is available for download. All of my scripts were either written in Python version 3.09 or updated from earlier versions.

How do I begin the upgrade process and ensure my scripts do not break in the process?

Docker!

I can place my current scripts and 3.9 in a local container and upgrade to 3.14 and test them 1 at a time while safely maintaining the 3.09 version that works in the isolated container environment.

I have never used Docker outside of a few tutorials on local block chain servers, so it will be exciting to apply the tech to something of personal interest.

The main benefit of the upgrade is faster in line c/c++, which essentially forms the backbone of machine learning and AI Python packages like Tensor Flow and PyTorch.

The safe upgrade path ensures I can try it out with zero risk to the ability to run my current and past scripts. I know they will run on Python 3.11 as that is the environment in the Raspberry Pi. After success with the Windows laptop, I will then proceed to upgrade the Python version on the Pi as well.

This is one thing I learned about in school, new versions of familiar tools have a tendency to break some things, and by preserving what works, you do not end up stuck with broken code and no idea how to fix it. Remember when new browsers decided to depreciate Java applets?

Next day off is Friday, sounds like a morning project!

Current cycle... 6 weeks

4 weeks of Match 6

2 weeks of pick 3

2026 planned cycle... 8 weeks

4 weeks of Match 6

2 weeks of pick 3

2 weeks of pick 5

 

The cost per week is identical. Match 6 weeks cost $14 for one combo. Pick 3 covers both mid day and evening drawings @ $0.50 straight/$0.50 boxed for $14/week (though this will most likely change to dropping the box and going $1 straight in 2026) and pick 5 covers both mid day and evening drawings @ $1 straight for the same $14/week.

The Match 6 has it's own script, but the Pick N script runs without modification on pick 2 through pick 5, it only depends what history file I load. The cost stays the same for the new cycle vs. the old cycle. It reduces the chance for the pick 3 to provide funds, but does not eliminate it.

Not implementing it this year so there is more time focusing on the pick 3 phase 2 techniques, as they will directly apply later to the pick 5.

This way, I only need to update draw histories and generate picks 3 times in 8 weeks... freeing up development time to learn and implement some more advanced phase 2 processes that can utilize an AI agent.

Plan is set, cost is known @ $728 for the entire year. Never played a whole year before... hopefully some luck is also involved...

$500 possible on the pick 3.

$50,000 possible on the pick 5.

A share of $500,000 possible on the Match 6.

3 straight pick 3 hits at the current .50/.50 between now and December 31 pay for the whole thing...

The focus now is on playing the pick 3 when the Match 6 is up, looking at both the selection process of it's 2 week cycle AND reading the output with the 14 next draws in hand to help find a better way. Also, changing from .50/.50 on the pick 3 doubles the straight hit prize.

I think That everything is covered... cycling between 3 different games keeps it interesting with 0 negative budget impacts, I am already at rock bottom with regard to a play budget.

Going all in on frequency classification!