hypersoniq's Blog

On the N of 18, the week 3 ticket caught 5 of 18 for $5. Only involved one number from my line.

Cost for 4 weeks is $56 @ $14 per week. With the hit, brings the net loss on the test down to $51 with 11 draws remaining.

Pick 3 paper play test cost nothing, and with 4 draws remaining, won nothing.

The sort implementation in Match 6 will be done when Pick 3 goes live for a 2 week cycle. Doing a sort on a jackpot game will save a great amount of time in the selection process, but as seen with the current paper play Pick 3 test, is just as difficult to catch a hit.

Considering adding 2 weeks to the whole cycle to bring it up to 8 weeks with the addition of a Pick 5 attempt @$1 straight... same $14 cost per week while getting a chance to play the pick 5 without waiting for that elusive pick 3 win.

After a morning of frustration chasing down error messages and trial/error placement of the sort. It did not end up working where I thought it should go. It ends up I had to read the per column data before printing, NOT before storage... otherwise the data did not retrieve properly.

Because the print buffer was a dictionary data structure, the sort ended up as a one line operation using a lambda function anyway. It turns out it was easier to do in a lambda while getting the desired result. -X['count'] and X['MDR'] were the sort criteria that ended up providing the desired result. The default behavior for sorting is ascending, the minus sign was added to the count to indicate descending.

Running the version 5 before the version 6 allowed verification of data integrity via place by place comparison. 

The end result is each column sorted by frequency descending, and where those frequencies are the same, they are sorted by draws since last appearance ascending.

The 14 days of the paper play are up on this coming Wednesday, but the results were not very impressive so far.

On the bright side, it worked as easily when the input was changed to a pick 5 file.

This ended up being more of a challenge than I thought it would be, but those end up being the entertaining ones when the run finally produces no syntax or semantic errors. Ended up adding 20 lines, but many of those are comments describing the function of each step. The program still runs in under 10 seconds!

The goal was to help with the long standing column synchronization problem. Time will tell on that goal.

Looking at how all of my focus has been on those neutrals that cross the median... perhaps I should focus on those about to transition to hot.

Sounds silly, but I should have started there first.

I have a feeling that after implementing the multi layer sort and running a bit of a back test, that is where the numbers show up.

What was my goal with the pick 3 from the beginning? A simple, explainable and repeatable way to pick a straight hit in a limited window of drawings. I think the simple train left the station with the classification idea... but I would be happy with explainable and repeatable.

It is a good thing this is a paper play cycle for pick 3, seems more innovation happens when not actually playing.

The Match 6 level of play needed an operation name as well, this one sits between Operation Bail Out (Pick 5) and Operation Break The Chains (Cash 4 Life). I'll call this one Operation Ascension... not quite financial independence, but starting to get in that zone if a $500,000 jackpot were hit.

The process of implementing a new feature like this...

1. Have the idea

2. Look at the code so far and figure out where it is best implemented... for this script, the column is generated, then written to a buffer list while the rest of the columns are processed. The obvious best choice is in that spot where the list is calculated already, but right before the column is stored...

3. Plan how to implement the feature... this is going to be attempted with the simplicity of 2 calls to the sorted() function... no extraneous function calls, no Lambda functions.

4. Plan how to test it... this is also known, I always increment the version number before making changes, so run the data for the last version, save it, and compare it to the new version output... making sure all data is the same for each digit. Only the order will change, but it will change per column, making it necessary to have a copy of the same data ran through analysis before sorting is implemented.

5. Figure out how to use the new feature... so this will happen after 10/8, when the 2 weeks are up for the paper play test. Run the function WITHOUT updating the draw history, and display the 14 latest draws on screen with the output to help figure out where a win might have come from.

This will make that last week of the Match 6 go a bit quicker as there are things that will be learned on the pick 3 that could be applied to that Match 6 script in the 2 week down time while the pick 3 goes live next.

I have to figure out what is important on my own before I can even begin planning an AI agent to follow a Markov Decision Process... even AI only follows the framework you give it, and let's face it... I am simply not there yet (if ever).

This is not my first time feeling like I was on the verge of some discovery, only to have it evaporate before my eyes, but failure is where we learn the most, where we learn to build the work ethic to keep trying.

Tonight's draw will be 2 weeks in of the 4 week cycle of the same combo. It also starts the 2nd paper play week of the Pick 3. Since week 1 was not worth the time it took to run the script, seeing if week 2 looks more promising.

The Match 6 has been particularly bad, although all 6 numbers were drawn from my neutral set, some more than once, there have been exactly 0 hits in 13 days. Going back a few cycles in back tests, this does track with where the all neutral draws were seen, the last half of the classifier runs.

If this continues to be the case, the obvious move is to devise a delay in the system, and only play the 2nd half numbers (which means the Match 6 combo will change after the first 14 days). Waiting for the results to see if this is the case, also why I staggered the paper play pick 3 test to be done out of synch with the Match 6 test, that gives me a week to figure out delay implementation.

The nice part about running in 4 week and 2 week cycles is not needing to be constantly updating the draw history. It is just as easy to grab the next 28 draws of Match 6 and the next 28 draws of pick 3 as it is to update weekly.

There is an advantage to not updating during the test... I can run the program again in the exact state it was in when I made my selection to see how the pick may have been interpreted differently. When the paper play on the pick 3 reaches 14 days since the last update, I can see what I noticed and see where in the results the next 14 draws came from. Same with the Match 6 when the 4 weeks of the live trial are up.

The sorting modification should be done on pick 3 by this weekend. When that goes live, I have 2 weeks to implement that in the Match 6 script.

The pick 3 will be re run with the same data in 9 more draws, then the sorted list can be checked against the next 14 draws to see if a hit may have come on the other neutral lines, not just the central one. I have to understand the manual process before even beginning to imagine an automated phase 2 solution.

1. spread sheet! 

Ever since getting into this hobby going on 3 decades ago, the main go to tool for developing ideas has been and continues to be a spreadsheet. I use Microsoft Excel every day at work, but at home I use the free Open Office Calc spreadsheet... it does most of the same functions and formulas... and it's free.

2. Dia.

This is a free program that lets you create both flowcharts for program flow AND entity relationship diagrams for data base work.I learned of (and used) this when taking classes.

3. Python! 

While my first language was G BASIC on a Radio Shack TRS-80, my favorite of all time is Python. It is free, well documented, has a deep user base and I can follow the logic. I am not a user of virtual environments because these lottery scripts are stand alone. I use all of the math and science libraries available, also freely available.

4. R Studio.

This is a statistics based program that I learned about in class and kept using after graduation. Easy to generate visualizations of data, and work flow can be incorporated into python and vice versa. Free (Open Source).

5. Pencil and Paper.

True classics never go out of style!

6. Texas Instruments Nspire graphing scientific calculator.

Bought to take calculus, kept for it's power and relative ease of use.

7. Computers...

First is an old laptop with a quad core I7 bought when starting school, now 9 years old

Second, a Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB of RAM running Linux. Both set up with Python and I can run long programs on the RasPi and send the data back to the windows laptop. (Those rare tests that take days to complete...)

Nothing was purchased with the lottery hobby in mind, but through that hobby, I am able to keep using the software and hardware and not forget everything I learned in school.... ALL of the software is open source, so it is free. I could never imagine paying for lottery software, that defeats the purpose of the hobby... hits (and even playing at all) is secondary to the thrill of discovery.

Window size settings by game

Pick N - 14 draws (last 2 weeks of 6 week cycle)

Match 6 - 28 draws (first 4 weeks of 6 week cycle)

Cash 4 Life - 30 draws (only on pick 3 straight hit)

Power Ball - 26 draws (probably never to be used)

Mega Millions - 26 draws (probably never to be used)

 

I keep notes because it is not unheard of for me to forget what I had in mind for certain systems. Went to look at some old ones and even with good comments, was not easy to remember what I had in mind at the time.

18 draws of the Match 6 cycle before switching to the pick 3. The modifications I am applying to the pick 3 script will be incorporated into the Match 6 script while pick 3 is active.

So, the concept is known as "multi-level" sorting. It is in spreadsheets under sort where you can apply a sort criteria, then apply a second sort criteria, such as the "then by" fields in Microsoft Excel.

As it stands now, my display is sorted by the digits 0 through 9, so I have to go back to the left column to see which digit the output is describing. These are buffered in a list so that when the function is done, it can display the rows side by side.

I would rather sort by multi level criteria, such that 

1. Data is sorted descending by frequency

Then

2. Sorted by draws out ascending.

The changes I have to make involve first including the digits 0 to 9 in the output columns instead of a stand alone header column. Then, multi level sorts are created backwards...

1. Sort by last draw out (ascending) 

2. Sort by frequency (descending)

This lines up the numbers first by frequency large to small, but where frequency is the same, they are sub sorted by number of draws out from small to large.

It is a pain to do that by hand on paper, and has to be done in multiple sheets to get it right on a spreadsheet... so why not build it directly into the code?

The goal... have each column going from Hots on top to colds on the bottom... the neutrals will line up in the middle and a whole row can be selected... one that lines up all neutrals...

If there are an odd number of rows that contain all neutrals, pick the one in the middle... if there are an even number of all neutral lines, pick between the two at the middle, using the lowest sum of last draw out.

Since it is paper play, the numbers selected using this method for the next 2 weeks (starting yesterday, when the list was written out, so they are current for the next 12 mid day and next 13 eve)

The picks for the next 12 draws are as follows...

PA mid day pick 3 = 690

PA evening pick 3 = 537

So, if those combos appear from today to Wednesday 10/8, then the paper pick test worked. Remember, there is a far greater chance that they appear because I am NOT playing them... but the budget has me on my 2nd week of 4 for the Match 6. That means for the better part of 3 weeks I have time to plan, test and implement these changes into the Pick N script.

I will NOT be paper playing the Match 6 however...

Since they require a pick 3 win to incorporate (Box hit for pick 5 and straight hit for Cash 4 Life), same rules apply... attempts can only be funded by pick 3 wins during the 2 weeks of pick 3 in the 6 week cycle. They don't have to happen immediately, but funding by a win is required, so the chances of playing Cash 4 Life becomes much more limited. Same with the PA Quinto.

Going to get the 2nd week Match 6 ticket this afternoon, 3 weeks until the next shot at the pick 3.

I like the cycle approach because the cost is the same and there are shots at jackpot money for 2/3 of the 6 weeks.

In fact, the Cash 4 Life may not get to go live again until 2026, because the goal for the remaining pick 3 shots this year are to accumulate 3 $250 straight hits by year's end and save them to 100% fund the entire project in 2026.

That would be the ultimate achievement for 2025. (Outside of a Jackpot win on Match 6, of course)

It is all about creating more opportunities to win on the bare minimum budget.

Now I can take a dive into the pick N program to make any desired upgrades and changes during these next 3 "Match 6" weeks, and do the same for the Match 6 script while the pick 3 is live. I am also extending the window of Pick 5 (because the script does pick 2 through pick 5) to 14 days to see if it helps with the percentage of neutral draws like it did with the pick 3 (70% chance of an NNN draw in 7 days on pick 3 vs 90% chance of an NNN draw in 14 days)

The cycles are still variables, anything can be changed and back tested at any time. The logic seems sound, the interpretation of the data by Me is what needs to improve... and that is a work in progress.

It was like any other week long test, no positive results. The numbers that I selected had no more than 2 in the same draw. The QP lines were horrible. 

But, week 2 starts tonight, and with it a new set of QP lines.

When tracking past draws with a 28 draw window, there MAY be an all neutral draw, but it is not guaranteed. There may be 2 or 3... Neutrals were drawn, just not really from the group that I picked. Not concerned however as 21 draws remain in the attempt.

The interesting concept is looking at those around the second quartile (the median frequency ones), particularly those just below that median. Since that involves looking at the median frequency value, it means to look for ones that have not yet crossed that value, this subset cuts many numbers from the neutrals... it also increases the risk of throwing away ones that will be drawn. This attempt focuses on those, while future attempts may look to those neutrals closer to the hot and cold limits... new neutrals warming up from the cold side or warm neutrals about to go hot... next Match 6 cycle will look at the colder ones and the Match 6 cycle after that will focus on those at the border of being hot.

In between 4 week Match 6 cycles will be the Pick 3 cycle of 2 weeks... these will continue to look at the Q2 line, as that seems to be the place of greatest interest for these games.

So the overall 6 week cycle is basically 4 weeks of jackpot chase followed by 2 weeks of trying to have the state fund it... when looking back at what I had played in the first 9 weeks, extending to a second week the same pick 3 combos would have brought in 3 more boxes and a mid day straight hit... but hindsight is always 20/20.

I try

I adjust

I try again

That is the real cycle here.

While the Match 6 first test has 22 draws left, it is time to do some work to the pick 3 version... namely roll it into a GUI. I usually stop development at getting output to study, but I feel it may be best to take the next step and make a graphic user interface. There is interest in being able to rearrange data that has been calculated by certain criteria, such as sorting by frequency rather than sorting by digit, and even flipping back and forth between views. Not being familiar with Python GUI tools is 100% my fault, an oversight that I can correct. This will also allow spawning of visualizations much easier than at the script level. Some things may need refactoring, but nothing too major, and it will directly apply to any Pick N game data I feed it. Then when there is match 6 down time during pick 3 play, convert to that game what was learned in the pick 3 GUI development.

If I can get a good start, 2026 will be much more interesting. Goal... play all year. Never did that before!

With a 6 week cycle of Match 6 and pick 3, starting on the 1st with the Match 6, I will get 9 chances on Match 6 (4 weeks) and 8 chances on the pick 3 (2 weeks). The last pick 3 cycle will roll into 2027. I Know the cost up front @$728, I know the schedule... now just have to know the numbers, the hardest part of all.

The $14/week budget seems to be the best (and cheapest) one yet. Can't play multiple games on it (with the exception of the pick N day and night games). It has known expenses...

1 week $14

1 month ~$60 on average

1 year $728

Looking at the fact that I am 10 weeks in, my total expense on this system has been $42 because of that one hit. Many months this year were also skipped while developing the current system.

While it may be tempting to play both the pick 3 AND Match 6 simultaneously, the above numbers would be doubled.

So what I have decided is to A and B it for the rest of the year...

Currently nearing the end of the Match 6 first week of four. When that wraps up, I will switch to 2 weeks of the pick 3, then back to the Match 6 for 4 more weeks. Best of both worlds, chance at play money (pick 3) and a chance at real money (Match 6). 

Lower prizes cut the cost, so it is doubtful that the full $728 would ever be reached. Finishing out the year with this A and B plan. That is also the plan moving into 2026.

At the year end the budget starts over, losses from the current year are not worth worrying about, as it was "entertainment". Looking back at this year, given the gaps, my expenses are definitely less than 1/4 of that $728, and I played more often this year than in years prior... if the rest of the year is a wash, this system will end 2025 $196 in the red, and the entire year might get close to $400 in expenses, but as far as hobbies go, it is cheap.

The A and B change also allows down time with each game to work out strategy refinements that were rushed in the week to week plan. If I had doubled the budget to accommodate both games at the same time, losses would be doubled. Not to mention that if the few weeks left with the pick 3 have some luck, 3 straight hits pay for 2026 in advance!

Everything stays identical, except the chance of at least one all neutral hit goes from 70% to 90%...

What does that mean going forward? It means play the same combo for 2 weeks, not just 1...

Today, the Mid Day pick 3 was last week's pick boxed... cost $28 ( 2 weeks @ $14), the box hit would have been $40, refunding the 2 weeks and providing $12 of the $14 needed for the next week... the 90% holds for day (RNG) and night (Mechanical).

When returning to pick 3, it will be a 2 week window... same budget... of course, if the best chance at a hit is in the second week... why play the first week at all? Will watch the paper play carefully for the next month or so...

So far, as expected, nothing won. On my line, night 1 had 0 numbers, night 2 had 1 and night 3 had 2.

On the pick 3, you could tell when the all neutral draw happened because 2 of the numbers would be in position and then it was back to being way off. I expect the same with the Match 6.

The biggest difference is the sample ratio. The pick 3 used 150 draws to make sure each number had a fair shot at being drawn 15 times, the Match 6 is looking at 490 draws to make sure each number has a fair shot at being drawn 10 times. If this initial test goes by with no highlights, the second pick will be made from 735 draws to match the 15 times of the pick 3 version.

There are other differences, and it is interesting how each version incorporates something learned from the last. The Cash 4 Life implementation of the "rows (draws) since last appearance" required logic to handle numbers NOT drawn at all in each column. This was directly incorporated into the Match 6 version.

Playing the Match 6 is just one line, played 4 times for 7 days each. Total of 28 draws, so this marks a break from using their advance draw availability to set the forecast window. Perhaps when this gets old and I go back to the pick 3, it could be for a 14 draw window instead of 7. Also, the Cash 4 Life could expand to a 30 day window, that way the same bet slip marked for 10 draws can just be used 3 times without the need for that last one that was for 6 draws. The chance of getting another crack at the Cash 4 Life is just about zero while playing the Match 6.

Not sure how long this Match 6 will go, but each attempt takes 4 weeks. May finish the year on it.

More excitement for the same budget... the Pick 3 straight is not a major event, but getting this to work even once would be literally life changing... even if split with other winners... though that is rare, most Match 6 hits are solo wins... even when it climbs from the starting $500,000 to 2 or 3 million.

Why not go for the Cash 5? For a ticket cost that is the same $2 per draw, there are more prize tiers. Also, that one is usually hit by multiple winners.