Yesterday, January 9, 2012, I played a few numbers: 445, 554, 508, 904, 549. The singles I bet 50 cents on Exact/Any to each.

I played the doubles meaning to mark them as combos, but forgot that part! That was a horrible mistake because the clerk didn't even make a comment about it and went ahead and marked both doubles as straight.  I never play straight on single numbers, much less on doubles. In a way it turned out better because they didn't come out and it saved me a little bit of money on the purchase. But it they had come out in a different order....ooouuch!

Then, today, January 10, I couldn't get out to play and one of the numbers I played yesterday,  549, came out as 594. That's what I called a "pre-won" ticket as it happened before it actually won.   Not a whole lot lost, but I wouldn't mind trading all my $1 bills for $40 each.

Lessons learned and repeated:  (1)  Always check the tickets before handing them to the clerk and before leaving the store. Clerks are too busy and try to be nice, but that doesn't help us in this case.  (2) Be consistent, when having a good hunch on a number, play it for a few days in a row. Not necessarily playing for consecutive draws, but making sure that you go back and purchase them again. Well, I have to always add: only if you can afford to lose that money--in case the numbers don't come out.

And...what else is new?

Here's that infamous ticket. I still have a strong hunch about the others and will play them again.