Odds are, stunning coincidences can be expected

Comment #20

savagegoose — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:48:33 GMT

yeah i know a few people who smuggly tell me lotto is a stupid way to spend my money. and

they never buy lotto

im sure they'll be at the head of the queue to get handouts if I ever win a large amount to.

almost as bad as the people i know who dont even buy tickets and bang on about how they will give everyone a share.

Comment #19

Perfecttiming2 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:37:11 GMT

Really good post....thanks for sharing

Comment #18

RJOh — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:47:59 GMT

There really is no point other than I like picking my own numbers and playing the lottery is recreational for me. Past history for me is as good as a hunch or any other way to pick a few lines to play.

Comment #17

KY Floyd — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:23:49 GMT

I use a system to pick MegaMillions combinations but it's based on thehistory of previous MM drawings and not on a belief that random has acertain order or behaves in a predictable manner.

Then what point do you see in using the history of previous MM drawings other than engaging in math for purely recreational reasons? The rest of your post seems to indicate a belief that sensible choices can be reasoned out based on past history.

Comment #16

RJOh — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:59:40 GMT

...a widely held misconception that there is a system or order that makes sense of random processes. Some lottery players believe that winning lottery combinations can be reasoned out, or that a recent set of winning numbers is less likely to win again than any other combination.

I use a system to pick MegaMillions combinations but it's based on the history of previous MM drawings and not on a belief that random has a certain order or behaves in a predictable manner. So far no combination of... [ More ]

Comment #15

KY Floyd — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:34:41 GMT

Ever consider writing a book?

Thanks. I may write well, but that's a lot different than being a writer, and it's alot different than being a story teller.

yet 3 statiticians all report diifferent odds?

I read an article saying there are at least two diferent lotteries in Bulgaria. Early on I was under the impression that the one in question was 6/49, but another article says it's 6/42. That accounts for the 1 in 14 and 1 in 5.2 million figures. Nobody seems to know where the 1 in 4 m... [ More ]

Comment #14

rdgrnr — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:46:29 GMT

Odds are odds are odds. The expert statisticians can hardly agree on what the odds are on any given probability or possibility. The one thing they seem to agree on however, is that your odds on a 6 number game are virtually zero.

So who bets money on a proposition where you have virtually NO chance of success? Us, because no matter what the odds are we know that at some point in time SOMEONE is going to beat those odds and it just might be one of us. The only odds that matter to us are that t... [ More ]

Comment #13

savagegoose — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:06:08 GMT

i love how something as basic as the laws of math, can produce such disparate results from supposed highly educated people. no wonder finance is in a mess. statistics and probablity isnt meant ot be an error pron feild, numbers is numbers. yet 3 statiticians all report diifferent odds?

maybe they where 3 unemployed statiticians.

Comment #12

WIN D — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:30:02 GMT

Gee..... you write so beautifully KY Floyd. I enjoy reading your post very much, and they always seem to have such original and interesting perspectives. You have a talent expressing and creating vivid mental images.

Ever consider writing a book

Comment #11

KY Floyd — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:15:30 GMT

While it's obviously possible (and perhaps even probable if lotteries exist long enough), anyone who thinks a random game has any real chance of producing a dozen jackpot winners doesn't understand how random probability works. If the entire game was completely random, the probability of a dozen winners would probably make the odds for PB look like a sure thing. The thing is, only one side of the game is random, and that's the numbers that are drawn as the winning numbers. As the article says (a... [ More ]

Comment #10

barbos — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:09:56 GMT

Well, top picks chart for powerball is no surprise - those who pick their own numbers are using birthdays and the kids ages for that purpose. Just look at a significant drop after 30.

Comment #9

ThatScaryChick — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:21:34 GMT

Great article. I wonder if there will be a lot of people, who will continue to play that line hoping it will come out again.

Comment #8

Toney725 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:58:01 GMT

4 numbers match Hurley's numbers from Lost: 4, 8, 15,16, 23 42. Hmm....

Comment #7

maringoman — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:13:44 GMT

Nice, next time I'll check here first. The story is like something out of HollyWood.

Comment #6

Todd — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:55:15 GMT

Um, why bother sending people to Google? The story is right here: https://www.lotterypost.com/news/112702

Comment #5

maringoman — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:50:17 GMT

Weird things happen alot. I remember the story

where 110 people hit 5 of 6 powerball numbers in 2005.

Google 2005 wonton foods powerball numbers and read

the New York Times story. 110 people, can you believe that

Comment #4

pumpi76 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:52:26 GMT

Actually i believe it can happen if they use a ball drawing machine it has to do with the path the machine took tose particular days...If it had been RNG then that will had been something [i am talking Pick5 above], however you have to admit, the reality that it happened is kind of shocking, but it can happened in a ball drawing machine...Now if there is 2 different ball drawings machine it can also happened but the thing is with less frequency and remember we are talking about something that ra... [ More ]

Comment #3

Todd — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:31:30 GMT

Gladly Don't forget to rate the story! Also, use a service like Digg if you want to share with others. (Digg and others are in the Share button.

Comment #2

HaveABall — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:11:26 GMT

WOW, thank you for posting a very enjoyable article.

Comment #1

time*treat — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:49:32 GMT

Those that for years were saying a truly random game would sometimes have a dozen or more people split the jackpot may finally be satisfied...

... but I doubt it.

Odds are, stunning coincidences can be expected

Lottery Post — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:09:56 GMT

Lotteries show that through sheer numbers, the uncanny happens; in Bulgaria, the same combination won twice in one week

History isn't supposed to repeat itself in the lottery. But earlier this month, a 1-in-5.2 million shot came through in Bulgaria, as the same six winning numbers turned up in two consecutive drawings. And 18 Bulgarians profited by betting on recent history: They chose the winning combination of numbers from the drawing four days earlier which hadn't been selected by anyone t... [ More ]