Which odds are better?

Reply #95

Ronnie316 — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:23:45 GMT

I have decided that my odds are 35 times better on a $500,000. jackpot with a $20. scratcher ticket, so I will be spending the $500. (or more) on that instead of the MM long shot.

In the mean time I will still play 10 lines per draw on MM in defiance of Thriftys system of only spending $1. per draw total. My cost will be around $100. a month but its cheaper than a smoking habit and healthier.

Reply #94

Ronnie316 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:45:43 GMT

Before the laws of aerodynamics were discovered I'm sure very few people on the whole entire planet believed a pile of steal and iron could fly through the air. If the balls were unmarked then I would say yes, it is entirely random event and impossible to have a predetermined outcome, but because the balls are numbered, lettered, or whatever, they are identifiable one from another and it can be predicted what the outcome will be. And if it can be predicted, it was predetermined, and if it was pr... [ More ]

Reply #93

Boney526 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:11:45 GMT

What is it about the fact that the balls have numbers on them that makes you think that it would somehow be less random as a result?

If there were letters instead, would that change the probablities? Or shapes? Or playing cards?

See, if the sums were relevant, then wouldn't those same characteristics appear with letters? They can't, because you can't add letters. But the probabilities wouldn't change if the number of balls are the same.

Reply #92

Boney526 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:09:21 GMT

It's possible because if the events are random, they should usually differ from the average expected result in the short term.

Only in the long term can you be reasonably confident the results will be very close to matching the average, and the amount of events that constitute the long term change depending on what the event is, and how confident you want to be in the results.

Like KY Floyd said, do you expect a coin flip to alternate every time, or just be reasonably close to 50... [ More ]

Reply #91

KY Floyd — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:44:24 GMT

If you flip a coin do you expect a perfectly regular alteration of heads and tails or do you only expect that after many flips it will be fairly close to 50% of each

Reply #90

Ronnie316 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:27:56 GMT

It is my contention that even though the machine is random at picking balls, the event is not completely random because the balls are numbered. I know that should not matter but the fact remains, part of the event is a numbered and ordered set of balls. Even a slot machine which has a RNG chip tends to run hot and cold. How is that possible

Reply #89

BlueDuck — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:07:14 GMT

I think the reason is because it is hard to produce completely random numbers.

Reply #88

Ronnie316 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:41:22 GMT

Thanks BlueDuck,

Odds may be the same for all combinations but I still believe probability favors certain combinations even though it cant be proven and we don't know how or why.

Reply #87

BlueDuck — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:29:28 GMT

Good choice.

Reply #86

Ronnie316 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:23:44 GMT

Your wheel statagy sounds like one that works. You can share it here if you want, and I will play the $21. The machines work real good in my location and I usually buy my tickets early in the day so I dont get shut out.

Also, I often mark the 10 draw box so I dont have to go back for 5 weeks. Does your statagy require using new numbers each game or can the same numbers be played 10 draws in a row

Reply #85

Scientistman — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:24:02 GMT

Say Ronnie I came across your $500 idea

Listen I created a wheel some years back using lottopro I simply edited one of the wheels and came up wit my own.

it produces 42 tickets for 21 dollars using 24 numbers

I was able to wheel 24 numbers and got all 6 winning numbers that showed that night.

unfortunately my car broke down on the way to the store and I never got the playslip into the machine

Yet I had all 6 on the playslip (please dont feel bad for me I am fine)

Yet I kno... [ More ]

Reply #84

Ronnie316 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:57:51 GMT

Here is a which odds are better question?

A..... $10. for a 1 in 1.2 million chance of winning $625,000.

B..... $20. for a 1 in 240,000 chance of winning $500,000.

C..... $10. for a 1 in 240,000 chance of winning $100,000.

D..... $5. for a 1 in 240,000 chance of winning $50,000.

E..... $2. for a 1 in 240,000 chance of winning $10,000.

Reply #83

Ronnie316 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:43:39 GMT

I just went down to my local Lottery office and the retail counter would not accept my debit card for tickets, so instead of getting $500. worth of scratchers I got a FREE scratchers cheat sheet instead.

Funny, the guy in front of me was cashing in $500 worth of lotto draws and she told him he would have to accept a check because they didnt have that much cash on hand. He told her the reason he drove down to the Lottery office was so that he would be assured of getting cash. She rolled her ey... [ More ]

Reply #82

Mr-Smith — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:05:12 GMT

Not sure but I think your down to 125 / 20 instead of 250 / 50.......

But make sure you use different types of systems for each one and see which works best......

Reply #81

Ronnie316 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:12:30 GMT

What about boxing? Suppose I wanted to box 6 white balls instead of 5. How many lines would that be? And what about 7 white balls

Reply #80

Mr-Smith — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:59:04 GMT

I say spend 250 and bank 250.... this way you will always win......

250 numbers should be more than enough....... and you can break it up in sectors.

50 wheel numbers

50 hot numbers

50 your numbers

50 quick pick

50 random dream numbers

Reply #79

SergeM — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:04:50 GMT

@Ronnie

That post

Reply #78

Ronnie316 — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:33:55 GMT

Not sure what $500 USD game you are talking about, and didnt see what post. Im still thinking about the one line with all 46 megas. If I play 10 draws it would come out to $460. USD

Reply #77

Ronnie316 — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:24:31 GMT

Thanks BG for helping me win Maddogs Powerball Challenge 4/21 The mega #16 came in real handy. I seem to do well with the white numbers and then have little energy left for picking the mega. Thats why I traditionaly play one favorite mega number with all lines. Bummer is waiting sometimes 6 months to hit the mega. Im thinking about playing one line with all 46 megas but $46 is too much cash.

Reply #76

SergeM — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:39:10 GMT

I posted a 500 USD game, up to you, if you want to play it or not. Maybe you should see what if it would have paid, if you would have played.

At the moment I am not refining that as I have started wheel construction.

Reply #75

GGStarlings — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:37:41 GMT

I haven't had time to play MegaMillions lately but I noticed with the MegaBall that the teen numbers were sorely absent, as well as most numbers ending in '2'. I need to sit down and update my charts today... see if it's worth taking a crack at again.

Reply #74

RJOh — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:01:38 GMT

Yes, but it has had only 713 with its present martrix of 5/56+1/46 which started 06/24/2005.

Reply #73

rdgrnr — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:37:34 GMT

I like your style, beachygirl.

You're my new favorite prognosticator.

Reply #72

Boney526 — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:10:29 GMT

And in what world does it cost the same amount of money to buy the lines that add up to 16, and the 1.8 million that add up to 166? The odds of each individual combination within those sets in the same.

What you're saying is like calling ocean water more watery than lake water because there's more of it. You'd be wrong, because it's all H2O.

Reply #71

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:13:38 GMT

I believe you, I will be playing 16, 20, 21, 23 until it hits.

Reply #70

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:32:34 GMT

Maybe you would like to try challenging me in Spider Solitaire? I have won over 100 games in a row on the difficult level and now its just boring easy. All games CAN be won in the 2 deck game, that is a fact.

Reply #69

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:22:59 GMT

Im talking about analyzing actual draw results. The MM has had almost 1000 draws since 2002.

Reply #68

BlueDuck — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:09:29 GMT

Ronnie316,

You may doubt my results, so suggest giving the experiment a try. Take 9 balls or pennies, mark them, make your best 100 random lottery drawings, and note the results. I'll do the same.

Good Luck,

BlueDuck

Reply #67

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:08:50 GMT

Blue frog, Blue smog, Blue dog, Blue clog, you seem to know about lotto draws so Im asking if you have the results distribution for the 2/9 game. You gave me the combination distribution, but not the results distribution.

Reply #66

beachygirl2011 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:53:19 GMT

You can track the Mega ball. I usually win the money for hitting mega ball. Right now 15, 16, 17, 20, 21 or 23 WILL hit in the next few drawings on PB.

Reply #65

BlueDuck — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:39:59 GMT

ahhhhhh' ...... that's ah' BlueDuck not blue dog.

Have a nice day.

Reply #64

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:22:09 GMT

Okay Blue dog, can you show me the drawing results distribution from this 2/9 game

Reply #63

BlueDuck — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:04:06 GMT

Ronnie316,

Good Luck. Don't know anything about scratch-offs. You may want to check out the Instant (Scratch-Off) Games Forum.

BD

Reply #62

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:02:04 GMT

My state has a new $5 Jokers Wild scratcher that is a quick check. This means no need for scratchig, just run them under the scanner to see the results. 3 $50,000 winning tickets still outstanding. Im thinkin I will buy 100 of those on Monday with my extra cash.

Reply #61

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:34:22 GMT

I think this idea is the best one yet. Im goin to check the lottery web site and see which game has the most unclaimed high dollar prizes and buy $500 whorth of those, or maybe 50 of the $10 ones would be the high probability ones because they cost more

Reply #60

Ronnie316 — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:23:42 GMT

Yes, I would play the 4 combinations under the 10 sum.

Reply #59

BlueDuck — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:38:01 GMT

Ronnie316,

Here is a very small lottery game. Do you think you have more of a chance by selecting one of the lines listed under 10 then a line selected under 3 or 17 ?

Do you think the lines listed under 10 have a better chance of winning than any other line?

The 10 corresponds to the 143 in the MM game.

Here is a sums chart for a drop ball Lottery Game using 9 balls. 2/9 odds 1:36. The sums chart list all 36 combinations.

Choose 2 different numbers from 1 through 9

Reply #58

rock_nc — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:53:48 GMT

Ronnie,just go and buy 500.00 dollars worth of scratch off's.

Reply #57

KY Floyd — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:17:09 GMT

one and only one line adds up to 16. There are 1.8 million lines that add up to 166.

How much do you win for playing a line that adds up to 166 when not a single number matches the numbers that are drawn?

Some of us can see that certain number combinations are FEWER and therefore are LESS LIKELY to be drawn.

And those of us who are smarter can see that there is exactly one instance of each combination. Another strings of numbers may add up to the same sum, but it will be a different,... [ More ]

Reply #56

Ronnie316 — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:50:24 GMT

Not everyone has an obsession to match the winning numbers exactly on one single ticket or has a stop limit of 5 tickets. Some of us can see that certain number combinations are FEWER and therefore are LESS LIKELY to be drawn.

For example: one and only one line adds up to 16. There are 1.8 million lines that add up to 166.

I suppose if you had 40,000 years to play the game, Every combination has exactly the same chance of being drawn and if you were betting on that one lone line you may ha... [ More ]

Reply #55

KY Floyd — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:26:59 GMT

The object is to match winning lines as closely as possible

That's among the stupidest things that lottery players believe, and that's saying a lot. The object is to match winning numbers exactly. You don't win squat for having numbers that are close, or have similar parameters. The odds of drawing a 1 are exactly the same as drawing a 34, the odds of drawing a 2 are exactly the same as drawing a 26, and soon. Every combination has exactly the same chance of being drawn, whetehr you understa... [ More ]

Reply #54

Boney526 — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:50:20 GMT

That's not true. With odds near 175 million, even most characteristics wouldn't be at a sufficient sample size to expect it to match the probability. I'm not doing the math for how long it would take to be 99% certain that the sample mean should match the theoreitical mean, unless something was wrong. It'd take to long, and I know it's a fruitless effort. It'd probably be 10s of thousands of draws, if not more.

In any case, my advice to you is simple. If you don't mind risking the money,... [ More ]

Reply #53

THRIFTY — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:23:45 GMT

THE LOTTERY 50/50 RULE=PLAYING THE LOTTERY IS A WIN/LOSE SITUATION NO MATTER HOW MANY TICKETS WE BUY.

Reply #52

B$Rizzle — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:00:18 GMT

The person who would probably be happy to give an opinion on this would be Thrifty ...Thrifty LOVES spending his entire paycheck on every lottery draw.

Reply #51

Ronnie316 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:37:32 GMT

Should have said Median not mean.

Reply #50

Ronnie316 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:21:02 GMT

Great, I'm glad your absolutely certain. Does this mean you can show me the 2 graph charts that look exactly the same? You know, the first graph chart showing the line total distribution of all 3.9 million lines in the 5/56 MM game. And the second graph chart showing the line total distribution of the MM drawing results from May, 2002 until the present. With almost 1000 lines drawn, the sample size should be plenty big enough. If the odds and probabilities are exactly the same in both groups, th... [ More ]

Reply #49

Boney526 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:30:47 GMT

I did the math wrong, I did the math wrong. It would be 1/[24/(52/51/50/49)] or 1 in 270,725. Still unlikely.

Reply #48

Lucky Loser — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:32:55 GMT

This is where it's at. There's no prejudice when it comes to these drawings strictly due to the nature of the process by which it's done. One theory tells a person that with (56) balls involved with this game, not one of them could be drawn again in the next draw...and in the same position. Guess what? It happens all the time, right? Even better, look at how the very lowest and highest number is drawn, and, this is with soooo many balls to choose from. When those balls are tumbling 'round and 'r... [ More ]

Reply #47

Boney526 — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:49:33 GMT

There is no pool of 30% of lottery combinations that show a 70% probability of occuring. That's because of the nature of the game, where each ball has equal chances, and unless you can prove that there are extra of certain balls, certain balls are missing, or there is some non-random chacterisitic of the drawing process, then all of the combinations must have the same probability.

I don't know what pool of numbers you're talking about that only contain 30% of the combinations, but occur... [ More ]

Reply #46

Ronnie316 — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:55:02 GMT

The object is to match winning lines as closely as possible. If 70% of winning lines can be categorized by parameters, the question on everyone's mind should be how many lines are in that pool compared to the whole universe of that game. As I said earlier, if the pool is 70% of the total in order to win 70% of the time it is obviously meaningless. But if the pool is as low as 30% of the total it would be a valuable tool.

In other words, even though you give up winning 30% of the time, you wou... [ More ]

Reply #45

Boney526 — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:16:25 GMT

That's because there are more numbers that are not consecutive than numbers that are consecutive.

So any specific combo is not affected by your statistic. It it irrelevent, if your goal is to win prizes more often. Seems like a silly goal to me, though, because spending lots of money to win small prizes doesn't seem like something productive.

And consecutive numbers can be randomly drawn, and are drawn, very close to how often probability dictates they should.

Of course i... [ More ]

Reply #44

Ronnie316 — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:02:09 GMT

The probabilities of getting a cross section of random numbers is higher than getting consecutive numbers. take a sampling of past draws and see for yourself. the same is true of high and low numbers. The probability of drawing a cross section of high and low numbers is higher than getting all low or all high. It is easily measured by the mean number of 146 on the MM game. Friday April, 13 line total on MM 118, 28 away from the mean. Why? because a cross section of balls occurs 70% of the time.

Reply #43

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:22:29 GMT

nice try CT, however I have already changed my plan for spending the $500. thanks to all the thoughtful and concerned posterboy junkies here in this wonderful forum. Im now using the shotgun appoach which gives me a 50/50 chance of winning the jsckpot and only requires buying one ticket. The downside is my time horizon for hitting the jackpot is now 38,600 years instead of the original 38,500 years.

Reply #42

Boney526 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:31:10 GMT

That's not stupidty. That's math. The odds of getting four kings in 4 cards is 1[(4/52)(3/51)(2/50)(1/49)/24] or 1 in 6,497,400. The odds of drawing a 7 of clubs, 10 of diamonds, Ace of Spades and 4 of hearts is also 1 in 6,497,400.

Of course, if you're saying that the odds of drawing the specific hand of 4 kings is less likely than a hand that looks random and has no value, then yes you're right. But what's the point in that statement? It's like saying that if you buy 50 lottery tickets... [ More ]

Reply #41

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:20:52 GMT

Im sure that's true for the average person by mediabrat is here playing 175,000 lines and looking for return on investment. If my approach is provable he will double the return he is now getting AND hit the jackpot within 2-5 years in instead of 10 years.

Me.... Im looking at a 38,461 year time horizon playing 1 line on each drawing.

Reply #40

Coin Toss — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:10:24 GMT

I'll try again, here's someone who live tested throwing almost $500 at a drawing:

bigboy90000 started a thread:

Got my Check from the GA Lottery Corp today.Only $52

This was from buying 483 MM tickets for the $650 millon dollar drawing.Takes the pain away somewhat.

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/245083

As dr65 said, during that drawing people spent 5X $500 on one drawing. Maybe it's time for you to stop being in love with your theory and put the $500 in live action and see... [ More ]

Reply #39

RJOh — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:56:58 GMT

Okay, here is some unscientific evidents while Im waiting for someone to do the backtesting and prove me wrong.

You may be waiting a long time because most people believe unscientific evidences or a good hunch is proof enough.

Reply #38

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:34:49 GMT

Okay, here is some unscientific evidents while Im waiting for someone to do the backtesting and prove me wrong. I have been able to find ONE account of 5 consecutive numbers being drawn. In Florida last year it was reported Crazy rare consecutive lottery numbers were 14,15,16,17,18 and then the goofball lottery guy goes on to say these 5 are just as likely as any other 5. EXCUSE ME, then why are they so crazy rare??

Odds for 5 out of 5 are only 1 in 4million for the MM game. Even if the total... [ More ]

Reply #37

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:50:27 GMT

If what Im saying is not true than why do 70% of drawing lines totals fall within a certain mean? And more importatly, what persentage of all lines in a given game fall within that mean.

In other words, if it requires playing 70% of all lines to have a 70% chance of winning its not an advantage. But if I can play 30% of all lines and win 70% of the time it is a big advantage.

Seems like some simple back testing can prove me right or wrong.

Reply #36

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:17:03 GMT

Your kidding right KY?? The cards themselves are NOT random, they are individually identified and NUMBERED 1-52. Lottery balls are in the same manor ordered and NUMBERED 1-56 in the instance of MM.

When a person with a brain put a number 1 on a ball it was no longer a random ball, it was the fisrt in a ORDERED sequence of 56 in the case of MM.

For you to think that 1,2,3,4,5 are random balls is more like insane. Or your living in an alternate universe where reality is whatever you want it

Reply #35

KY Floyd — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 05:40:13 GMT

saying any 5 numbers have an equal chance of any other 5 is like saying you can shuffle a deck of cards and get 4 kings off the top just as easily as 4 random cards. That is pure stupidity.

What's pure stupidity and extremely dim-witted is thinking that 4 kings have any more significance in a random event than any other 4 cards. Four kings, when not deliberately selected, are 4 random cards.

Reply #34

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:35:39 GMT

Line totals are one option for filtering out low probililty lines. Its my understanding that 70% of all jackpot winning line totals on the 5/56 MM game fall between 106-179.

If the entire universe of lines were divided into 2 pools, the one pool with a 70% chance of holding the next jackpot winner and the other pool with a 30% chance of holding the next jackpot winner, which pool would you bet on?

Which pool to pick is clear. What I would like to know is how many lines are in each of the 2... [ More ]

Reply #33

Lucky Loser — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:29:03 GMT

Okay, Ronnie. I'm going to ask you to look into something which I've already covered here. It ties directly with the pre-draws, and odds (probabilities). Now, in Pick 3/4, each position is 0-9 right...(10) numbers. In this particular official draw, for reference and comparison's sake, the numbers are 1-7-4 in a mid-day draw, okay. Now, for the evening draw, the numbers are 0-6-1...after several pre-draws. You still with me? Can you see what's happened here in position (A)? The (1) went to the VE... [ More ]

Reply #32

Ronnie316 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:11:52 GMT

Comparisions is a good idea because it is a fact that a bell curve shows what lines will come in 75% of the time. I got reamed out in a thread because I assumed 50% of the bell curve meant 50% of the lines. Even if only 20% are low probability lines, you are talking about wasting 35,000 lines of your 175,000. (my math could be wrong)

Of course the machine doesn't know the differance, but the balls are NUMBERED. saying any 5 numbers have an equal chance of any other 5 is like saying you can sh... [ More ]

Reply #31

Lucky Loser — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:21:28 GMT

Mediabrat, this is where lots of players make mistakes when running their numbers. See, the lottery machine just doesn't bias or discriminate and this, once again, due to the pre-draws. All of the numbers in the containment are high probability in their own right, okay. Don't be mislead by so called hot or cold numbers becasue just when you think it's time to play, or, not to play that (those) numbers, they simply show up on the roster. This can cause a big win or a big loss. Also, matching seve... [ More ]

Reply #30

time*treat — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:17:57 GMT

500 different sets. Self-picks.

Reply #29

mediabrat — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:58:45 GMT

Theoretically, yes. I'm more interested in seeing what sort of return you can expect from playing so many lines at once. I have not been using high probability number sets, just randomly-generated sets using the full field, but it has been suggested I try that and compare the differences.

Reply #28

Coin Toss — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:06:16 GMT

Live action, bigboy90000 spent $483 on MM, won $52.

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/245083

Reply #27

dr65 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:53:42 GMT

Best way to get no responses in the future...put down the contributors by calling them dimwitted. Best way to get totally useless responses in the form

of defensive postings...put down the contributors by calling them dimwitted.

What, exactly, did you want?

It's right there.....Which odds are better?

Hypothetical money isn't something you actually have. Since you have yours in the bank already, what are you doing? Trying to find the best way to spend

it? Or try to convince yoursel... [ More ]

Reply #26

SergeM — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:34:32 GMT

Some qp like this?

11*28*32*42*46

12*18*19*30*33

05*20*27*29*43

13*17*22*25*39

03*08*24*37*44

01*10*16*31*35

07*09*21*23*41

04*06*26*34*42

15*19*28*30*40

05*12*18*29*36

02*17*25*39*46

13*14*24*44*45

01*08*16*20*27

03*31*32*37*38

09*11*33*34*35

10*19*21*26*30

04*05*15*28*42

07*18*29*36*41

12*14*17*22*39

01*20*24*40*46

23*32*38*43*45

08*13*16*27*44

02*19*25*35*37

09*10*11*15*42

Reply #25

SergeM — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:25:29 GMT

Why don't you get quick picks for 500 USD

Reply #24

Coin Toss — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:12:35 GMT

Ronnie316,

As dr65 said, people spent more than 5X $500 on the last record setting MM and got zilch.

Do you really think any lottery would provide a game as vulnerable as you're suggesting so that anyone with a large enough bankroll could turn it into a personal ATM? Before a game is made available to the public it's tsted ovr and over, and when a flaw does comde up, like in Massachusetts, the game disappears.

As far as the MM number or hitting 3 + 0, if you're willing to spend $500 on... [ More ]

Reply #23

Long Odds — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:43:55 GMT

I like the people who drop $500 on a single draw as it increases the jackpot in the event I have the 1 ticket in 176 million to win. I think they should also play the megaplier and really make it worth their/everyone else's while. I know people in pools that played hundreds in the ever-increasing mega drawings and my $1 tickets looked a lot better in comparison to their expenditure after 500 million (?) tickets lost and 3 won.

Reply #22

KY Floyd — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:32:08 GMT

The smoker spending almost $4000 per year on cigarettes has one advantage over a lottery player spending almost $4000 per year on lottery tickets. The smoker has a better chance of dying early, thus missing out on the opportunity to still be working at 75 because they don't have any money to retire with.

If you spent $300 playing MM every month during a 40 year career you'd spend a total of $144,000.

If the odds remained the same over the entire 40 year period:

If 1220 people all did t... [ More ]

Reply #21

Ronnie316 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:28:26 GMT

No offence taken Loser,

Its nice to see such spirited responses, especially from the ones who are too dim witted to realize that my initial question was hypothetical in nature. The reason I have $500. to spend (if I want) is because quite some time ago I decided to put my ticket buying money in the bank instead of buying tickets. It's too bad that more people don't realize that sometimes the best hand, is no hand at all

Reply #20

Ronnie316 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:06:02 GMT

The One In 1000 Project: A Lottery Post blog exploring what exactly happens when you improve your odds of winning Mega Millions or Powerball to 1 in 1000. (Spoiler alert: not much.)

Theoretically you should hit a jackpot within a 1000 draws. (9.6 years) I would think sooner if your using all high probability number sets.

Reply #19

Lucky Loser — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:11:56 GMT

FWIW, when I post a bit of advice, it's derived from absolute real life experiences along with personal observations of others around me in these games. I'm very well acquainted with several people that unloaded $200-300 on the last PB deal...and only got a few bucks to show for it. Some numbers were self picked while others were QP's and it all cam out the same. They haven't played any games since then because they're upset that they didn't win more...and figure it's all rigged. Well, I had to... [ More ]

Reply #18

manhouss — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:57:42 GMT

hi to all

there is one thing i want to tell you

lottery is investement , some will call me crazy or stupid,i tell them life in general is gambling,are u sure that you will keep your job or our money for tommorow,answer is no

anything can happened,that $500 if its not going to hurt your pocket, go for it and good luck,

i want to give an example

$500 = 56 numbers will be played 44 times

if you play $506 is better

$506 will give you 56 numbers played 45 times + (10 different nu... [ More ]

Reply #17

dr65 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:39:02 GMT

Maybe some of the people who spent 5x that on the last big jackpot can come forth and advise against such an idea. I'm sure with the latest jackpot frenzy,

people were doing as much and more thinking than you are in this post.

$500 on ONE MM draw? What about the weeks to follow? Or are you contemplating doing this once per month? Once per 6 months? What happens when you

don't get the return you were hoping for after shelling out $500? Do you 'have at it' again or just go back to a few c... [ More ]

Reply #16

RJOh — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:18:39 GMT

Im hoping to get some support here.

What kind of support were you hoping for? If you got $500 to put on one lottery drawing, you got all the support you need and more than you'll ever get from LP members unless you come close to winning a jackpot and then it will just be Congratulations .

Reply #15

rdgrnr — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:00:14 GMT

Hey LL,

There's a line by the Warden in Cool Hand Luke: Some men you just can't reach.

There's also a saying: No good deed goes unpunished.

I think they both fit here regarding your above exchange with the doodle dribble guy.

Some people are just rude, arrogant, ill-mannered and obnoxious ingrates.

Reply #14

mediabrat — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:32:07 GMT

Forget the money. If you're comfortable spending $500 on this and you can afford it, go for it. It's your money. I think the majority of responders are concerned because most of us don't have the ability to drop $500 on a single drawing. We just don't want to see you get yourself into financial trouble over this. And to be honest, $46 per drawing will still seem like a lot to many of us, so I don't know how much support you'll gain. But again, if you can afford it, don't let us stop you.

RJOh... [ More ]

Reply #13

mediabrat — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:20:21 GMT

Also, I can see how the odds would be the same regardless if I play 46 different sets or if I play 1 set and 46 differents magas. It does seem that the overall payout may be better with the 46 maga balls each draw.

Right. If you're playing the same number of lines regardless of the method used, then technically your odds are the same. If you cover all of the Mega balls you're guaranteed to get at least some money back. If you only play 1 Mega Ball 500 times, there's no guarantee you'll get a... [ More ]

Reply #12

Ronnie316 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:05:11 GMT

If I scrap the $500. project and spend $368. per month instead, Im hoping to get some support here.

Lots of people spend $300. per month on cigarettes and there is virtualy zero chance of a positive return.

Reply #11

mcginnin56 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:53:06 GMT

Patience is a virtue. If you can afford to wait 29,000 years, go for it

Reply #10

Ronnie316 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:52:39 GMT

Also, I can see how the odds would be the same regardless if I play 46 different sets or if I play 1 set and 46 differents magas. It does seem that the overall payout may be better with the 46 maga balls each draw.

I am wondering why the back of my card says the odds of getting 1 mega and zero white balls is 75 to 1 considering there is only 46 mega balls

Reply #9

maximumfun — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:49:53 GMT

hmm... I play ((2pb+2mm+2pb+2mm)*52) = 416$ per year. pricey enough for me.

Family is trying to get me to increase 1pb and 1mm per draw... that would add (3*2*52) = 312 per year. That would be a sizeable increase (for me)

Since I am having a tough time buying into 14$/wk vs 8$/wk... the idea of dropping 500 duckets on one draw is beyond me.

HOWEVER: good luck to you Ronnie! I wish you well and much success! (I would change up the PB's myself - for what it's worth

Reply #8

Ronnie316 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:34:01 GMT

The thing is, I use the same mega number all the time and can only expect it to come in a couple of times a year. When my regular numbers do come in what a waste it is without the mega. Im reaching the point where I need to play all the mega numbers with my regular numbers or not play at all. At this point I would rather play one set of numbers 46 times and have an actual chance of winning something worthwhile than being stuck with 46 to 1 odds no matter how good my numbers are. We are talking

Reply #7

Boney526 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:09:01 GMT

The odds aren't better or worse, in fact, the odds of winning the Jackpot are the same, you're just changing the overall variance.

If you play all mega balls, you are gauranteed some back, but not a lot. You can still win a lot, if you're really lucky on a set of numbers or two.

If you play just one you aren't gauranteed anyything back, but if your mega ball is right, you'll be much more likely to something much more substancial.

I'd go with picking a few mega balls, and... [ More ]

Reply #6

savagegoose — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:42:10 GMT

yeah 500 is a year of playing$10 a week.

Reply #5

Lucky Loser — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:22:34 GMT

Okay...sorry for trying to be of assistance. Good luck.

L.L.

Reply #4

Ronnie316 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:09:48 GMT

We are talking about where the better odds are, not how much doodle is being dribbled. Here is another example: (we are talking about the Mega Millions game) Lets say I wanted to assure myself of getting at least 4 out od 5 white balls and played all 15,313 possible sets. If I used the same mega number on all 15,313 tickets and missed it my payout would be $150 on the one 4 out of 5 ticket (no mega) My cost would be $15,313. doodles.

However, 3 out of 5 white balls WITH the mega pays the same... [ More ]

Reply #3

Lucky Loser — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:40:13 GMT

To be very, very honest and forthecoming, and, respect to your own finances, that's a a lotta money to drop on one draw. Also, it won't increase your odds percentages by very much at all, Ronnie. Hey, you're grown and it's your money so do as you please, buddy. If it were me, though, I'd just get a very good set of numbers together and apply them to $20 worth of tickets and spread that money out over the course of many draws. I think you'd feel much better knowing that you have that kind of bank... [ More ]

Reply #2

Ronnie316 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:19:10 GMT

Example: The odds of getting 4 out of 5 white balls on one draw (one set) is 15,313 to 1. Play 500 sets and the odds improve to around 30 to 1 and the payout (without the mega ball) is $150. Playing 10 sets (instead of 500) decreases the odds to around 1500 to 1 BUT the Mega ball is guaranteed on all 10 of the sets if all 46 mega numbers are played on each set, and the payout is 10k (with the Mega ball).

Im not sure if there's a correct answer, but without the mega ball its impossible to win... [ More ]

Reply #1

RJOh — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:25:02 GMT

There's no reason you can't pick 500 lines several ways several times to check which one is the most successful before playing for real. There's nothing like several simulations to get an idea of what is most likely to happen.

Which odds are better?

Ronnie316 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:07:26 GMT

I want to spend around $500. on a single Mega drew. Should I use 500 different sets of numbers with a single favorite Mega number, or use 10 sets of numbers and all 46 mega numbers with each