Hey forum members! I'm new here and just wanted to get my feet wet and say hello to everybody. I'm a math hobbyist, computer geek and in school for programming. I've been working on designing a "lottery picker" tool for some time now and hope to finish at least a few different prototype methodologies in the near future. Believe it or not, I didn't really know a site like this existed. Silly me. Of course it does! :) I look forward to reading about other people's methodoliges and ideas about successful prediction of lottery numbers. Of course the mathematics of probability regarding independant events says it is impossible to predict with accuracy any future occurence based on preceding events (because of the inherent nature of the definition of - "independent" events), but I like the idea of tracking order in chaos. And of course if successful, the potential windfall. lol. :) I actually also had a question and instead of creating a-whole-nother thread for a simple question (a rookie one I'm going to assume at that) I'll just ask it now. So I live in PA but I'm sure many states have similar pay tables based on the mathematics inherent of the system and projected odds. So if someone plays a daily number to hit on a 50/50 bet (straight OR box) on the same ticket, and the number hits straight..... then what is the payout? Is it the .50 cent straight PLUS the .50 cent box payout? Or is it only the greater of the two (the straight hit)? For instance a .50 cent straight hit in PA pays $250 (for pick 3), and the box hit is $80, is a 50/50 ticket that hits straight worth $330 or $250? Thanks in advance for any help. Glad to be here and I'm going to go nosing around now and see what kind of cool stuff everyone else is working on!