Well! - it has been a while since I checked this board after I made my first post as a new member. It appears that even in a forum that is set up for people who share a common interest --- (or obsession, if you prefer) --- one is not spared snarky comments. I refer to the various opinions on my choice to pursue the combo of '6-5-3-8' for a straight hit on New York's Win4. [See the thread "Patience, Patience, Patience'.] I find that these digits do come up frequently enough --- not in any predictable order, but it's a 24-way number that comes up often enough. I know that one should pay attention to statistics. But I also know that the darndest combinations have come up in the various numbers games: '1-2-3'., or '0-0-0', etc.
The fact is nobody has a crystal ball. Anything can happen. And besides, this is supposed to be a friendly, encouraging forum. Or so I thought.
Nevertheless, let me share a lottery story that happened to me when I was living with my parents in Port Charlotte, Florida during the 90's. Florida is where my parents retired after selling their eastern Long Island home in Sag Harbor back in 1986.
Florida has their version of our Take5. They call theirs Fantasy 5. Same thing: pick five out of 39 numbers. When this game first started, it boasted jackpots of $300k or more. It was Florida's second largest game at that time - the early 90's. Some of you lottery players, if you happen to be long-time snowbirds who go back and forth between NY and FL might know about or remember the following event I'm about to tell you.
One week, I decided to play the numbers 3, 6, 9, 18, and 21. I put the numbers in and then went to work in Venice. Coming home after work, I stopped at the local Circle K just around the corner from our house. When I checked my numbers for that night's drawing, I had to do a double take. I got them! Well, nobody slept that night. Or, at least, nobody went to bed early. I had to be up half the night thinking about all the things I was going to do with the money. The very next morning I called the hotline and sort of got the wind knocked out of my sails.
I learned that I was one of 83 people who matched the five numbers. So, by the time the smoke cleared, I won $5014. Herein lies the lesson about playing number patterns that are TOO common - something I would learn later on when I started to read advice on the subject of lotteries. Because I chose a number pattern that was too common, I missed out on what would have been a $400,000 win (multiply 5014 by 82 or 83). Needless to say, I will remember those numbers to my dying day.
A lottery or gaming publication that I was subscribing to at the time mentioned this particular state lottery game and the outcome. It was big news. It was reported that no state lottery before then ever had that many winners of a top prize.
Still, it was the most money I had ever won in a state lottery in my life.....and still is. I can also say that I'm the only one in my family to ever win the top prize in a major lottery game. [And i don't play scratch-offs. They're not my favorite. Maybe once in blue moon....]
So, I'll just stick to my plan and pursue '6-5-3-8' for New York's Win4 game. And to those of you who responded with encouraging comments, thank you.