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Tip
It is our opinion that unless you are one of those people that seem to be "always" lucky (you know the type - the two of you walk down the street - you look at trees and the beautiful sky, while your lucky friend finds money under foot) that you will do better using lottery software than you will without it.
Why? If you stop to think about it you'll probably agree that you have in your life selected certain "lucky" numbers. These could be based on a birthday, age, stars, or anything under the sun. Many people favor certain numbers, perhaps 13, and 31 as I do. The problem here is that these "lucky" numbers have nothing to do with your lotto game and what is happening in it, right now - or if they do - it is purely by random chance.
Your subconcious mind will tend to want to use your "lucky" numbers even if they most probably are not good numbers to play at the time. This number choosing is generally worse than random number selection because your "lucky" numbers are biased by you and not analysis of the game.
Many folks have tumbled to this realization and/or are just so defeated about being "unlucky" that much of the money played in the games today are quick picks. Let the states computer decide for me. This may also be a "time" thing.
What lottery software can do for you in this respect and at its lowest level of operation is show you EXACTLY which numbers are hitting the most, the least, and those that are just hanging in there. For this alone lottery software is worthwhile. With it you can see if your "lucky" numbers are really in the fray or if you should select others instead.
Doing this by hand would require quite a lot of your time. Since software can store ALL the data from your game and allow you access to it or ANY part of it in a heartbeat, using software will save you a great deal of time. So, in its lowest form it can do for you what would take you HOURS or even DAYS in milliseconds. Time is money, they say, and time saved is then money "earned".
Also, the software and computer have NO preconcieved notion about what is lucky and what is not. It has no soul or brain, but it is a great tool and it is incredibly FAST at what it does. Add to this basic use a raft of other tools, methods, systems, and you have the means by which to make, at the very least, informed descisions about the numbers you play. Knowledge is power and that is part of what we offer you here.
Tip
Always play within your budget! Never bet the ranch. Decide on a budget and stick to it. Your budget should be an amount that you can afford to lose. Make it an amusement expense like dinner and a show or movie, or anything you like. Setting unreal budgets is certainly a way to get yourself in "trouble".
Tip
Once you have a budget established you'll need to figure out WHEN to play and when to sit on your hands. Many players only play Lotto after a roll-over occurs. This assures them of a higher win if they win then they would get if they played when the pot was low. Most folks simply can't afford to play EVERY time the game(s) are run. Many states run lotto games every day now, some run certain games evey 5 to 15 minutes (the reason why we do not support keno). How can you play within a budget and play that often? - you can't.
So, play when the time is right. Either: 1.) A roll-over. 2.) The day or days when the pot is usually higher (for a game played every day or nearly so. Friday might be a better day to play than Monday as many folks get paid on Friday - while on Monday, money might be short). 3.) You have a "gut feeling" about an upcoming draw, trust your hunches until they prove to be wrong. Usually these hunches will be based on the analysis you do in lottery software plus your own life experience. 4.) Play when want to play. After all, playing by its very meaning, should carry some measure of fun for you. It shouldn't be a chore or a need.
Tip
Should I play the day I get the software? Probably not. We create world class high quality tools for lottery/lotto players. As we say on our homepage "we don't make TOYS". Like every other large software package you will need some time to get informed about it. And you should TEST your play on paper BEFORE you play for real. This all takes a bit of time. Each person is different in what they can absorb in a given time and ALL lottery/lotto players are different as well. Take your time, there is NO rush. A new game is just around the corner.
Tip
Group play. We like group play. It has some advantages to it. Mainly that the risk is split, but also the work should be split as well. And you can get input from a number of "minds" at work, so you may have a more varied method of play with more than one person involved. Note that many big jackpots are taken down by groups. Perhaps that "very lucky" person you know would lend a little to your play if they were included in your group? And finally, group play should be more of a social "thing" than single play and in that light could provide more "fun" for all involved.
The downside to group play as we see it. Beware that YOU do not become the work horse for the group unless you wish to be. People that have NO idea about the odds, seem to think that because they've handed you a few bucks that they have no other obligation other than to sit back and wait to collect the winnings. Sometimes, those that are bad losers, can become a real pain and should be weeded out of the group if possible. Positivity is needed in all things done well.
Also, remember, that the person holding the tickets can claim the prize! Every group should have a signed legal agreement about who gets what and who does what and who is in the group. We do when we play in a group. Since we are not legal experts we will not provide you with our agreement here. How you do it is up to you, we just are of the opinion that a group should be defined.
Here are some examples from our customers about why:
Neighbor 1 wants to play 100 tickets and can only afford 50 so he goes to neighbor 2 and strikes a deal to play as a group (2 person group). Neighbor 1 does the work in the software and creates 100 bets. Neighbor 2 at game time folds his tent and recants his part of the agreement. Neighbor 1 now has 100 bets to play and can only afford 50, so he plays nothing. The game draws and the jackpot winner is in the 100 bets that did not get played. These two neighbors no longer speak.
Four person group. This group plays 200 bets at a time, 50 for each member. The head of the group works the software and provides each member with 50 of the 200 bets printed on paper. With the understanding that each memeber fills out 50 tickets and plays them. Members 1, 2, and 3 do this. Member 4 does not. The game draws and... a winner for $3,500 or so is in the master list. Who got that bet in the list of 50? Yep, you guessed it, member 4. He was removed from the group and replaced with another member. The group also redefined itself and now they fill out the slips together and buy the tickets as a group.
Don't be discouraged by these stories, as there are many good ones as well. This section is after all for tips and tactics not "good" news hype.
Tip and Tactic
What is the object of Lotto play? Certainly in the beginning of play for me it was to hit the jackpot, and I think that most "new" players feel the same way. My object for play has been redefined by myself, the people I play with, and perhaps mostly by you, my customers.
Sure, winning the jackpot still ranks way up there as the ultimate result I can recieve from Lotto play, but it is not the game to game object for most Lottery players any longer. Though anyone who plays, even though the object may not be the jackpot, still plays with an eye on it. You NEVER know when it may come! There are a number of objects to report.
1.) Play with the states money. This one is high on the list and is done by winning at the games. There are quite a number of Lotto players that play the Daily games to fund Lotto play. The odds in the daily 3 are low at 1 in 1,000 and still low in the daily 4 at 1 in 10,000 for a straight win. Those odds improve if you box your play and Lottery Boss Pro can box and wheel for the dailys (and a lot more).
Also, multiple small wins in Lotto keep you in the hunt too. A 4/6 win pays something. 10 of them pays something times 10. Any method you can use (and we provide MANY) to win something will at least extend the time you can play using the states money rather than your own.
2.) As long as you do NOT pay more then you can hope to win (jackpot aside) then you have got this object down pat. There are MANY players that pay out much more to play than they can hope to win, especially in wheeling systems. This is one reason we developed our Zer0 Miss multi-prize, multi-level wheeling systems that are used world wide in many players arsenals.
With these you are able to calculate your winnings on average BEFORE you pay to play and if the winnings do not pay for the play and some profit you should not play that wheel. You should select another OR use the eliminators found in Lottery Boss Pro to reduce the number of bets to play to an afforadable level. The object here is to make a profit if you win, not just win for the sake of winning regardless of the cost to play. Trophies are nice but they don't buy lunch.
3.) You can win and prosper without ever hitting a jackpot. The object is to go for smaller and easier to hit prizes, in single and multiple prizes. If you look in our testimonials you'll read about many of our customers that use Best Bet Professional along with other titles like Lottery Boss Pro and Lotto Pool Pro. And you'll read about folks that hit multiple 4's, 3's, and 2's, coupled with second prizes as well. They use our software and our systems, like our Zer0 Miss multi-prize wheeling systems, to do this.
One young man paid for his college tuition for a time (year I think) with our software. Did he hit a jackpot? - no, just many many small prizes. Did he pay a fortune to play? - no, small bets in many games. Consistancy and smart play are the objects here, think about it. (Note: the young mans testimony was in a phone conversation, and though I can testify to hearing it, we can't prove that it is so. So, take it as fact or fiction - your choice.)
Tip
Odds. KNOW your odds before you play! Lottery Boss Pro has an odds calculator that can help you with this. The odds for a pick 6/40 digit game are about 3.8 million to 1. IF you can successfully remove even ONE digit from that field of 40 numbers from your play (called discarding a digit) than your ODDS have improved geometrically! In that single digit discard your field is reduced to 39 numbers and your odds are reduced or improved by over HALF a MILLION. Imagine if you can remove HALF of your field of 40 and do it successfully! Your new odds would be reduced to 38,760 to 1. This is one of the many reasons you need to use analysis of your games via lottery software.
Tip and Tactic
Along with knowing your games odds you need to know WHAT your game pays on average for each level of its prizes. Do you get a buck or more for a third or fourth prize. What do you get for a 4/6 prize or a 3/5 prize, second prize? And of course the jackpot. Armed with this information and the odds information you can make better choices about which games to play. Remember, just because your state has numerous games does not mean that *you* HAVE to play them all - pick your shots wisely.
Tip
Which of your many products should I buy or start with? This question is asked by many new customers. Unless you have specific reasons for purchasing a particular product or products (and many of you do) we suggest that you will be best served by buying in this rough order.
Lottery Boss Pro is USUALLY the first one to buy as it covers MANY bases.
Best Bet Professional and or Lotto Pool Pro are usually second buys.
Zer0 Miss, Wheel Wright, and Big Wheel Pick 5 Professional all deal with wheeling and can be added any time.
Understand that you do not have to buy everything, every program is a standalone. Lottery Boss Pro is the one to start with as all other software can give or take from it or both. We have many customers that own all of our software, much of our software, and some of our software - this is as individual as lottery play itself.
If you have questions about what to buy, feel free to contact us, we may be able to help. Yours is, of course, the final word on what you buy. We are NOT high pressure people. We will not attempt to "force" you to buy just to make a buck. You need to be informed about what we have to offer and from that information you make your selection(s). That is why we have websites and why we will gladly help you if we can. And sure we make a living too.
Note
Now and then we visit other lottery sites looking for link exchanges. Sometimes these sites turn out to be other lottery software sites and this last trip found a few items worth reporting to you.
DOS software pretending to be Windows software. If it does NOT say it IS windows software then it most likey is NOT. A DOS shell running in windows is NOT windows software. Read the fine print or ASK before you buy.
DOS software excusing itself by suggesting that ONLY DOS software is compatable with all versions of windows, and in the same breath saying it is BETTER than windows software because of this compatability, is a VERY misleading statement and simply put - untrue.
ALL of our windows software IS true windows software and it IS all compatable with ALL versions of windows: from 3.1, to 3.11, to 95, to 98 (imagine that).
So, why is this said? Surely you can figure this one out yourself. It might have something to do with: can't program for windows, can't afford the TIME and/or EXPENSE to reprogram for windows, have nothing worth reprogramming for windows (no sales or slow sales), or don't feel it is necessary for whatever reasons.
We do NOT mean to imply that DOS programs are worthless. We offer DOS versions of all our software packages. We do mean to say that DOS programs are DOS programs, NOT windows programs, and that you should be told which is which.
If YOU want windows software, run windows nearly exclusively, then you should HAVE windows software! Not DOS running (in a shell) inside windows. Read carefully and ask so that you are sure you are getting what you THINK you are getting!
Note
A few sites claim they've come up with what they define as THE "new thing". They claim that it is the best "new thing" since sliced bread and in the same breath paint analyltical software as old hat and unnecessary.
News flash: Most of "us" have "new things". Those that work after YEARS of testing and sales experience (customer tried and tested), become stable "old things", even when they are "things" that NO other software can do. They do not replace other "tried and tested old things" necessarily. Certanly not if those "tried and tested old things" are NOT even part of their own software.
Beware when you hear a new program wailing about how its "new thing" is light years beyond all other "things". Take a peek at the companys life span (ours starts in 1984), read the information about the "new thing" top to bottom, ask questions, seek out testimonials and reviews, and decide from there if it merits belief.
Satistical mathematics is NOT an easy thing to master. It is certainly HIGHER mathematics. If someone is declaring it obsolete they probably have NOT a clue about it.
Great lottery software is made up of many "things" not just one "new thing". Statistics will ALWAYS be a part of it. The trick is to program in a way that all the tough statistical math is handled by the programming, as ours is, not by the player.
Great lottery software is also made up of choices. Check us out. We have many many choices. Check out the wailers. You'll likely find about one.
Ok, so what does this have to do with tips and tactics? Simply put it is a tip for you to review as you decide on the lottery software you will purchase. In a competitive world we are all defined somewhat by our competition. If the "new thing" turns out to be a bust or windows appearing software turns out to be DOS - this reflects badly on the rest of us in this industry.
We are concerned that YOU get value for your dollar and a fair representation of what you are buying. It is as simple as that.
Tip and Tactic
Loading a wheel. Many of you will not undertand this term. Most wheeling systems are not perfectly balanced (full wheels are). When you use your numbers in a wheeling system this is one technique to use (wheel loading) to assure that the best of your numbers appear MOST inside the group of wheeled bets.
This is possible with ALL of our wheeling software as it all uses the numbers you enter for use in a wheel in the ORDER in which you enter those numbers. Sounds simple doesn't it. Well not quite. If your BEST numbers are 13, 31, and 28 then those numbers should be entered in THAT order: 13, 31, and 28 - right? Not quite.
You need to know which positions in the wheel are used the most. Let's assume positions 1, 8, and 18 are hit the most in an 18 number wheel. In this case you would enter your numbers like this: 13, ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, 08,##, ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, 28 (the ## standing in for any number other than 13, 18, and 28).
Ok, so how do I do this? If you have our Zer0 Miss Software you simply use the hit distribution features under the file menu. There you can get hit distribution for both a formula wheel (wheel file) or a wheeled bet file (a wheel file that uses your numbers).
In Lottery Boss Pro you would use a wheel with digits 1-18 (for an 18 number wheel) and do an occurrence analysis (done in a heartbeat) on that file (see statistics are always needed)!
For ANY Zer0 Miss wheeling system bought at RETAIL you receive a full lazer printed sheet containing, among many other stats, the hit distribution for that wheeling system.
With this information in hand you can now put the best of your numbers in the BEST positions in the wheeling system(s) you use and insure that those best numbers are used MOST. This gives your bets a better makeup (assuming that your "best" numbers were indeed "best" numbers) and an improved shot at winning.
Tip and Tactic
Stacking wheels - small number sizes. Patience, one concept you'll be familiar with if you're a parent as you will be teaching your kids about it, patience. Patience also has a valid place in Lotto play for you. Since you can't play millions of dollars to cover millions of combinations in a game with huge wheels one tactic you can make use of is small number size wheeling systems.
Let's use a 10 number size for this tip. We'll also use our Zer0 Miss multi-prize, multi-level wheeling systems in our examples. For a $5 play you can wheel 10 numbers for Two (2) guaranteed third prize wins (4/6 win) [Zmiss wheel ID: W610240 - $18.50]. Not bad for a sawbuck is it?
Perhaps your budget is somewhat larger and could afford a $21 play for which you could wheel for TEN (10) guaranteed third prizes with ONE (1) of those migrating to a second prize win, leaving you at MINIMUM with NINE third prizes (4/6) and ONE second prize (5/6) [Zmiss wheel ID: W6101040 - $23.50]. No game anywhere, that we are aware of, would not pay well over the $21 spent if you hit this wheel.
For example if a games pays on average $1,000 for a second prize (5/6) and $150 for a third prize (4/6). This wheel at minimum would pay back $2,350.00 or over 100 (ONE HUNDRED) TIMES the amount you paid to play.
Add two (2) bucks to your play ($23.00 play) and you can play for TEN (10) 4/6's and ONE (1) 5/6 [Zmiss wheel ID: W6101140 - $24.00] or if your budget is larger add $10.00 ($31.00 play) and you can play for FOURTEEN (14) 4/6's and TWO (2) 5/6's [Zmiss wheel ID: W6101640 - $26.50]. In this number size you can go all the way to 35 4/6 wins with FIVE (5) of those migrating to 5/6 wins or THIRTY (30) 4/6 wins and FIVE (5) 5/6 wins minimum [Zmis wheel ID: W6103540 - $36.00].
Whatever your budget we have Zer0 miss wheels to fit it in many number sizes, though this section is about wheel stacking and patient play using a small number size (10). Granted, ten is a small trap, not easy to hit perhaps, but much better than playing only six (6) numbers as you do with Quick Picks or when you fill out individual bets on tickets, six digits at a time without any ryhme or reason. With that in mind, you may find that ten numbers played as a set of wheeled bets affords your play a better chance of winning (and winning well) than those Quick Picks and random bets you are playing now.
You'll need PATIENCE when playing small number size wheels but since the cost can be very low this should not be as hard for you to learn as it is for your children to learn patience from you. If you played the $21.00 wheel every week for TWO (2) YEARS (104 plays) the cost to play would be $2,184.00 spread out over two years. If your state pays as well or better than our example averages you'd need to hit only ONCE in two years to come out ahead. If you hit a few times each year... well you do the math.
We have a variety of 10 number size wheels for both third prize (4/6) wins and second prize (5/6) wins with playings costs of: (third prize) $5.00, $9.00, $11.00, $15.00, $17.00, $21.00, $23.00, $31.00, $34.00, $36.00, $37.00, $47.00, $48.00, $49.00, $61.00, $62.00, $64.00, and $65.00 and (second prize) $18.00, $26.00, $40.00, $52.00, $56.00, $58.00, $70.00, $82.00, and $84.00. From two 4/6 wins to thirty-five 4/6 wins (with 5/6 migration staring at the ten 4/6 win level) and from one 5/6 win to ten 5/6 wins (with 4/6 kickers starting at the one 5/6 win level).
For a catalog (our Lotto Busters Catalog) of over a million possible Zer0 Miss wheeling systems and over 1,000 listed (with 16 pieces of information about each one) Zer0 Miss wheeling systems send $6.00 (US buyers only) or $9.00 (all other buyers) in US funds to: Walter Computer Services - 32 Greenwood Avenue - Lancaster, PA 17603 (PA residents cost is $6.36). With this in hand you can select wheeling systems like NONE you've used before (unless you already have some of ours) based on real stats and information - more than you normally get with wheels you've purchased - BEFORE you purchase. Don't miss Zer0 Miss!
On to wheel stacking. Given that you have a particular wheel that you are satisfied with and wish to play that is highly affordable, though small in number size, yet big in payoff - you may wish to stack that wheel when you play. Stacking a wheel simply means that you play it more than one time. You can stack it as many times as your budget affords. If it costs $21.00 to play and your budget is $100, you could stack it 4 times with money left for other play.
When you stack a wheel you can use the exact same numbers in it each time you stack it if you are rather sure you have very likely numbers or as most do, you may decide to change some or all of the numbers in the wheel each time you "stack" or play it. If you use the latter kind of stacking, you might have a solid set of X number of digits that you'll want in each "stacked" play of the wheel and you will be changing out X number of digits to fill out the remaining required number of digits for each "stacked" play of the wheel.
If you play the same digits in each stack, and you hit, your winnings will be multiplied by the number of times you "stacked" your wheel. If you change out digits in each "stacked" wheel, your object is to play more traps with different numbers in each one, giving you a better chance at hitting one or more of the "stacked" wheels.
In any event, even at an $84.00 play level (four $21.00 stacks), if you hit ONE of the stacked wheels, your win (using our averages) will still produce winnings about TWENTY-EIGHT (28) TIMES what you paid to play all four stacked wheels.
Stacking wheels is a method by which your patient play can be a bit less patient and can be one method of play you may not have considered. Playing the single wheel follows our patient play strategy and costs the least to play. Also, just because you stack wheels doesn't mean that you ALWAYS HAVE to stack wheels and vice versa. Stacking wheels is a method used normally by serious players as novice players have not usually heard about this method or strategy.
For patient play (wheeling or best bet) you should find our Lotto Pool Pro a huge help in generating HIGH QUALITY pools to use in the wheels (or best bet professional bets) you play. At $99.95 it can create pools using your games history and many other features that can NOT be done by hand in any time frame you could live with (if at all). Check it out on our site (windows version).
Since we covered LOADING wheels earlier on in this column, you should be aware, that when you STACK a wheeling system or systems - you should ALWAYS try to load it for play using your BEST numbers in the highest hitting positions of that wheel.
More to come when possible... this section is always under construction.
