WHY USE SYSTEMS IN BETTING? Let us say you live in San Francisco and you have heard of Mr. Taylor. So far, all you know is that he lives somewhere in New York. You decide that on Sunday you want to shake his hand, although you can obtain no information about his whereabouts. You board a plane and get off in New York. You travel 15 minutes by cab, then 30 minutes by the subway, and then you enter an apartment building at random. Of the thirty floors you opt for the sixth; you leave the elevator. Out of the eight apartments on the sixth floor you choose the second from the right. You ring the bell - there is no nameplate on the door - and Mr. Taylor opens the door. Do you believe in such chance? No? But you count on it every week, when you fill in a single bet slip with six randomly selected numbers! In a lottery in which you have to select 6 numbers out of 49, there are 13,983,816 probabilities of winning per game (i.e. more than all the apartments in New York). With 6 numbers out of 44 there are 7,059,052, and with 6 numbers out of 40 there are 3,838,380 probabilities of winning per game. And every week only one answer is the correct one. Some people want to win more than one prize and will, therefore, play several games. Suppose Mr. Newton plays these two games: 3 - 4 - 15 - 20 - 24 - 30 3 - 4 - 15 - 20 - 24 - 30 What is Mr. Newton doing? Two identical selections? Well, that is one possibility. Should he win, there would be straight away two prizes. If he wins the First Prize, he'll win two First Prizes; if the Second he'll win two Second Prizes; if the Third, he'll win two Third Prizes. However, you will not find many people playing the way Mr. Newton plays, and for a simple reason: it does not increase the probability of winning. Should somebody say, "Forget probability; I want to win many prizes or nothing," he is slightly off the mark, because probability and winning are closely related. People who want to chance it can play as many as one hundred identical games. With a great deal of luck, they might win a lot, but it is like looking for Mr. Taylor in New York. In my opinion, it is throwing money out of the window. You should realize that by repeating numbers, i.e. playing identical games, you do not increase the probability of winning. All this proves is that it is a bad mistake to select numbers randomly. It is much better to construct a system for betting. What system should you use? First you have to choose between two options: 1. To win less with greater probability, or 2. To win more with lesser probability. 1. In the first instance you play more numbers, with the guarantee of a smaller prize. Take for example a system with 18 numbers, which will guarantee one Third Prize; the whole system has only 42 games, but when you play Lotto 6/40 the 18 numbers you select cover almost half the numbers that can be drawn. Although the system only guarantees 1 Third Prize, there is the possibility of winning 1 Second Prize - and even the Jackpot. 2. In the second instance you use systems with fewer numbers. For example, take a system with 8 numbers which guarantees 1 First Prize, if you correctly select 6 numbers. The cost of the system is $28.00. Its disadvantage is only using a few numbers. Its great advantage, on the other hand, is guaranteed high prizes. It is a matter of your financial possibilities. As you see, you have to settle the question "What system to choose?" before selecting your numbers. WHAT SYSTEM TO CHOOSE When choosing a system you must bear in mind: 1. The desired quality of the prize which you consider as your minimum goal. Some bettors play nothing but unshortened systems, guaranteeing a First Prize - i.e. their minimum goal is the Jackpot. You should realize that systems guaranteeing a First Prize are very expensive - you cannot play many numbers for small sums. While the 10 number combination guaranteeing the Jackpot costs $105, the 10 number combination guaranteeing the Second Prize costs $15. Other bettors, the majority, prefer shortened systems guaranteeing Second, Third or only Fourth Prizes. Their great advantage is a low price, the possibility of covering many numbers and, with some luck, of winning the highest prize - the hoped-for Jackpot. 2. Your FINANCIAL and TIME PLAN - how long you'll play a given system. Most bettors plan their budget on a long-term basis. This is the only and correct way of avoiding bankruptcy. The strategy of these budgets is based upon the sum the bettor is willing or able to spend every month on the lottery. With a monthly income of $600.00 ($150 a week) it would be foolish to spend $300 a month on the lottery. My advice: never bet more than 5% of your monthly income!! Should you be earning $600, then do not spend more on the lottery than $30 a month, i.e. some $7 to $8 a week. With an income of $3000, you could go as high as $150; i.e. $35-$40 a week. Should you spend all your savings on the first day, then the following week you'll be wondering where to find money for betting. What tragedy it would be should your numbers be drawn the very week when you are out of funds! Your time plan should be in line with your financial possibilities; try to play your system for a long period of time and you will see that it is worth while. SYSTEM ANALYSIS The systems provided with Lotto Challenger are divided into two types of systems: 1. Unshortened systems 2. Shortened systems. 1. Unshortened systems guarantee a First Prize (Jackpot), when you pick all six winning numbers. Unshortened systems are very profitable, even when you catch "only" five numbers, because they guarantee a great many second and third prizes. Their disadvantage is their relatively high cost and the very limited set of numbers for betting. The following Unshortened systems are provided for Pick-6 games in Lotto Challenger: A - 7 numbers, 7 tickets B - 8 numbers, 28 tickets C - 9 numbers, 84 tickets (The letters correspond to the system option on the "Play a Number System" menu for Pick-6 games). 2. Shortened systems are divided into several divisions, each having differently defined conditions of prize guarantees. a. SECOND PRIZE DIVISIONS 1. The systems in this division guarantee a Second Prize when 5 out of 6 numbers are picked correctly. These systems include: D - 8 numbers, 12 tickets E - 9 numbers, 30 tickets F - 11 numbers, 101 tickets G - 12 numbers, 132 tickets 2. The systems in this division guarantee a Second Prize when 6 out of 6 numbers are picked correctly. The advantage of these systems is that they are 60-70% cheaper, and thus financially more accessible. These systems include: H - 8 numbers, 4 tickets I - 9 numbers, 8 tickets J - 10 numbers, 15 tickets K - 11 numbers, 27 tickets L - 12 numbers, 42 tickets b. THIRD PRIZE DIVISIONS Many bettors like systems with a wider set of numbers, guaranteeing lower prizes. At a very low cost, bettors still can hope that, with a lucky combination, they will find a better prize. 1. The systems in this division guarantee a Third Prize (4 out of 6) when only 4 numbers are picked correctly. These systems include: M - 10 numbers, 30 tickets 2. The systems in this division guarantee a Third Prize when 5 numbers are picked correctly. These systems are less expensive than the first division. These systems include: N - 11 numbers, 12 tickets 3. The systems in this division guarantee a Third Prize when all 6 numbers are picked correctly. These are the cheapest systems to play. These systems include: O - 13 numbers, 12 tickets P - 14 numbers, 15 tickets Q - 15 numbers, 21 tickets R - 16 numbers, 33 tickets S - 18 numbers, 42 tickets If you wish to learn more about number systems, or try some more advanced systems, we suggest that you read some of the books written by Robert Serotic. All of the systems in these books can be entered into Lotto Challenger using the "Edit A Number System" option. These books can be ordered directly from Data Solutions. The file BOOKS.TXT contains a description of the books that are available, along with an order form. To print this file, type "TYPE BOOKS.TXT > PRN". Registered users of Lotto Challenger receive a 10% discount on all lottery books.