|AÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» |Aº |6Helpware |AºÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ^1Lotto Help |AÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͺ |6Helpware |Aº |AÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ^Cby ^CRobert L. Joy ^CINTRODUCTION Okay, so you are fond of participating in your state's lottery. Isn't it good to know that even if you don't win, your money will do some good close to home? You pick up a newspaper and go directly to your favorite spot, the gamesters section. "Oh no! What's this? I've been doing this thing all wrong." You've always wanted to make that big score (who hasn't?). But the columnist is telling you that certain types of selections are not random enough and too many winners have to share the prize. The columnist is referring to number selections that form a pattern, such as a straight line on your ticket. Later, you find yourself at your town's on-line lottery agency pondering a scheme of numbers not fitting a pattern. Tough, isn't it. Enter LOTTO HELP. ^CWHAT IS LOTTO HELP? LOTTO HELP is a random number generator, capable of generating random number strings, that supports many government lottery formats. You may choose from the "Pick 4" scenario to any pick-length up to 10 inclusive. LOTTO HELP presents its selections in tabular form, sorted low-to-high. Each table contains 10 of your selected "picks", even though you may not want to play 10 games. But wait, there's more! Wouldn't it be great if you could actually draw numbers based on some kind of intelligence? LOTTO HELP gives you that capability with its data management utility. You'll draw numbers based on the way they have been running. More on that later. ^CLOTTO HELP MENUS The LOTTO HELP program is driven by menus. There are two, the MAIN menu and the DATA menu. Menu operation is simple. Just move the menu highlight bar up or down with the up/down cursor keys to mark your choice, then press ENTER. Both menus respond appropriately to the HOME and END keys. Let's start by taking a look at the Main menu. This is the "trunk" which leads to all of the program's "branches". ^CPick 4 random numbers ^CPick 5 random numbers ^CPick 6 random numbers ^CPick 7 random numbers ^CPick 8 random numbers ^CPick 9 random numbers ^CPick 10 random numbers ^CRandom numbers to 999 ^CBingo number generator ^CData manager section PICK nn RANDOM NUMBERS: Each of the seven "Pick" selections operates in the same general fashion. After selecting any "Pick" you will be asked to furnish a "High" number. The number must be greater than, or equal to, the pick and not greater than 99. This number will define the upper limit of the range of numbers generated with "1" as the low limit. After the high number has been defined, the program creates a "card" of numbers containing 10 rows of random numbers between 1 and the upper limit you defined (inclusive). You can press "G" to display a new set of numbers or press "A" to leave the first card as-is and display a new card. "A" can be exercised twice for a total of 3 cards. F2 will return you to the Main Menu. RANDOM NUMBERS TO 999: This option allows you to create 12 x 10 random number tables for general use. The "high" pick is automatically set to 999. Tables of this sort are most useful to engineers, quality assurance technicians and the statistically oriented. The tables operate in the same general way as the lottery options. BINGO NUMBER GENERATOR: Perhaps mentioning this option, in this way, does not do it justice. It is really a full-featured utility for running a Bingo game. Within this option LOTTO HELP displays a calling board, "calls" the numbers and keeps track of all numbers that have been called. If you have a printer connected, the program can even make the Bingo cards for you. And, of course, all of the cards are different. (Anyone in your office care to gather around the office PC for a nice friendly game of Bingo, next lunch hour?) So... why include a Bingo utility in a program designed to assist you in filling out your lottery ticket? Why not! Most of the program code needed to do the job already existed in the lottery procedures. Enjoy! DATA MANAGER SECTION: Choosing this option brings-up LOTTO HELP's other menu, the Data Menu. Using the data manager you can create and maintain a database of numbers actually drawn in your local games. You are able to write new records, browse your records and most important, ANALYZE your data! All of the data-handling features "do business" from the same I/O window. First, the window will prompt you for a "Pick Type". If you are involved in a game which uses 10 numbers, then you would enter "10" for pick-type. Now let's explore some of its features: ^CWrite to the database ^CRead database records ^CGet data statistics ^CFind the hot numbers ^CFind the cold numbers ^CEmpty entire database ^CEmpty a selected file ^CGenerate sample data ^CChange data directory WRITE TO THE DATABASE: Make this selection to enter numbers and begin building your own database. A cursor (..) will appear in the left column and guide you through the input process. If you notice a mistake before entering the last number, press and you can begin again. The date field is optional. If you are not into keeping track of dates, press over the empty field, "--none--" will be stored in the file. Any record you add is appended to the end of the file you have chosen. READ DATABASE RECORDS: The read option lets you browse your recorded data a page-at-a-time. You may want to verify your data or just satisfy your curiosity. GET DATA STATISTICS: Here, you will be able to gather some useful information about the data in your file(s). The information is gathered "on- the-fly" through the I/O window. A new window pops up giving your data-file's name, the lowest and highest numbers hit, the hit range, the average hits per number in the range, the total numbers in the file, the number of records and the bytes available on the data drive. If you keep your data on floppies, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the bytes-free. FIND THE HOT NUMBERS: Simply put, "hot" numbers are those showing more activity than others. Again, the selected file flies through the I/O window. When the EOF is reached, and a key pressed, an interesting looking window asks you to adjust the sensitivity of the "hot-number" filter. The sensitivity needs to be flexible to accommodate a wide range in variance and various file sizes. If you have a statistically significant amount of data in your file, the adjustment effect will be obvious. If there is too little data in the file, adjustment will have little effect. As a general rule, start with the default sensitivity, 5, by pressing . If you determine that you need more (or less) numbers, you can repeat the process adjusting the filter as you see fit. The end-product of this activity is displayed on the LOTTO HELP SCOREBOARD. The scoreboard will show you the number of hits on every number in the current file. The bottom of the display will contain your "hot" numbers in, what else, red. FIND THE COLD NUMBERS: The cold numbers are numbers showing considerably less activity than others. The operation of this feature needs little explan- ation since it is identical to the operation described above. There is one important difference, however. If cold numbers are defined here, first, they are retained for use back at the Main Menu in generating selections for your games. Here's how it works. Lets assume you have built a database for a "Pick 10" type game and want to avoid betting on the less active numbers in the game you are about to play. Select the data manager and use this option to "filter" the cold numbers from your PICK10.DAT file. Return to the Main Menu and proceed with the generation of numbers for your game. The program will prompt you regarding elimination of the cold numbers from the cards it is about to produce. If you don't want LOTTO HELP to include cold numbers in its selection, press "Y" at the prompt. ([Y]es, filter out and eliminate the cold numbers). EMPTY ENTIRE DATABASE: NOT for the faint-of-heart!! This option does just what it says, trashes your whole database, all seven files. Be sure this is what you really want to do. If, however, you stumble into this option with a misplaced keystroke, you can take comfort in knowing you will have the opportunity to back-out gracefully. Press or "N" after the alarm. EMPTY A SELECTED FILE: This option is not quite as violent but certainly destructive to the target file. Again, know what you are doing and if you stumble in you can back out. GENERATE SAMPLE DATA: It takes a considerable amount of time to build a useful database. Maybe your agency runs its game only once or twice a week. Meanwhile, you have a lot of capability in LOTTO HELP that you are not able to explore. With this feature you can create 160 records (games) of sample data to let you experiment with the program. You can load one file or all seven files with sample data. The date field will contain "-sample-" so you won't grab a sample file thinking it is an actual data file. CHANGE DATA DIRECTORY: You may want to store your data on a drive other than the drive you booted LOTTO HELP from. Dual-floppy users may prefer having data stored on a separate disk or hard disk users may not want data on their fixed drive. Use this option to specify another drive\directory path for your data. The path can contain up to 11 characters. The program recognizes standard MS-DOS format. If more information is needed on changing drives or directories, consult your DOS manual. ^CA SAMPLE SESSION A hefty portion of the program's code is devoted to the user interface. You should have no difficulty using the program. At the Main Menu, decide what format you will need for your game. Simply move the menu's highlight bar with the vertical cursor keys and press ENTER. Let's assume that your state lottery offers a game where you must pick 6 numbers between 1 and 54. You can play 2,4,6,8 or 10 games at $.50 per game. You decide to play 8 games. You have built a pretty extensive database of numbers drawn in your state's game and have decided to use LOTTO HELP's ability to select numbers based on hit frequency. The first thing you must do is query the database to find the numbers that have been running "cold". Select "Data manager section" and press . If you are running a two-floppy system and have your data disk in B: drive, you will need to tell the program where to find your data. Press and to select "Change data directory". Type "B:" in the window and press . Now, slide the highlight bar up to "Find the cold numbers" and press . Enter a pick-type of "6". Watch your data fly through the I/O window, when it stops, press any key. You decide to use a filter sensitivity of "7", so press the right arrow key twice then press . The large Scoreboard window appears on your screen showing you the number of hits on each number in your file. At the bottom of the scoreboard you find the cold numbers. Ex. (4,13,22,25,33,44). Ponder the scoreboard if you like, then press a key to get back to the Data menu. Slide the menu bar up to highlight "Pick 6", then press . LOTTO HELP is asking you for the high number for your game. In our example the high number is 54, so type 54 and press . NOTE: The program will validate your input at this point. Inappropriate or irrelevant keystrokes will be rejected. In addition, there are range restrictions for the high pick. The highest number you can pick is 99. The lowest number must be equal to, or greater than the series length. The series length in our example is 6. The reason for this is that it would be impossible to generate 6 random integers between 1 and 6, without duplication, having less than 6 numbers to work with. The next thing that happens, a window pops into the lower left corner of your screen indicating that "Cold numbers have been detected..." asking you if you would like the cold numbers filtered out. Of course you would! Press "Y". LOTTO HELP generated a "card" of numbers which might have looked like this: ^C 8 15 19 24 35 54 ^C 5 23 29 31 32 49 ^C 1 3 10 34 39 41 ^C 1 2 5 8 15 43 ^C 9 26 31 35 40 46 ^C14 23 24 39 47 52 ^C 7 11 17 20 42 46 ^C 6 10 12 18 19 52 ^C 8 9 14 29 45 47 ^C13 16 18 20 27 42 ^CDupes: 13 ^0 You can use the numbers from any 8 of the rows for your 8 games. 10 rows of numbers are always generated. ^CSO WHAT'S IN THE CARDS? You do not need to be concerned about "Dupes: 13". The program encountered 13 duplicate numbers, including cold numbers which were rejected, as it created the card and zapped them on-the-spot. There are no duplicate numbers in the horizontal game rows. The "Dupes: n" feature is a holdover from the debugging phase of the program. It was left in place as a "toy" for you folks who appreciate computer speed. (Try a "Pick 6" with a high also equal to 6! The beeps you will hear are duplicates screaming for mercy as your computer "does them in".) Back to the example. LOTTO HELP is waiting for a decision, G, A, or Q. Suppose you did not like the numbers displayed on the card. Press the "G" key to tell the program to go get a new set of numbers for the card. "G" will always allow you to call a new set of numbers for the current card. Press "G". Now, let's assume that you like what you see (lots of hot numbers) but you would like to see one more card. No problem. Press "A" to accept the first card and advance to a new card. This is particularly helpful to users not owning printers. You can accept and advance twice (3 cards). So, you have seen enough and are anxious to visit your town's lottery agency to play the 8 games you just made numbers for. Press "Q" or to quit LOTTO HELP and hit-the-road. (At this point "Q" and perform the same function.) Oh, don't forget to bring four bucks! ^CFunction Keys First, the program displays a bar at the bottom of the screen to let you know the current status of each feature. A feature will disappear from the status bar when it is not available. The "toggle" features, F3 and F5, also change on the status bar depending on their present state. Six function keys used by the program are: F1 The context-sensitive Help utility. F2 Restart at the Main menu. Current activity is halted and program control is returned to the opening menu. The program "remembers" where you were and highlights that option. F3 Toggles sound. Initially, sound is turned "On", so the initial F3 function is "Sound Off". F3 has no effect on the low-pitched error beep. F5 Toggles copy-print mode. Initially, copy-print is turned "Off", so the initial F4 function is "Print On". F9 Draws a single 3-digit number from 000 to 999 inclusive. This key is active from the Main Menu only. F10 Draws a single 4-digit number from 0000 to 9999 inclusive. This key is active from the Main Menu only. o Lots of help! Help available from 22 places. o A very capable data management section. o A complete Bingo utility as a bonus. o A line of communication with MS-DOS functions. o A display allowing the entire contents of a data file to be viewed on a single screen. ^CSMART FEATURES LOTTO HELP incorporates "smart" features. Smart features are those which automatically direct the program in some way to offer the most convenience and minimum distraction to the user. This program features: o Context sensitivity in the F1-Help utility. o Automatic data file creation on any new path. o Automatic restoration of original path at program exit. o Retention of changes to alterable parameters. o Retention of "cold" numbers in memory for later use. o Auto-return to the last menu selection at F2-Restart. o Validation of entry made at the keyboard. o Error checking performed during access to Printer. o Sound and copy-print pre-initialized to fit the likely choices. ^CCLOSING COMMENTS WHAT LOTTO HELP CAN DO FOR YOU: If you play the government operated lottery games, this program can really add a fun element to the experience. The number selection process can be based on some form of intelligence and be made a lot easier. Over the long-haul, a truly random database should "flat-top". The occurrence of any element in the population should be nearly equal to the average of the data. If some kind of mechanical variability is thrown into the number selection process, certain elements in the population are likely to appear out-of-line. Hot and cold elements, if you will. If you have a significantly large database, statistically speaking, LOTTO HELP will spot the out-of-line numbers for you. If there is a physical reason for the numbers to deviate from the average, the odds can be pushed in your favor. WHAT LOTTO HELP CAN'T DO FOR YOU: Simply put, LOTTO HELP can't possibly guarantee you'll win. Can anything? ^CDISCLAIMER It is not the intent of LOTTO HELP, its distributors, nor its author, to encourage gambling in any form. The software contained, herewith, was designed purely as an instrument to aid those who participate in legal, government agency controlled lottery games. Further, no warranty is expressed or implied by LOTTO HELP, its distributors, nor its author in regard to the probability of success in government agency controlled games. Information on the probability of success is available at the lottery agencies. The distributors of LOTTO HELP and its author assume no responsibility for loss incurred through use of this software. This product is being distributed "as-is" and the end-user accepts responsibility for its use. To run this program outside Big Blue Disk, type ^1Lotto^0. DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES: ^FLOTTO.EXE ^FPICK4.DAT ^FPICK5.DAT ^FPICK6.DAT ^FPICK7.DAT ^FPICK8.DAT ^FPICK9.DAT ^FPICK10.DAT