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L O T T O C H A L L E N G E R by John Lake _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER Copyright (C) 1989 All Rights Reserved Data Solutions 1529 Thistledown Drive Brandon, Florida 33510 (813) 653-3093 Version 3.6 Revised: January 1991 Legal Rights and Issues: Data Solutions retains all rights of ownership of the product called Lotto Challenger, under United States and International laws of commerce. Lotto Challenger is a copyright of Data Solutions. However, Data Solutions hereby expressly authorizes the willful distribution of the enclosed software to other individuals as long as no fee is charged for the program. A duplication charge not to exceed $6.00 may be collected. Data Solutions does NOT authorize, nor waive, any other rights provided under the protection of copyright laws, and reserves the right to withdraw distribution rights at any future time. At such time, notice will be given. Lotto Challenger is a Shareware product. It is NOT a public domain or Freeware program. Shareware means that you are given a specific period of time in which to use the product before you are required to register your copy. Thus, If you decide to continue using Lotto Challenger, we expect you to REGISTER your copy with Data Solutions. Payment of the $29.50 registration fee entitles you to the most recent version of Lotto Challenger, program support, a current data file of your choice, our regularly distributed newsletter, a CompuServe Introductory Membership, and a discount on all lottery books ordered from Data Solutions. To complete a registration form, press F10 at the Lotto Challenger main menu, and then press F10 at the closing Shareware screen. You will be prompted to enter registration information such as your address, telephone number, etc. After you have answered all questions, press the END key to print the completed registration form. This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the Shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a Shareware related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a Compuserve message via Easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Lotto Challenger is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to any implied warranty of fitness or suitability for a particular purpose. Data Solutions shall not be liable or responsible to any person or entity for damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused directly, indirectly or consequently by the use of this program, it's documentation or it's output, specifically including but not limited to damage or loss resulting from games of chance. Hardware Requirements: Lotto Challenger requires an IBM-PC or compatible computer with a minimum of 256K of memory and either MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.0 or higher. A color monitor, hard disk and printer is recommend but not required. Graphics capability is not required. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 - Introduction To Lotto Challenger Overview 1-1 Lotto Challenger Files 1-3 Before Getting Started 1-4 Loading Lotto Challenger 1-4 Selecting A Menu Option 1-5 Exiting Lotto Challenger 1-5 Chapter 2 - Update Lottery Data Overview 2-1 Add New Drawing 2-1 Modify Previous Drawing 2-2 Delete Previous Drawing 2-2 Chapter 3 - Drawing Statistics Overview 3-1 Drawing History 3-1 Number Frequency 3-1 Hot Numbers 3-2 Cold Numbers 3-2 Overdue Numbers 3-2 Drawing Summary 3-4 Chapter 4 - Quick Picks Overview 4-1 Total Numbers 4-1 1 To 12 Range 4-1 13 To 31 Range 4-1 32 And Up Range 4-1 Remaining Picks 4-2 Cold Numbers 4-2 Overdue Numbers 4-3 Last Week's Draws 4-3 Hot Numbers 4-3 Favorite Numbers 4-4 Random Numbers 4-4 Chapter 5 - Number Systems Overview 5-1 Play A Number System 5-2 Edit A Number System 5-3 Chapter 6 - Winner's Circle Overview 6-1 Operation 6-1 Chapter 7 - History Mode Overview 7-1 Operation 7-1 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Chapter 8 - Configure New System Overview 8-1 Operation 8-1 Chapter 9 - Select Another Lottery Overview 9-1 Operation 9-1 Chapter 10- File Maintenance Overview 10-1 Operation 10-1 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION TO LOTTO CHALLENGER Overview: Lotto Challenger is a lotto number selection program that can be used with all Pick-5 and Pick-6 lotto games (with or without a bonus number). The number of different lotteries you can play is limited only by the size of your hard disk or the number of floppies that you have available. Lotto Challenger is distributed with a data file for the Florida lottery, FLORIDA.DAT. If you don't play the Florida lottery, you can still use this file to learn how to use the program. Of course, you also can type in the previously drawn numbers from your lottery if you wish. A current data file for your lottery is mailed to you at no extra charge when you register your copy of Lotto Challenger. Lotto Challenger was designed with you, the user in mind. All program functions are menu driven and easy to use. Menu options are selected by using either the keyboard or a mouse. Screens that require data entry prompt you every step of the way and do not allow incorrect data to be entered. For example, when entering numbers from previous lotto drawings, the program will not let you enter the same drawing date more than once. It also will not let you enter numbers greater than the highest number drawn in your lottery. The program will not let you enter a duplicate number for the same drawing. A pop-up help window is always available when entering data that shows you the various editing commands. Function key commands are consistent throughout the program and are always displayed at the bottom of the screen. Lotto Challenger uses statistical analysis on the numbers drawn in previous drawings. Numbers are grouped into several categories; Hot, Cold, Overdue, Last Drawing, 1 to 12, 13 to 31, and 32 and up. Averages and percentages are calculated from all previous drawings for all categories. For example, the Hot numbers category might average 3 Hot numbers per drawing. If this is a Pick-6 game, then that means that 3 out of every 6 numbers drawn will be Hot numbers. It will be to your benefit then if 50% of the numbers you play each week are Hot numbers. If 33% of the numbers drawn are in the 1 to 12 range, then 33% of the numbers you play each week also should be in that range. Lotto Challenger automatically picks your numbers each week based on the data collected for all categories. This ensures that the numbers you play each week are consistent with the statistics for previous drawings. In the Quick Picks function, if you want to play 10 numbers, the program automatically determines how many of those 10 numbers are to be in the 1 to 12 range, 13 to 31 range, and 32 and up range. The 10 numbers are then picked from four categories (Hot, Cold, Overdue, and Last Drawing) based on previous drawing statistics. These numbers can be saved and printed and used in one or more of the 20 number systems included with the program. 1-1 Overview (continued): To understand number systems, compare the concept with a hunter who is about to hunt a partridge. As the hunter approaches, the entire flock of birds will fly up. What will he do? Obviously, he will not use a rifle capable of shooting only one bullet that he hopes will get a single bird. More than likely, he will use a shotgun capable of shooting twenty or fifty pellets. That way he will be able to hit as many as six partridges with a single shot. Playing lotto is very similar. If you want to play successfully, you must use number systems to improve the odds of winning. If you think about the fact that you are playing 5 or 6 numbers on one ticket, you should understand that it would take an absolute miracle to guess the winning numbers correctly. Such luck happens very seldom. It is therefore very important to use number systems, because the more numbers you use in a system, the better your odds of winning. Lotto Challenger has 20 number systems for Pick-5 and Pick-6 lotto games. These systems range in size from 8 numbers up to 30 numbers. If you don't want to use these systems, you can enter up to 20 of your own systems using the "Edit A Number System" option. We suggest that for the first few weeks that you use Lotto Challenger, you play several systems without purchasing any tickets. Keep a record of the number of winning tickets for each system to find which system(s) work the best for the lottery you are playing. You also can use the "History Mode" option to set time back several drawings so that you can test number systems using statistical data from a week, month or a year ago. Playing several systems each week is easy. Lotto Challenger automatically picks your numbers, substitutes them into the system(s) of your choice, and then checks the resulting tickets for winners each week. A typical weekly routine would be: A. Use the "Quick Picks" option to pick your numbers based on the statistical analysis of previous drawings. Save these numbers to a file. B. Use the "Play A Number System" option to select the number system(s) you will play. Select the file that you saved previously in "Quick Picks." The program substitutes the numbers in the number system with the numbers saved in the "Quick Picks" file. Save and print the resulting tickets. C. Use the "Update Lottery Data" option to enter the numbers that are drawn in the next drawing. D. Use the "Winner's Circle" option to check the numbers on your tickets against the numbers drawn. Refer to Chapters 1 to 6 for more information on the above functions. 1-2 Lotto Challenger Files: CHANGES.TXT Changes in this version FLORIDA.DAT Sample Lottery data file (See Note 1) FLORIDA.PIK Sample Quick Pick file FLORIDA.TIK Sample Ticket file GO.BAT File printing instructions GO.TXT Text file used by GO.BAT LC.CFG Lotto Challenger configuration file (See Note 2) LC.DOC Lotto Challenger documentation LC.EXE Lotto Challenger program file (See Note 3) README Important program information WHEEL5.IX Index file for Pick-5 number systems (See Note 4) WHEEL6.IX Index file for Pick-5 number systems " " WHEEL5.SYS 20 number systems for Pick-5 lotto games " " WHEEL6.SYS 20 number systems for Pick-6 lotto games " " NOTE: (1) At least one data file (a file with the extension of "DAT") must be present to use Lotto Challenger. If there are no data files present in the data file directory, you will be prompted to enter information pertaining to the lottery you wish to play. The program will then create a data file. (2) The file LC.CFG contains configuration information for Lotto Challenger. To change the defaults, you must first delete this file by typing "DEL LC.CFG" (without the quotes) and pressing ENTER. Next load the program by typing "LC" and pressing ENTER. You will be asked the following questions: A. HOW MANY DRAWINGS FOR HOT AND COLD NUMBERS? The number of drawings entered here determines what numbers are Hot, Cold and Overdue. The program default is 10 drawings. This means that a Hot number is any number drawn at least once in the last 10 drawings. A cold number is any number that has not been drawn in the last 10 drawings. B. USE DEFAULT DRIVE FOR DATA FILES? The default answer for this question is "Y", which means that the program will look for the data files (extensions DAT, PIK, AND TIK) in the same directory that your Lotto Challenger program files (LC.EXE and number system files) are located. If you answer "N" to this question, you will be prompted to "ENTER PATH FOR DATA FILES." For this question, you must enter the complete DOS path where your data files are located. For example, lets say that your program files are located in the subdirectory C:\LC on your hard disk, and that your data files are in subdirectory C:\LC\DATA. The correct answer to the question would be "C:\LC\DATA\" (without the quotes). If you do not have a hard disk, but have 2 disk drives, you may want to keep your data files in the second drive. That way you won't have to worry about running out of disk space when your data file(s) gets large. You can play several lotteries simply by having a separate data diskette for each lottery. If your program diskette is in Drive A, and your data disk is in Drive B, simply answer the question "ENTER PATH FOR DATA FILES" with "B:\" (without the quotes). 1-3 Lotto Challenger Files (continued): C. DISPLAY SHAREWARE SCREENS? The default answer to this question is "Y." If you answer "N," then the opening and closing Shareware screens will not be displayed. This option is available to registered users only. If you distribute the program to others, we ask that you please ensure that this question is answered with a "Y." D. LOWEST NUMBER OF MATCHES FOR BONUS NUMBERS? This question applies only to Pick-6 lotto games that use a bonus number. The default answer is "5." How this question is answered determines when the program considers a bonus number a winning number. For example, in California and most other lotteries with bonus numbers, there must be 5 matching numbers before the bonus number counts. One exception that we are aware of is the Pennsylvania Wildcard lotto, which accepts a bonus number with 3 to 5 matches. Anyone playing the Wildcard lotto should answer this question with a "3." (3) If you are running Lotto Challenger from a diskette, it is very important that the diskette containing the program file LC.EXE remain in the drive. This file contains program overlays for the various menu functions and needs to be accessed periodically during program use. (4) At least one IX and SYS number system file must be present to use the "Number Systems" menu option. If you are only playing a Pick-6 lotto game, the files WHEEL5.SYS and WHEEL5.IX are not needed. Before Getting Started: We suggest that you make a backup copy of the files before using the program. Store the original in a safe place and use the backup for everyday use. Loading Lotto Challenger: If you load Lotto Challenger from a diskette, be sure that the DOS prompt shows the correct drive (usually "A>" or "B>") before loading the program. If you load Lotto Challenger from your hard drive, be sure to change the default directory to the subdirectory where the Lotto Challenger program files are located. If you intend to use a mouse with Lotto Challenger, be sure to load the mouse driver prior to loading Lotto Challenger. To load Lotto Challenger, type "LC" (without the quotes) at the DOS prompt and press ENTER. If a title screen appears, press any key to continue. What happens next depends on how many lottery data files you have (files with an extension of DAT). If you have more than one data file, a window appears on the screen with the names of the data files. Select the file you want to play by using the arrow keys or mouse to highlight the name and press the ENTER key or left mouse button. The Lotto Challenger main menu is then displayed. If you only have one data file, the Lotto Challenger main menu is displayed after pressing any key at the title screen. 1-4 Loading Lotto Challenger (continued) If there are no data files present when you load the program, the Configuration screen will be displayed. You must complete the screen with information pertaining to your lottery before you can continue. Refer to Chapter 8, "Configure New System," for more information. After pressing the END key to update the configuration screen, the Lotto Challenger main menu is displayed. Selecting A Menu Option: There are three ways to select a menu option from the main menu: 1. Press the appropriate function key. 2. Highlight the option you want using the up or down arrow keys and press the ENTER key. 3. Highlight the option you want using the mouse and press the left mouse button. The left mouse button is equivalent to the ENTER key on the keyboard. The right mouse button is equivalent to the ESC key. Be sure your mouse driver is loaded prior to loading Lotto Challenger. Exiting Lotto Challenger: To exit Lotto Challenger, select the "Quit" option from the main menu using either the function key, arrow keys, or the mouse. NOTE: It is very important to use the "Quit" option before turning off your computer. Failure to do so could result in lost or corrupted data. 1-5 CHAPTER 2 - UPDATE LOTTERY DATA Overview: The "Update Lottery Data" option is activated by pressing the F1 key from the Lotto Challenger main menu. The options available form the Update menu are "Add New Drawing," "Modify Previous Drawing," "Delete Previous Drawing" and "Quit." Select the "Add New Drawing" option to enter all the numbers from previous drawings for your lottery, or to enter the winning numbers each week as they are drawn. Users who register receive a current lottery data file of their choice, making it unnecessary to key in numbers from previous drawings. You should update your lottery data file each week with the week's winning numbers before using the "Winner's Circle" option to check for winning tickets. The "Modify Previous Drawing" option is used to change previous drawing information in the event that you enter incorrect data. Use the "Delete Previous Drawing" option if you want to delete some older drawings. Select the "Quit" option to return to the Lotto Challenger main menu. Add New Drawing: The "Add New Drawing" option is activated by selecting option 1 from the Update menu. The "Add New Drawing" window appears with the cursor positioned on the "Drawing Date" field. Valid command keys are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Enter the drawing date that you wish to add in the format month/day/year. A message at the bottom of the window reminds you what to enter as you move from field to field. After entering the drawing date, enter the numbers drawn for that date. If your lottery uses Bonus numbers, enter the bonus number in the last (bottom) number field. If you enter a number which is only one digit long, you must press the ENTER key to got the next field. The cursor automatically advances to the next field if a 2 digit number is entered. If you try to enter anything other than a number in any of the fields in this window, the program will not accept your input. You will receive an error message if you try to enter a number that is out of range. For example, if your lottery only uses 49 numbers, the program will not allow you to enter a number less than 1 or greater than 49. Valid numbers for dates are also checked. If you press the F1 key, a help window will appear with all the editing keys that are available while entering data. Press any key to clear the help window. After you have entered all the information and are satisfied that it is correct, press the END key (usually located on the "1" key on your numeric keypad) to save the information. Before the information is saved, the program first checks to see if the date you entered already exists in the file. If it does, you get a message informing you of the duplicate date, and the information is not saved. If any of the numbers you entered for a drawing are duplicates, you will get a duplicate number message and you must reenter the numbers. 2-1 Add New Drawing (continued): After you press the END key and the information has been saved, a small window appears with the drawing date and numbers that you just entered. If you continue to add more drawings at this point, the window will show you up to the last 5 drawings entered. This feature is useful in the event you are interrupted while entering information and forget where you left off. When you are finished entering drawing information, press the ESC key or press the right mouse button to exit. Modify Previous Drawing: The "Modify Previous Drawing" option is activated by selecting option 2 from the Update menu. The "Modify Drawing" window appears at the top of the screen. Below this window another window prompts you to enter the drawing date to modify. Valid command keys are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Enter the date in the format month/day/year and press the ENTER key. If the date does not exist in the data file, a message will be displayed alerting you to that fact. If the date entered exists in the data file, the date and the numbers previously entered for that date are displayed in the "Modify Drawing" window. Use the TAB or arrow keys to position the cursor on the number(s) that you want to change and type the correct number(s). Pressing the F1 key displays a help window with the editing keys that are available. Press any key to clear the help window. After all the changes have been made, press the END key to save the information. If there are no other drawings to modify, press the ESC key or right mouse button to return to the Update menu. Delete Previous Drawing: The "Delete Previous Drawing" option is activated by selecting option 3 from the Update menu. The "Delete Drawing" window appears at the top of the screen. Below this window another window prompts you to enter the drawing date to delete. Valid command keys are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Enter the date in the format month/day/year and press the ENTER key. If the date does not exist in the data file, a message appears informing you of that fact. If the date entered exits in the data file, the drawing information is displayed in the "Delete Drawing" window. You are then asked if you want to continue with the deletion. Type "Y" and press ENTER to delete the drawing, or type "N" and press ENTER to cancel the deletion. When you are finished, press the ESC key or the right mouse button to return to the Update menu. 2-2 CHAPTER 3 - DRAWING STATISTICS Overview: The "Drawing Statistics" option is activated by pressing the F2 key from the Lotto Challenger main menu. The options available from the Statistics menu are "Drawing History," "Number Frequency," "Hot Numbers," "Cold Numbers," "Overdue Numbers," "Drawing Summary" and "Quit." A window at the bottom of the screen displays the number of drawings in the data file, the date of the last drawing and whether History mode is on or off. Refer to Chapter 7 for more information on History mode. After selecting any of the Statistics menu options, you can press the ESC key or the right mouse button to return to the Statistics menu. If an option contains more than one screen full of information, press any key or the left mouse button to continue to the next screen. Press the F10 to print the information for that option. If an option contains more than one screen of information, it is not necessary to scan through all the screens before pressing F10. Valid command keys are displayed in a window at the bottom of the screen. Select the "Quit" option from the Statistics menu to return to the main menu. Drawing History: Select the "Drawing History" option to display and/or print all the drawings previously entered for your lottery. Bonus numbers are displayed in inverse video on the screen. The drawings are displayed in ascending order from the oldest drawing to the most recent drawing. If History mode is on, the last drawing displayed is the most recent drawing date minus the number of drawing entered to go back in history. This option is useful for checking the numbers previously entered in the data file for accuracy. If a mistake is found, use the "Modify Drawing" option on the Update menu to correct the error. Number Frequency: Select the "Number Frequency" option to display and/or print how many times each number has been drawn, and the last date each number was drawn. The numbers are displayed starting with the number that has been drawn the most down to the number that has been drawn the least. If History mode is on, the frequency displayed for each number is for all drawings up to that date in history. If an asterisk precedes a number, it indicates that the number was drawn in the last drawing. This option is useful for determining what numbers are the most active and what numbers are sleepers. 3-1 Hot Numbers: Select the "Hot Numbers" option to display and/or print the numbers that are currently Hot or were drawn in the last drawing. An asterisk next to a number indicates that it was drawn in the last drawing. Bonus numbers are displayed in inverse video. Hot numbers are displayed starting with the Hot numbers that have been drawn the most, down to the Hot numbers that have been drawn the least. Lotto Challenger considers a number to be Hot if it has been drawn at least once in the past 10 drawings (default). If you wish to change this default, you must delete the file LC.CFG. Refer to Chapter 1 for more information. If History mode is on, then Hot numbers are numbers that were drawn at least once in the 10 drawings prior to the date history is set to. This option is useful for determining which numbers are currently the most active. If a number is Hot, there is a very good chance that the number will be drawn again soon. If you analyze the drawing statistics, you will find that Hot numbers account for the majority of the numbers drawn in most drawings. Cold Numbers: Select the "Cold Numbers" option to display and/or print the numbers that are currently Cold. Cold numbers are displayed starting with Cold numbers that have not been drawn for the longest period. Lotto Challenger considers a number to be Cold if it has not been drawn in the last 10 drawings (default) and if the number is not Overdue (see below). If History mode is on, then Cold numbers are numbers that have not been drawn in the 10 drawings prior to the date history is set to (if the numbers are not Overdue as of that date). This option is useful for determining what numbers are currently the least active. While Cold numbers aren't drawn as often as Hot numbers, there are usually 1 or 2 Cold numbers in every drawing. It is important to be aware of these numbers and to include some of them in each game you play. Overdue Numbers: Select the "Overdue Numbers" option to display and/or print the numbers that are currently Overdue. Overdue numbers are displayed starting with Overdue numbers that have not been drawn for the longest period. Lotto Challenger considers a number to be Overdue if it has not been drawn in the last 10 drawings (default) and if the number is in the upper 25% of the number frequency list. If History mode is on, then Overdue numbers are numbers that have not been drawn in the 10 drawings prior to the date history is set to, and are in the upper 25% of the number frequency list. 3-2 Overdue Numbers (continued): This option is useful for determining which numbers are currently inactive, but in the past showed above average activity. It is important to be aware of Overdue numbers and to include at least 1 of them in each game you play. Drawing Summary: Select the "Drawing Summary" option to display and/or print a breakdown of the categories for all previous drawings or for a specified number of drawings. After you select the Drawing Summary option, you are prompted to enter how many drawings you want in the Drawing Summary. For example, if you enter 50, then the Drawing Summary will only be for the last 50 drawings. If you press the ENTER key when prompted to enter the number of drawings, the program defaults to the total number of drawings in the data file minus the number of weeks used to determine Hot and Cold numbers (usual default is 10 weeks). For example, if there are 117 previous drawings, the program will default to 107 drawings for the Drawing Summary. This is necessary because it is not possible to determine if a number is Hot or Cold for the first 10 drawings in history. Each drawing date is listed with the number of times numbers occurred in the Hot, Last, Cold and Overdue categories. Each drawing date also has a breakdown of how many numbers were drawn in the ranges 1 to 12, 13 to 31, and 32 and up. The drawings are displayed from the oldest drawing to the most current drawing. If History mode is on, the summary includes only drawings up to and including the date history is set to. An average and a percentage is shown for each category at the end of the Drawing Summary. For example, the average for all drawings for the category "Hot Numbers" might be 3.4 and the percentage might be 56.4. This means that in a Pick-6 game, 3.4 out of every 6 numbers drawn have been Hot numbers. If you play a number system that uses 18 numbers, 56.4% of the numbers you play should be numbers that are currently Hot. If numbers in the 1 to 12 range average 1.3 draws per game or 22.1%, and 18 numbers are used, 22.1% of the numbers you play should be in the 1 to 12 range. The "Drawing Summary" option is a valuable tool when it comes to picking the numbers you are going to play. By using the Drawing Summary, you are assured that the numbers you play are consistent with previous drawing statistics. When you pick your numbers in this manner, and then use a number system included with the package, you dramatically increase your odds of winning. Use the "Quick Picks" option, described in the next chapter, to pick the numbers you will play. If you run the Drawing Summary prior to entering Quick Picks, the program automatically picks your numbers based on the Drawing Summary statistics. You only have to tell "Quick Picks" how many numbers you want to play. The Drawing Summary can be run from the Drawing Statistics menu or directly from Quick Picks. If the Drawing Summary is run from Quick Picks, you cannot display or print the summary. 3-3 CHAPTER 4 - QUICK PICKS Overview: The "Quick Picks" option is activated by pressing the F3 key from the main menu. If you have previously run the Drawing Summary from the Statistics menu or from Quick Picks, the program will use the averages and percentages previously calculated for all categories, and you will be taken directly to the Quick Picks screen. If you have not previously run the Drawing Summary, you are asked if you want to use the statistics from the Drawing Summary. If this question is answered with "Y," you are then asked for how many drawings you want to include in the summary. The program pauses while it calculates the averages and percentages for all categories, and then takes you to the Quick Picks screen. Total Numbers: Enter how many numbers you want to play and press the ENTER key. The number of numbers played is usually dependent upon the number system you plan to use. If you want to use a number system that contains 18 numbers, then you should enter 18 in this field. 1 to 12 Range: If you ran the Drawing Summary prior to entering the Quick Picks screen, this field automatically displays the recommended number of numbers to play in the 1 to 12 range. Press the ENTER key to accept the number displayed. If you didn't run the Drawing Summary, or if you wish to change what is displayed, enter the number of numbers in the 1 to 12 range you wish to play and press the ENTER key. 13 to 31 Range: If you ran the Drawing Summary prior to entering the Quick Picks screen, this field automatically displays the number of numbers to play in the 13 to 31 range. Press the ENTER key to accept the number displayed. If you didn't run the Drawing Summary, or if you wish to change what is displayed, enter the number of numbers in the 13 to 31 range you wish to play and press the ENTER key. 32 and Up Range: If is not necessary to enter a number for this range since the program automatically calculates the number by subtracting the numbers entered for the 1 to 12 range and the 13 to 31 range from the total numbers played. 4-1 Remaining Picks: The Remaining Picks field displays the number of numbers yet to be picked. Initially this field contains the number entered in the "Total Numbers" field. Each time a number is picked from one of the following categories, the "Remaining Picks" field is decreased by one. When Remaining Picks is zero, you are asked if you want to save the numbers picked. If you answer "N," you are returned to the main menu. If you answer "Y," you are asked to enter a name for your Pick file. Enter a name up to eight characters long and press the ENTER key. The program automatically adds the extension ".PIK" to the name that you entered. For example, if you enter the name FLORIDA, the full file name will be FLORIDA.PIK. After the file is saved, you are asked if you want to print your Quick Pick numbers. If you answer "Y," you will receive a listing of the categories and the numbers played in each category. The listing also will show the name of the Pick file and the order of the numbers in the file. The numbers are substituted into the number systems in the order that they appear in the file. Order is determined by the order in which the numbers are picked. If Cold numbers are picked first, then Cold numbers will appear at the beginning of the file. Cold Numbers: If you ran the Drawing Summary prior to entering the Pick Quicks screen, this field automatically displays the recommended number of Cold numbers to play. Press the ENTER key to accept the number displayed. If you didn't run the Drawing Summary, or if you wish to change what is currently displayed, enter the number of Cold numbers that you wish to play and press the ENTER key. The program randomly picks from the numbers that are "Cold" until it picks the number of Cold numbers entered. The numbers picked are displayed to the right of the "Cold Numbers" field, and to the right of the three range fields above. For example, if the number 15 is picked, it is displayed to the right of the "Cold Numbers" field, and to the right of the "13 to 31 Range" field. If the number entered in the "Cold Numbers" field is greater than the number of numbers that are presently "Cold," the program changes the number entered to the number of Cold numbers that are available. You must make up the difference in one of the other categories. The Cold numbers that are picked cannot exceed any of the numbers entered for the three different ranges. For example, if you enter "3" for the "1 to 12 Range," there cannot be more than 3 Cold numbers picked in this range. 4-2 Overdue Numbers: If you ran the Drawing Summary prior to entering the Quick Picks screen, this field automatically displays the number of Overdue numbers to play. Press the ENTER key to accept the number displayed. If you didn't run the Drawing Summary, or if you wish to change what is currently displayed, enter the number of Overdue numbers you wish to play and press the ENTER key. The program randomly picks from the numbers that are "Overdue" until it picks the number of Overdue numbers entered. The numbers picked are displayed to the right of the "Overdue Numbers" field, and to the right of the three range fields above. For example, if the number 20 is picked, it is displayed to the right of the "Overdue Numbers" field, and to the right of the "13 to 31 Range" field. If the number entered in the "Overdue Numbers" field is greater than the number of numbers that are Overdue, the program changes the number entered to the number of Overdue numbers that are available. You must make up the difference in another category. The Overdue numbers that are picked cannot exceed any of the numbers entered for the three different ranges. For example, if you enter "5" in the "13 to 31 Range" field, there cannot be more than 5 Overdue numbers picked in this range. Last Weeks Draws: If you ran the Drawing Summary prior to entering the Quick Picks screen, this field automatically displays the number of Last Week's numbers to play. Press the ENTER key to accept the number displayed. If you didn't run the Drawing Summary, or if you wish to change what is displayed, enter the number of Last Week's numbers you wish to play and press the ENTER key. The program randomly picks from Last Week's numbers until it picks the number of numbers entered. The numbers picked are displayed to the right of the "Last Week's Draws" field, and to the right of the three range fields. For example, if the number 3 is picked, it is displayed to the right of the "Last Week's Draws" field, and to the right of the "1 to 12 Range" field. You cannot enter a number in the "Last Week's Draws" field that is larger than the number of numbers drawn in your lottery. The numbers that are picked cannot exceed any of the numbers entered for the three different ranges. Hot Numbers: If you ran the Drawing Summary prior to entering the Quick Picks screen, this field automatically displays the number of Hot number to play. Press the ENTER key to accept the number displayed. If you didn't run the Drawing Summary, or if you wish to change what is displayed, enter the number of Hot numbers you wish to pick and press the ENTER key. 4-3 Hot Numbers (continued): The program randomly picks from the numbers that are "Hot" until it picks the number of Hot numbers entered. The numbers picked are displayed to the right of the "Hot Numbers" field, and to the right of the three range fields. For example, if the number 25 is picked, it is displayed to the right of the "Hot Numbers" field and to the right of the "13 to 31 Range" field. If the number entered in the "Hot Numbers" field is greater than the number of numbers that are Hot, the program changes the number to the number of Hot numbers that are available. You must make up the difference in another category. The Hot numbers that are picked cannot exceed any of the numbers entered for the three different ranges. For example, if you enter 10 in the "1 to 12 Range" field, there cannot be more than 10 Hot numbers picked in this range. Favorite Numbers: Enter how many "Favorite Numbers" that you wish to include with your other picks and press the ENTER key. You are then asked to enter your Favorite numbers. Type in each number and press the ENTER key. The numbers are displayed to the right of the "Favorite Numbers" field, and to the right of the three range fields. For example, if you enter the number 30, it is displayed to the right of the "Favorite Numbers" field and to the right of the "13 to 31 Range" field. The favorite numbers that you enter cannot exceed any of the numbers entered for the three different ranges. For example, if you enter 3 in the "1 to 12 Range" field and 3 numbers have already been picked in this range, you are not allowed to enter a Favorite number in this range. You also are not allowed to enter a number that has already been picked in another category. Random Numbers: Enter how many "Random Numbers" that you wish to include with your other picks and press the ENTER key. Numbers are then picked at random from any of the above categories. The numbers are displayed to the right of the "Random Numbers" field and to the right of the three range fields. For example, if the number 10 is picked, it is displayed to the right of the "Random Numbers" field and to the right of the "1 to 12 Range" field. The Random numbers that are picked cannot exceed any of the numbers entered for the three different ranges. For example, if you enter 5 in the "13 to 31 Range" field and five numbers have already been picked in this range, then none of the Random numbers picked can be in this range. Numbers that have already been picked in another category cannot be picked again. 4-4 CHAPTER 5 - NUMBER SYSTEMS Overview: The "number Systems" option is activated by pressing the F4 key from the main menu. The options available form the Number Systems menu are "Play A Number System," "Edit A Number System" and "Quit." Select "Quit" to return to the Lotto Challenger main menu. Select the "Play A Number System" option to play one of the 20 number systems provided for Pick-5 and Pick-6 games. Prior to selecting this option, you must first use the Quick Picks option to create at least one ".PIK" file with the numbers you are going to play. See Chapter 4 for more information on the Quick Picks option. Select the "Edit A Number System" option to edit any of the 20 existing number systems, or to enter your own number systems. If you want to experiment with other systems, Data Solutions sells several Lotto books written by the famous Robert Serotic. These books contain hundreds of number systems that you can enter using the "Edit A Number System" option. Registered users of Lotto Challenger receive a discount on all lottery books. The following system is one of the number systems included for Pick-6 games (Option J). It uses 10 numbers that are played in 15 tickets. The system guarantees that if the 6 numbers drawn are in the 10 numbers you pick, you will win at least second prize (5 out of 6). This is how the system looks after it has been entered using the "Edit A Number System" option from the Number Systems menu: 01. 01 02 03 04 05 06 02. 01 02 03 07 08 09 03. 01 02 04 06 09 10 04. 01 02 06 07 08 10 05. 01 03 04 05 07 10 06. 01 03 04 08 09 10 07. 01 05 06 07 08 09 08. 01 05 06 08 09 10 09. 02 03 04 05 07 08 10. 02 03 05 06 08 10 11. 02 03 05 07 09 10 12. 02 04 05 07 08 09 13. 02 04 05 07 08 10 14. 03 04 06 07 08 09 15. 03 04 06 07 09 10 If you select the "Play A Number System" option from the Number Systems menu and then select this system (option J), you are asked to select a ".PIK" file that you previously saved using the "Quick Picks" option. Let's say that the ".PIK" file you select contains the following 10 numbers in this order: 12, 15, 20, 23, 28, 30, 34, 39, 43, 49. The program takes the numbers from the ".PIK" file and substitutes them into the above system based on their order in the file. The number 1 is replaced with the first number, 12. The number 2 is replaced with the second number, number 15, etc. When all the numbers have been substituted into the system, the tickets look like this: 5-1 Overview (continued): 01. 12 15 20 23 28 30 02. 12 15 20 34 39 43 03. 12 15 23 30 43 49 04. 12 15 30 34 39 49 05. 12 20 23 28 34 49 06. 12 20 23 39 43 49 07. 12 28 30 34 39 43 08. 12 28 30 39 43 49 09. 15 20 23 28 34 39 10. 15 20 28 30 39 49 11. 15 20 28 34 43 49 12. 15 23 28 34 39 43 13. 15 23 28 34 39 49 14. 20 23 30 34 39 43 15. 20 23 30 34 43 49 We recommend that you print and save your tickets generated by the number system. You can then use the listing to mark your lottery tickets. Use the ticket file (extension .TIK) later to compare your tickets to the numbers drawn that week using the "Winner's Circle" menu option. See Chapter 6 for more information about the "Winner's Circle" option. Play A Number System: Select the "Play A Number System" option to play one of the 20 number systems provided. Prior to selecting this option you must save at least one ".PIK" file with the "Quick Picks" option. Select a system by using the arrow keys or mouse to highlight the system name and press ENTER. You also can type the letter preceding the system name. Once you have selected a system, the prize guarantee for that system is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Press any key to continue, or press ESC to cancel. After you select a number system, a window is displayed with the names the ".PIK" files previously saved. Highlight the name of the file you wish to use using the arrow keys or mouse and press ENTER or the left mouse button. Press the ESC key or right mouse button to cancel and return to the Number Systems menu. If you attempt to select a ".PIK" file with fewer numbers than the number system you chose, you will receive an error message. The file must contain at least as many numbers as the number of numbers in the number system that you select to play. After you have selected a ".PIK" file, the program substitutes the numbers in the number system with the numbers in the ".PIK" file. The resulting tickets are displayed on the screen. Valid command keys are displayed in a window at the bottom of the screen. If there is more than one screen of tickets, press any key other than a command key or press the left mouse button to display the next screen. It is not necessary to display all the screens prior to saving or printing the tickets. Press the ESC key or the right mouse button to cancel and return to the Number Systems menu. 5-2 Play A Number System (continued): Press the F8 key to save and print the tickets displayed. Make sure your printer is ready before selecting this option. You are asked to enter a ticket filename. The default filename is the filename used for the ".PIK" file that you selected. You can use this name or type in a different name. The extension ".TIK" is automatically added to the name. This file is used by the "Winner's Circle" option to compare your tickets to the numbers drawn that week. Press the F9 key to save the tickets without printing. Press the F10 key to print the tickets without saving. Edit A Number System: Select the "Edit A Number System" option to edit one of the 20 number systems provided, or to enter your own system(s). Select a system to edit by using the arrow keys or mouse to highlight the system name and press the ENTER key or left mouse button. You also can type the letter preceding the system name. Select "Quit" to return to the Number Systems menu. After you select a number system to edit, you are asked to enter the number of tickets for the system. Enter a number between 1 and 480. Next enter how many numbers you want to play in the system. You are then asked to enter the number system description on the next three lines. For example, a description might be "First prize - Jackpot (6 out of 6) is guaranteed if 6 of the 10 numbers are correct." If you enter number systems from any of Robert Serotic's Lotto books, he includes a prize guarantee for each system. After you have entered the description, press the END key to update the information, or press the ESC key or right mouse button to cancel and return to the Number Systems menu. After you press the END key, the screen clears and you must enter the numbers for each ticket (see the example in the overview in this chapter). Type in the numbers and press the ENTER key to go to the next ticket. Press the ESC key or the right mouse button to cancel and return to the Number Systems menu. When you have entered all the tickets, press the END key to save the number system. The number of numbers and tickets in the system determine the name the number system is given. For example, a system with 10 numbers and 15 tickets is given the name "10 NUMBERS, 015 TICKETS." 5-3 CHAPTER 6 - WINNER'S CIRCLE Overview: The "Winner's Circle" option is activated by pressing the F5 key from the main menu. This option is user to compare the tickets saved using the "Play A Number System" option with the Lotto numbers drawn that week. See Chapter 5 for more information on Number Systems. Prior to selecting this option, you must save a least one ticket file (extension ".TIK") using the "Play A Number System" option. You also must enter the week's winning numbers using the "Add New Drawing" option from the Update menu. Refer to Chapter 2 for more information. Operation: After you select the "Winner's Circle" option, the names of the ticket files are displayed in a window. Use the arrow keys or a mouse to highlight the filename you wish to check and press the ENTER key or the left mouse button. The screen clears and the tickets for the file that you selected are displayed. Bonus numbers drawn are displayed in inverse video. To the right of each ticket in parentheses is the number of numbers in that ticket that matched the week's winning numbers. Valid command keys are displayed in a window at the bottom of the screen, along with the winning numbers for the week. Press the ESC key or the right mouse button to cancel and return to the main menu. Press the F10 key to print the ticket information. It is not necessary to scan through all the screens before selecting the print option. Press any other key or the left mouse button to go to the next screen. If there is more than one screen of tickets, the second screen of tickets is displayed. If not, the ticket summary screen is displayed. The summary screen gives a breakdown of how many tickets had 0 matches, 1 match, 2 matches, 3 matches, etc. Press the ESC key or the right mouse button to return to the Lotto Challenger main menu. 6-1 CHAPTER 7 - HISTORY MODE Overview: The "History Mode" option is activated by pressing the F6 key from the main menu. History Mode is used to set time back a particular number of drawings. Once History Mode has been set, all the main menu functions except the "Update Lottery Data" option base their calculations on the drawings up to the date History Mode is set to. History Mode is very useful for testing number systems on previous drawings. For example, if you wanted to test how well a particular number system would have done 10 drawings ago, you should first set History Mode to -10 drawings. You then select the "Quick Picks" option and run the Drawing Summary so that the program automatically picks your numbers based on the statistical analysis of drawings up to that date in history. Save the numbers that are picked to a file. Next select the "Play A Number System" option from the Number Systems menu to substitute the numbers picked in "Quick Picks" with the number system you are testing. Save the resulting tickets to a file. Choose "History Mode" and set it to -9 drawings. Select the "Winner's Circle" option to compare the tickets from your number system to the numbers picked in the next drawing. Operation: After you select the "History Mode" option, you are asked to enter the number of drawings to go back. History is initially set to zero or off. Enter a number from 1 up to the total number of drawings on file to turn History Mode on. To turn History Mode off, select "History Mode" and enter a zero. For example, let's say that there are 70 drawings currently on file and the last drawing date is 12/20/90. You select "History Mode" and enter a "1" and press ENTER. The bottom of the main menu screen now shows 69 drawings on file and the last drawing date as 12/13/90. An indicator at the bottom of the screen shows "History On (-1)." To return to the present, select "History Mode" again and enter a "0" and press ENTER. 7-1 CHAPTER 8 - CONFIGURE NEW SYSTEM Overview: The "Configure New System" option is activated by pressing the F7 key from the main menu. Select this option whenever you want to create a new lotto data file. The maximum number of data files allowed is limited only by the amount of disk space available. All data files have an extension of ".DAT." This option is automatically displayed if you attempt to load Lotto Challenger without any data files present. Operation: After you select the "Configure New System" option, the screen clears and the Lottery Configuration window appears. Valid command keys are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Press the ESC key or the right mouse button to cancel and return to the Lotto Challenger main menu. You must answer four questions concerning your lottery before you can create a data file. Enter the name of the lottery you are playing. The name can be up to eight characters long. The extension ".DAT" is automatically added to whatever name that you enter. Next enter the highest number that can be drawn in the lottery you are playing. For example, in the Florida lottery, the highest number that can be drawn is the number 49. You are then asked if your lottery has a Bonus number. Answer with a "Y" if your lottery has a Bonus number and you wish to include it in the statistical analysis. Finally, enter the total number of numbers that are drawn each week in your lottery. In the Florida lottery, there are 6 numbers drawn each week. If you answered "Y" to the question above concerning Bonus numbers, be sure to include the Bonus number in your total. For example, the California lottery has 6 regular numbers and 1 Bonus number. For the California lottery you should enter 7 for the total numbers drawn. After you answer all four questions, press the END key to create the data file. If you enter a filename that already exists, you are alerted to that fact and asked if you wish to continue. If you answer "Y," the existing file is erased and a new data file is created. 8-1 CHAPTER 9 - SELECT ANOTHER LOTTERY Overview: The "Select Another Lottery" option is activated by pressing the F8 key from the main menu. Select this option if you play more than one lottery and wish to change lotteries without exiting the program. Operation: After you choose the "Select Another Lottery" option, the screen clears and a window displays all the data files. These files all have the extension ".DAT." If there are more data files than can be displayed in the window, use the PG DN or PG UP keys to scroll through the window. Press the ESC key or the right mouse button to cancel and return to the Lotto Challenger main menu. Highlight the name of the data file you wish to use using the arrow keys or mouse and press the ENTER key. The Lotto Challenger main menu is then displayed with the name of the data file you just selected. The bottom of the main menu screen displays the number of drawing on file, the date of the last drawing, and whether History Mode is on or off. History mode is automatically set to off whenever you select another data file. 9-1 CHAPTER 10 - FILE MAINTENANCE Overview: The "File Maintenance" option is activated by pressing the F9 key from the Lotto Challenger main menu. Select this option if you want to delete any old Quick Picks files (extension ".PIK") or ticket files (extension ".TIK"). If you save your numbers to the same filename each week, it is not necessary to delete the files, since the files will be over written each week with the new numbers. Operation: After you select the "File Maintenance" option, a window displays the names of the ".PIK" and ".TIK" files in your data directory. If there are no files, you will see a message alerting you to that fact and the window will not appear. Once the window is displayed, use the arrow keys or mouse to highlight the name of the file you wish to delete. Press the ENTER key or the left mouse button to delete the file. Before the file is deleted, you will be asked to confirm the deletion. If you answer "Y," the file is deleted. Once the file is deleted, you are returned to the file window where you can delete another file if you wish. If there are no more files to delete, press the ESC key or the right mouse button to return to the Lotto Challenger main menu. 10-1