Going by the definition of Wikipedia, a lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Lotteries are outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. Haven said that, it perfectly okay to play lottery. There is nothing wrong with trying out your luck. But it is a good idea to make it a habit. In this article, we will explain the chances to win that exist in playing lottery so you, the reader, will be well informed. Although this is not the first article on the internet talking about lottery, it may help you as you play along.
Every lottery has rules which anyone playing it suppose to know. Most of the lotteries want the player to match certain number of numbers (say 5, 6 or 7) from a pool of numbers (say 36, 49, 51 or 60). Those lotteries are in such a way that one can win some money by matching 3, 4 or more numbers out of the winning combination. The order of matching does not really matter.
Calculating Your Chance Of Winning
This is not intended to turn you into a mathematician, if you aren’t already one, overnight. It is rather to give you an idea of what is involved. Now consider a lottery for which you have to match 7 numbers from a pool of 1 to 49 numbers. The number of combinations of 7 numbers from the pool is given by a combination formula:
C(n, k) = n!/k!(n – k)!
If you want to know more about combination and permutation in lottery games, go here.
Where n is the total number in the pool, 49 for our case and k is the number of numbers to match, 7 for our case. The exclamation is mathematical sign for factorial. Four factorial for example is written 4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24.
For our case study, we have
C(n, k) = 49!/7!(49 – 7)! = 49!/7!42!
= 85,900,584
This means that there are 85,900,584 (over 85 million) possible combinations of 7 numbers out of the 1 to 49 pool of numbers. Any combination you play has a chance of 1/85,900,584 to win and that is equal to 0.00000001164 or 0.000001164% chance of winning. This is really minute. It is so infinitesimal that you cannot bank your hope on it. Period! Math is good! It helps you determine what to rely on.
Consider a situation where the pool of numbers to pick from is increased from 49 to 51, possible combinations will be:
C(n, k) = 51!/7!(51 – 7)! = 51!/7!44!
= 115,775,100
Notice that there are millions of increase in the possible combinations of 7 numbers. This will result in a relative decrease in the chance of winning. In this case, the chance of winning from a single play ticket is:
1/115,775,100
= 0.000000008637 or 0.0000008637%
To find the percentage change in the chance of winning by the shift from 49-number pool to 51-number pool:
Percentage of change = C(n, k) = ((0.00000001164 – 0.000000008637)/0.00000001164) x 100%
= 25.8%
This means that the chance of winning is decreased by 25.8% for increasing the pool of numbers by 2 and keeping the set constant at 7 numbers.
The chances are made even slimmer by the fact that the drawing machines used in the lotteries employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) that enable them to know what combinations have been played, from which locations and play machines they were played, and what combinations have not been played. With this information, it is possible to pick combinations of numbers that nobody played. That is why sometimes you see lottery organizations presenting draws that nobody won. The enormous information that the machines have also enable the operators to choose which location wins prizes including the jackpot. The operators can afford to delay the winning of a jackpot for as long as they want. Some people are of the opinion that only a small percentage of the published winners, especially non-jackpot winners, are real; they claim that majority of the published winners are questionable and manipulated as there is no way of finding out who the persons are unless through investigation. It is hoped that that is not happening. For you to better understand how difficult it is to win, ask the stores that sell tickets how many numbers played at their stores won at the end of each draw. You can tell your friends living in other areas to also ask. Compare the result of your findings with what lottery organizations publish on the internet or paper. Still other people see the lottery draw machine as a coded simulation. The chances of winning are therefore not only based on mathematical probability but also on mischief and management’s prerogative. It is very likely, therefore, that buying many tickets may not increase your chances of winning. Until the operators change their mode of operation, it is advisable that you don’t throw your weight on playing. That is, do not make it a habit. There is nothing wrong with picketing a ticket when you feel like playing. If you make it a habit, you will be missing opportunities to do other things that matter and be appreciated/rewarded – like sharing with family members and friends, helping the needy, giving to charity, etc. A bird at hand, they say, is better than a million in the bush.
Some players are of the opinion that it is better for lottery organizations to pay out hundreds of thousands to many people than to call out millions of money without allowing anybody to win. Without greed, any lottery organization can still be paying out well while fulfilling its rightful objectives. If a lottery organization is owned by any government, wholly or partially, it should carry out the following objectives:
- Reduce wealth imbalance and lift people above poverty line
- Create jobs
- Earn money for the government.
The objectives are arranged in their order of importance and should be adhered to. Other than that, activity of the organization will appear not to be objective. If the lottery organization is privately owned, government should have a way of vetting its activities to ensure that the masses are not scammed. Whereby a government is involved in any lottery organization but the objectives are not prioritized in the order given above, the government should reconsider its policy on that. What is expected of the government is to make sure a lottery organization is properly regulated to realize the objectives. The organization should be compelled to draw from the pool of chosen number sets (as made by players) rather than drawing from number sets that were not played. This is doable and financially feasible. Almost all lottery organizations draw winning tickets multiple times a week. At each draw, the organization can set aside certain percentage of the whole amount realized from the sale of lottery tickets and make sure that the percentage is distributed to players by way of the draw. It is better that real people win tens or hundreds of thousands of money than calling out millions of money and assigning winning to imaginary (ghost) players. Someone will prefer to win 100,000 amount of money rather than chasing after 30 to 100 million amount of money all their life without winning anything. If a lottery organization fails to comply with the government in line with the listed objectives, it will be a sign that the organization is tilted towards scam.
How To Match Numbers
What do you want to know here? If anyone tells you there is a formula to match numbers, forget it. There is none! When you want to play, just follow your mind. Try and put in the effort of choosing numbers as your mind directs you. Hope that the gods in low, high, near, far, visible and hidden places will be on your side. Good luck!
Guest writer
