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The LOTTO NUMBER GENERATOR (tm) A "Pick Six" Lottery Analysis Program Version 5.1 CopyRight (c)1987,88,89,90,91,92 by Dan K Nelson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE INTRODUCTION Thank you for your interest in THE LOTTO NUMBER GENERATOR (tm), the original and often imitated "Pick Six" lottery analysis and forecasting program for the serious lotto player. This program is the result of over five years of development and testing in almost every states' "pick six" lottery in the USA, as well as Canada and Europe. The analysis and forecasting routines used in this program incorporate many mathematical algorithms similar to those in use by both governmental and private agencies to determine "what if" calculations, as well as many proprietary algorithms developed through several years of actual lotto game play. This program is designed to provide the lotto player with a wealth of information to help determine which numbers to play, therefore there are numerous menu choices and screen data displays. Although the program has been designed to be easy to use through the use of "point and shoot" menus and pop-up display screens which are clear and concise, there are many fine points to the operation of the program which may not be readily apparent. Because this program provides so many ways to look at the lotto game data, this user manual has been designed to help prevent "information overload", so that you can quickly and fully understand the inner workings of the program's applied play logic. This user manual has been written to be easy to understand, and to answer any questions which you might have concerning the operation of the program. Therefore you are strongly advised to read this user manual before using the program, and to keep it handy for future reference, in order to receive the maximum benefit from the use of this program. - 1 - LICENSING AGREEMENT AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE All files, programs, documentation, and user interface contained in the program distribution ZIP file "LOTTO51.ZIP" are CopyRight (c)1987-92 by Dan K Nelson, Lakewood, CA., United States of America. This program and associated files are being distributed as ShareWare, they ARE NOT Freeware or public domain programs. The author, Dan K Nelson, grants you a limited license to use the product for a limited evaluation period not to exceed 30 days. If, at the end of the evaluation period you find the program of value, and wish to continue it's use beyond the 30 day period, you must register your use of this software with the program author, Dan K Nelson. To register your use of the software after the 30 day evaluation period, use the registration form contained at the back of this manual. Complete the form, enclose the registration fee for the type of registration you desire, and send the completed form and payment to: Dan K Nelson P.O. Box 1218 Lakewood, CA 90714-1218 U.S.A. Upon receipt of your registration form and payment, you will receive your personal registration number, along with instructions on how to validate your copy of the program. Once you have "unlocked" your copy of the program, the ShareWare Registration screen and the "UNREGISTERED COPY" identifiers will no longer be displayed. (Please note that your personal registration number is for your PERSONAL USE ONLY. You may not divulge this information to any other party.) By registering your continued use of this software, you have not purchased the software itself, but rather a limited license to use it for your personal use on a continuing basis. You may freely distribute the original, NON-VALIDATED program to whomever you please as long as you distribute the complete collection of unmodified files as contained in the original archive package "LOTTO51.ZIP". You may not receive payment for any such distribution beyond the actual cost of the distributed media. Shareware Vendors, User Groups, and such may charge a small fee for the distribution of this program, not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) per copy, providing you make it clear that your fee IS NOT a registration fee, but a distribution charge, and that the Author does not receive any portion of any such payment. All right to title and profit from this software (excluding Shareware vendor distribution fees and /or any monies won through the use of this software) remains with the program author, Dan K Nelson. - 2 - Additionally, you are not permitted to de-compile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise modify this program or any accompanying files, nor is this user manual to be modified or changed in any manner. DISCLAIMER AND LIMIT OF LIABILITY NOTICE The LOTTO NUMBER GENERATOR(tm) is distributed for educational and entertainment purposes only. Although the program uses many accepted mathematical and statistical routines in its' operation, the Author makes NO GUARANTEES, either expressed or implied, that the use of this program will enable anyone to win any lotto game that they may play based on the data obtained by the use of this program. The use of this program is at the sole choice and risk of the user. The Author will not be liable for any loss or damage that may result from the use of this program. Period. - 3 - TABLE OF CONTENTS Basic System Hardware Requirements ..................... 6 Getting Started ........................................ 7 Single Floppy Drive ............................... 7 Dual Floppy Drives ................................ 7 Installing The Program on a Hard Drive ............ 8 Running The Program .................................... 9 Configuring The Program Operating Parameters ........... 9 Main Menu Selections Run Lotto Drawing Simulator ....................... 12 Forecast Based on Simulations ..................... 14 Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers ............ 15 Rank Correlation - Actual vs. Simulated ........... 17 Display Past Winning Number Combinations .......... 18 Enter This Week's Winning Lotto Numbers ........... 19 Run Lotto Number Aging Analysis ................... 20 Utilities Menu .................................... 22 Exit Program (Quit) ............................... 22 Utilities Menu Selections Delete Simulation Data Files ...................... 23 Print Lotto Winning Number Data ................... 24 Enter Board Numbers Played This Week .............. 25 Analyze Boards Played For Winning Numbers ......... 26 Delete Old Board / Wheeled Number Data ............ 27 Edit Winning Game Number Data File ................ 28 Run "Quick Pick" Forecast Analysis ................ 29 Lotto Number Wheeling Menu ........................ 29 - 4 - TABLE OF CONTENTS, Continued Program Configuration ............................. 30 Return to Main Menu ............................... 30 Wheel Menu Selections Set / Change Wheel Options ........................ 32 Execute Wheeling Routine .......................... 35 Generate Skip Wheel File .......................... 36 Display Wheel File Data ........................... 36 Print Wheel File Numbers .......................... 37 Return to Utilities Menu .......................... 37 Printing Displayed Screens ............................. 13 Description of Program Disk Files ...................... 38 Introduction ........................................... 1 Licensing Agreement and Copyright Notice ............... 2 Disclaimer and Limit of Liability Notice ............... 3 Suggestions for Using the Program Features ............. 40 Using the Program for Multiple State Play .............. 43 If You Have Problems or Questions ...................... 46 What's New in Version 5.1 .............................. 45 - 5 - BASIC SYSTEM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS This program has been designed to run on any IBM PC, XT, AT, or 100% compatible 8088, 80286, 80386, or 80486 based personal computer. Minimum system hardware requirements: 1) An IBM, MSDOS, or compatible personal computer 2) At least 1 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk drive 3) A monochrome monitor 4) 256K system memory 5) PC or MS DOS version v.3.3 or later Optional hardware 1) A dot matrix, laser, or "daisy wheel" printer 2) A color monitor 3) A fixed disk (or "hard drive") of any size This program has been tested on numerous computer hardware configurations and with many memory resident software programs with complete success. However, since all memory resident software is not necessarily "well behaved" it is possible that certain of these programs might cause a conflict with the Lotto program. In the event that you experience any problems with this software it is recommended that you eliminate any memory resident programs you may be running and then run the Lotto program again. This will usually resolve the problem. - 6 - GETTING STARTED The very first thing you should do before running the program is to make a "working copy" of the distribution disk. This can be easily accomplished by following the steps below for your particular hardware set up. SINGLE FLOPPY DRIVE 1) Place a write protect tab on your distribution disk. 2) Format a new floppy disk to be used as your working copy. 3) Place your DISTRIBUTION DISK in drive A 4) At the DOS prompt, enter the following command: A> COPY *.* B: (press return) Follow the on screen prompts to switch between your distribution (source) disk and your working (target) disk while the files are being copied. 5) After the files have been copied, remove your distribution disk from drive A and place it in a safe place, then begin using your working disk for all subsequent operations. DUAL FLOPPY DRIVES 1) Place a write protect tab on your distribution disk. 2) Format a new floppy disk to be used as your working copy. 3) Place your distribution disk in drive A and the blank formatted disk in drive B. 4) At the DOS prompt, enter the following command: A> COPY *.* B: (press return) 5) After the files have been copied, remove your distribution disk from drive A and place it in a safe place, then begin using your working disk for all subsequent operations. - 7 - INSTALLING THE PROGRAM ON A HARD DRIVE 1) Place a write protect tab on your distribution disk. 2) Place your distribution disk in drive A. 3) At the DOS prompt, enter the following commands: A> C: (press return) (This will switch your "logged drive" to drive C) C> CD\ (press return) (This will change your logged directory to the root directory of drive C) C> MD\LOTTO (press return) (This will make a new subdirectory on drive C named LOTTO) C> CD\LOTTO (press return) (This will change your logged directory to the new subdirectory LOTTO) C> COPY A:*.* (press return) (This will copy all of the files on your distribution disk to your new subdirectory LOTTO on drive C) 4) After the files have been copied, remove your distribution disk from drive A and place it in a safe place and use the files in C:\LOTTO for all subsequent operations. NOTE: If you do not understand these directions please refer to your DOS manual for help with the DOS commands, or ask the assistance of a friend or co-worker who may know more about the subject. If you are currently using an earlier version of The Lotto Number Generator, versions 1.5 - 4.1, you do not need to recreate the winning number data file to run this version. To use your existing winning number data file, simply use the DOS "RENAME" command to change the name of the file (WIN15.DAT for version 1.5 - 2.0, and WIN30.DAT for version 3.0) to "WINGAME.DAT". All remaining data files are compatible with this version. If you are currently using versions 4.0 - 4.1, simply copy your existing data files to the version 5.0 disk/directory, all of the data file names are compatible with this version. - 8 - RUNNING THE PROGRAM To run the program, make sure that you are "logged" onto the proper disk drive or hard drive directory which contains the Lotto program files. Then at the DOS prompt, enter the following command: A:> LOTTO51 (press return) The program will load and in a few seconds you will be presented with the opening screen informing you of the program title and a few other details. After a short delay this screen will disappear, and you will be presented with the main menu screen which will consist of a moving bar type menu containing several choices. CONFIGURING THE PROGRAM OPERATING PARAMETERS If this is the first time you have run the program, you will be placed at the program configuration menu screen. Here you will be asked to set your choices for several of the programs' operating parameters. You must answer these questions in order to provide the program with the information it needs to run properly with your state lottery parameters. YOU CANNOT exit this function without going through the entire configuration selection, however you can carriage return through any choices you may have made earlier and they will be preserved. Because of the importance of maintaining the program configuration, the selections you enter will automatically be saved to disk each time you complete this menu selection, thereby over-writing any previously saved configuration data. The configuration menu asks you to set your preferences for the following parameters: Largest Number Drawn in Your State's Lotto ? This parameter will allow you to specify the range of numbers drawn in your states' lotto game. You can enter any number from 1 to 60. For example, if your state lotto is a pick 6 of 53, you would enter 53 here. Does Your State Draw A "Bonus Number" Also ? This parameter will allow you to have the program track not only the main winning numbers, but an additional "bonus" or "extra" number draw also. Many states pick the main 6 winning numbers, and also an additional winning number that will pay if you hit a certain number combination which includes this "bonus" number. The "bonus" number your state draws must relate to the main 6 winning numbers, and be within their number range. - 9 - If your state draws a non-related "bonus" number, such as 1856, then you would set this option to "N" (no). Use Sound Effects in Prompts, Etc. ? This parameter will allow you to turn on or off the sound effects generated during the various program routine executions and error message displays. If you are using this program at work (during your lunch hour, of course), or late at night you may want to run the program in the silent mode. Whether or not the sound is turned on you will still be visually advised of any errors during program operation. Are You Using a Color or Monochrome Monitor ? This parameter will allow you to specify which type of display screen you are using. It should be noted that the program attempts to read your hardware registers to determine the display type and will set itself accordingly. This option is only included in the event that the program cannot determine your hardware type, which can occur with some manufacturers display adaptor cards. Just to be safe, all that you will need to do is specify either "C" for a color display, or "M" for a monochrome display, and the video attributes used in the screen displays will be correct. Use Regular or "Exploding" Display Windows ? All of the screen display generated by this program makes use of "pop up" window displays. This setting allows you to determine whether the display windows "pop up" quickly, or "explode" from the center of the screen outward. Setting this is just a matter of personal taste, and has no effect on the actual operation of the program other than how the display windows are presented. Use Regular or "Shadowed" Display Windows ? Again, this setting is simply a matter of personal taste. If you set this option to regular (R), the display windows will be drawn normally. If you set this option to shadowed (S), the window will have a black shadow drawn on the bottom and left side of the display. This presents a "3-D" effect which can be useful in helping to make the active window more apparent on a monochrome monitor. After you have set all of the requested parameters on this display screen, you will be asked if they are correct. If they are, enter "Y" and the parameters will be saved to disk and will become the startup default parameters the next time the program is run. If they are not correct, enter "N" and you will be given another chance to set or change them. - 10 - This process will continue until you respond "Y", and the parameters are saved to disk. Once this is done, you will be presented with the Main Menu screen. The next time you run the program, you will go straight to the Main Menu screen upon program startup. >>>> PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING <<<< The FIRST time you run the program you will be allowed to change all of the configuration parameters as often as you wish. However, after you exit the program you will no longer be able to change two of the programs operating parameters- the largest number drawn and whether or not you play a bonus number. The reason for this restriction is to prevent an accidental corruption of the past winning number database after you have defined its' parameters. The next time you run the program, you will still be able to change any of the other configuration parameters as often as you like. *** IF YOU MADE A MISTAKE ON THE FIRST CONFIGURATION OR IF YOUR STATE CHANGES THE GAME PARAMETERS *** If you accidentally configured the program incorrectly on the first pass, or if the state changes the game after you configured its' parameters, you will need to "fool" the program in order to be able to reset the new game parameters. To do this, you will need to delete the file "PARAMS.CFG" which was created when you first configured the program. This can be easily accomplished by logging onto the drive or hard disk directory which contains your LOTTO program files and at the DOS prompt, enter the following command: A> DEL PARAMS.CFG (then press return) Then, simply run the LOTTO program again. When the program starts, it will look for the file you just deleted, and if it is not found, it will assume that the program has never been configured and will then default to the configuration menu. Then all you have to do is enter the new game play parameters and the program will use this information as the new default startup parameters. Any previously entered past winning number data will be preserved, and any new entries will be appended to the existing file according to the new game parameters. NOTE ON THE PROGRAM USER INTERFACE The program makes use of moving bar point and shoot type menus for most of the function selections. To enter a menu selection, simply use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar to the menu selection you wish to execute and press the return key. Pressing the [ESC] key will abort the selected function and return you to the previous menu in most cases. In those few cases where the [ESC] key does not abort, the bottom of the screen display will provide you with instructions on how to abort the selected menu function. - 11 - >>> MAIN MENU FUNCTIONS <<< RUN LOTTO DRAWING SIMULATOR Chosing this function will allow you to do computer simulations of the Lotto games' number drawing process. You will be presented with an initial window asking you how many reiterations ("throws of the dice") you want to run. From each reiteration, the computer will "remember" each of the numbers that are drawn. You should run at least 100 reiterations in order to ensure that all of the possible numbers are drawn at least once. Fewer than 100 reiterations will not produce enough data to properly analyze, therefore the program will default to a minimum of 100. After you specify the number of reiterations, the computer will begin to generate the simulations. A window will be displayed informing you of the number of reiterations requested, as well as the current reiteration number. This can be a very handy visual aid if you have requested a very large number of reiterations because of the increased time it will take to complete the computations. When the simulation is completed, a window will appear informing you of the results. The window will be labeled "LOTTO DRAWING SIMULATOR". Inside the window will be columns of numbers. The first number is a number from 1 to the largest number drawn according to the program configuration. The second number is the number of times that number was drawn during the simulation. The third number is the percentage of recurrence ("hits") for that number in relation to the other numbers drawn. Below this data will be displayed the start and completion times (in military time) for this simulation. This is helpful in estimating the time required for large reiteration requests. Also displayed on this line is the number of reiterations for the current simulation. On the next line will be displayed the top 6 recurring numbers for this simulation session. They are ranked in order from 1 to lastnumber, therefore it is possible that a number larger than the sixth number picked will have been drawn an equal number of times. This simply means that either number has an equal chance of recurring. For example if the top six numbers picked were 1 2 3 4 5 6, but the number 34 hit as often as the number 6, it would not be picked in the top recurring number display but it would be as good a bet as the number 6. The next display line will ask you if you want to save the data. If you respond yes (Y), the top six numbers displayed will be saved in a data file for later analysis to forecast winning numbers based on simulations. If you respond no (N), you will be returned to the start of the simulation routine, in the event that you wish to run another simulation. If you do not, just press the "return" key, and you will be returned to the Main Menu. - 12 - TIPS ON USING THE LOTTO DRAWING SIMULATOR In order to gain the maximum benefit from this function, you should run several sets of simulations and save the result data. Just like the past winning number set data, the more simulated data the program has to analyze, the more accurate the forecast will be. Experience has shown that a good set of data can be obtained by running the simulator at between 100 and 500 reiterations, and saving the data. Then, go back to the Main Menu and run the "Forecast Based on Simulations" function. This will update the data file used by the "Rank Correlation" function when set on "Internal". Next, run the Rank Correlation function. This function will analyze the simulation data and indicate how well the simulated number set compares to actual past winning number data (based on the last run of the "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers" function). If you run the simulations as described above and get poor correlation results, you should delete the simulation data and run a new set of simulations to analyze. The number of simulations and reiterations is not set in stone. This is a random data evaluation function, so experiment ! You may find a combination of simulations and reiterations which regularly gives excellent correlation results. If you do, then by all means play those numbers. You just may be the next millionaire in your state ! NOTE: Refer to the sections in this manual on the "Rank Correlation", "Forecast Based on Simulated Data", "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers", and "Delete Simulated Number Data" functions for detailed information on these program functions. PRINTING DISPLAYED SCREENS Throughout most of the program functions you can print the displayed screens by pressing the [F10] key. Although several of the program functions have print commands for specialized printing of a portion of the displayed data, using the [F10] key will provide you with an exact printout of whatever is displayed on the screen at the time. Pressing the [F10] key performs the same DOS function as using the [PRTSCN] key on most keyboards. The duplication of this function using the [F10] key has been included for those keyboards which do not support the print screen function. - 13 - FORECAST BASED ON SIMULATIONS Chosing this menu function will allow you to run an analysis/forecasting routine on the data saved by the Lotto Drawing Simulator function. The mathematical equations used in this function are similar to those used in the drawing simulator function to pick the top six recurring numbers from each simulation, with the exception that this time the top six numbers will be picked from the accumulated sets of top six numbers saved during the simulations. What this does, in effect, is to provide a "filtering effect" to the simulated data, thereby providing a multiple regression analysis of the data. This program function will then determine and report the top 6 recurring numbers from the last series of simulations. When you run this function you will be presented with a window titled "Forecast Based on Simulations". The program will read in the data that was previously saved and perform its' analysis. Inside this window several columns of numbers will be displayed. The first row of numbers indicates the possible lotto numbers from 1 to lastnumber. The second row of numbers indicates the number of times that number was picked during the simulation sessions. The last row of numbers indicates the percentage of times that number was picked as compared to the other numbers picked. The first line below the number display columns informs you of the number of data sets in the simulation file, the next line displays the top 6 recurring numbers from this file, and the last line prompts you to press a key when you are finished viewing the data. When you press a key, the top 6 numbers displayed will be saved to yet another data file that will be used by the "Rank Correlation" function, and you will be returned to the main menu. INTERPRETING THE ACCUMULATED SIMULATIONS DATA This is a fairly straightforward process. What the data represents is "the best of the best" choice from the simulations data file. The next step in deciding which of the simulated number sets are worth playing is to run the "Rank Correlation" function to determine the relative chances of this "best" simulated data set actually occurring during an actual game drawing. *** Please refer to the section on the "Rank Correlation" function for detailed information on its' use. - 14 - FORECAST BASED ON PAST WINNING NUMBERS When you choose this main menu function, you will run another analysis, only this time you will be analyzing winning number data sets from past lotto drawings. A window will appear and you will be asked to specify a beginning / ending game number (or carriage return for the entire past winning number data file). This is very useful because it allows you to look at any individual "time slice" of the games past history. Once you have entered your choices, another window will appear titled "FORECAST BASED ON PREVIOUS WINNING NUMBERS", and the data will be read into the computer for analysis. The data will be evaluated to determine the frequency of recurrence of each of the possible numbers from 1 to lastnumber, and the results will be displayed in the window as rows of numbers. The first row of numbers is the possible lotto numbers from 1 to lastnumber. The second row of numbers is the number of times that number was drawn during the time frame analyzed. The last row of numbers is the percentage of recurrence as compared to the other possible numbers. The first line below these columns informs you of the range of game data being analyzed. The next line will display the top 6 recurring numbers from this group, and the last line prompts you for additional function choices. If you wish to play the top 6 numbers displayed in the next lotto drawing, pressing "S" will save these numbers to the games played data file for later analysis by the "ANALYZE BOARDS PLAYED FOR WINNING NUMBERS" function found in the "UTILITIES MENU". Pressing "P" will print the top 6 numbers to your line printer so you have a list of the numbers you can use to fill in your play cards (this list is not fancy, it just creates a scratchpad list so you can quickly fill in your play cards later). If you press "B" the function will both save the top 6 numbers to the boards played data file and print the number set on your line printer. If you press "C" you will be returned to the start of the function in the event you may wish to run another analysis. By pressing [ESC], you can go back to the main menu without having to go to the start of the program function first. (you are allowed to save and/or print the data only once per analysis to prevent duplicate entries of the same data). *** NOTE *** Each time you run this function, the top 6 recurring numbers are automatically saved to a data file for use by the "RANK CORRELATION" function, and the top 20 numbers are saved to a data file for use by the "WHEELING" function for automatic data entry. If you wish to preview the top 20 numbers from this analysis that have been saved for the wheeling function, pressing [X] will activate another window which will show the top 20 numbers saved. Pressing [X] again or the [ESC] key will remove the window. Please refer to the appropriate sections of this manual for detailed explanations of the other functions mentioned here. - 15 - INTERPRETING THE DISPLAYED DATA Again, this is a fairly straightforward procedure. What you are looking at is the overall frequency of each number that has been drawn within the range of Lotto games analyzed. The 6 numbers that have been drawn most often have been the best numbers to play in the past, and would therefore be a good bet to play in the next game. On the other hand, one might reason that those numbers which have hit the least amount of times would be due to hit in the near future. Either selection logic would be a better bet than using no logic at all in picking the numbers to play. As has been stated before, you are still playing a game of chance, but why not make every attempt to improve your chances ? - 16 - RANK CORRELATION ANALYSIS The purpose of this menu selection is to provide you with a meaningful way to evaluate relative probability of simulated data versus actual past game history data. When you choose this function, a window will appear asking you to specify "Internal or External Data" input. If you specify internal data input, the program will use the data files created by the last "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers" and "Forecast Based on Simulations" selections. When these menu selections are executed, the top six recurring numbers are automatically saved to a data file for use with the Rank Correlation function. If you choose external data input, you will be presented with an input screen and asked to enter your six numbers to be used in place of the simulated data file. After you have made your selection, you will be presented with a screen of data which is pretty much self explanatory. What this function does is to take the specified data and perform a series of mathematical comparisons and analysis to determine if the simulated numbers bear any statistical relationship (correlation) to the actual winning numbers. The greater the correlation percentage, the better the "fit" of the simulated numbers to the actual numbers. What this means is that a set of simulated numbers which shows a high percentage of correlation to the winning numbers "fits" the same pattern and has the same relative percentage probability of being drawn during game play as the numbers which have been drawn in the past. Therefore, these simulated numbers would probably be a good set of numbers to play in the next game. At the bottom of the display screen you will be prompted to make additional function choices. If the simulated numbers have a high correlation factor and you wish to play them in the next game, pressing "S" will add this simulated number set to the game boards played data file for later use by the "Analyze Board Numbers Played for Winning Numbers" function, which is selected from the "Utilities" menu. By pressing "C" you will be returned to the "Main" menu. IMPORTANT - This routine uses the data files created from the last execution of the "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers" function (and the "Forecast Based on Simulations" function if you have specified "Internal" data selection). If you have added or changed any data in the past winning number file or the simulated winning number file, you need to re-run these program functions FIRST to update the data files used by the Rank Correlation function, or the correlation results may be inaccurate. - 17 - DISPLAY PAST WINNING NUMBER COMBINATIONS This program function will allow you to view all of the past winning number combinations contained in the past winning number data file. When you select this function, a small window will appear where you will be prompted to enter a starting game number to display. If you wish to view every game contained in the data file you can just enter a carriage return, or else you can specify the starting game number that you wish to display. After you have entered your selection, the small window will disappear and the a message will appear at the bottom of the screen indicating that the data file is being searched to locate the starting game number data which you requested. When this data is located it will be displayed on the screen, along with all subsequent game data in the file. The data will be displayed one screen at a time, and you will be prompted to press a key to display the next screen. You can press the [ESC] key at any time during the data display, and you will be returned to the Main Menu. If you press any other key, this process will continue, displaying a page at a time, until all of the remaining game data has been displayed. You will then be advised that you have reached the end of the data file, and prompted to press a key to return to the Main Menu. - 18 - ENTER THIS WEEKS' WINNING LOTTO NUMBERS Choosing this program function will allow you to add the current weeks' winning Lotto number data to the past winning number data file (if your state has more than one drawing per week, you would use this function once for each drawing during the week). When this function is selected, a data input window will appear prompting you to enter the 6 winning numbers and also the "bonus" number for the drawing (if the program has been configured to track a bonus number). You will also be given a choice to "date stamp" this entry with the default system date. If you are entering the game data on another day, you should change this date to reflect the actual drawing date. As you enter each of the numbers and press return, the cursor will move down to the next input line. You can abort this process by entering [99] and you will be returned to the Main Menu, or you may continue this process until all of the numbers and the date have been entered. You will then be asked if the entries are correct. If you respond no (N), you will be given the opportunity to re-enter them. You can press return without entering a number, and the previously entered number will be maintained, or you may enter a new number to correct the mistake. If you made only 1 error, you can just press return to "tab" to the item which needs correcting, without having to enter all of the numbers over again. Make the change and press enter to "tab" through the rest of the data, and you will again be asked if the data is correct. If you respond yes (Y), you will be asked if you want to save the data. This is just a safety precaution to ensure that you do not corrupt the data file with false information. If you respond yes (Y), the data will be added to the past winning number data file, and you will be returned to the Main Menu. If you respond no (N), the data will NOT be saved, and you will be returned to the Main Menu. NOTE The past winning number data file (WINGAME.DAT) is the single most important data file used by this program. Therefore it is very important that this file be kept up to data after every drawing in order to increase the accuracy of the programs' analysis routines. The more data in the file, the fewer ties in number recurrence and the greater the analysis accuracy. - 19 - RUN LOTTO NUMBER AGING ANALYSIS Choosing this program function will perform an analysis of the past winning number data sets which are contained in either the "WINGAME.DAT" or "AGING.DAT" data files, and determine the overall "aging" of each number based on either overall or recent past drawing history. First, a selection menu will appear asking you to specify which time period to analyze. If you choose "Recent Drawing History" the aging analysis will use the "AGING.DAT" file which contains recent drawing history. If you choose "Complete Drawing History", the aging analysis will use the "WINGAME.DAT" file which contains all of the past winning game numbers (Pressing the [ESC] key at this display will abort the aging analysis and return you to the main menu). Next, a window will appear informing you of some of the specifics of the selected data file, displaying each games data as the analysis is being performed. Once the analysis is completed, you will be notified and prompted to press a key to view the results. Another window will then appear and present several rows of data. The first column of numbers are the possible lotto numbers from 1 to lastnumber, the second column of numbers indicates how many games have been played since the number was last drawn, the third column of numbers indicates the average number of games between draws, and the fourth column of numbers indicates the longest number of games it has taken for that number to be drawn in the selected data file. During the design and testing of this program function it was found that a number that had not been drawn in some time and was within 1 game or better of it's average or it's maximum almost always was drawn within the next game or two. Therefore, the program uses different video display attributes to indicate those numbers which may be due to be drawn in the very near future. If you have configured the program for a monochrome display then those numbers which are within 1 game or better of their average games between draws will be shown in bold face video. Those numbers which are within 1 game or better of their maximum games between draws will be shown in bold face underline video. If you have configured the program for a color display then those numbers which are within 1 game or better of their average games between draws will be shown in light blue video. Those numbers which are within 1 game or better of their maximum games between draws will be shown in light red video. At the bottom of the window you will be prompted to press a key to perform additional functions, if you press "P" the displayed information will be sent to your line printer, if you press "M" you will be returned to the Main Menu. - 20 - The information provided by this function will be VERY useful in determining which numbers you may wish to play. What this display is telling you is which numbers are currently "Hot" (have been drawn in the recent past), and which numbers are "Due" (have not been drawn in some time). If you compare the overall maximum games between draws of each number, you will find that there is rarely case where any of the numbers have not been drawn within 30-40 games (many of the numbers will show that they have repeated in significantly fewer games). Therefore, if you see a particular number which has not been drawn in, say, 38 games, with an average of 15, and this number has not taken more than 40 games to be drawn in the past, then this number would be a good bet to be drawn in the next game or two (this was proven to be the case on a very frequent basis during program development, using data from the California lotto drawings). NOTE ON THE "AGING.DAT" FILE This file is created when you enter the first set of previous winning numbers, and is updated every time you enter another set of winning numbers. If you have less than 60 sets of past winning numbers in the winning number data file, the aging data file will use all of the data in the past winning number data file to perform its' analysis. If there are more than 60 games in the past winning number data file, then the program will use the last 60 games in the winning number data file as its' basis for analysis. This is done to provide a more accurate model of what has been happening in the recent past. As with any statistical analysis, the key is in determining how much data to evaluate - too little and the results will be meaningless - too much and the results will not reflect an accurate picture of current probability. The key to determining how much of the past winning number data file to look at for the aging analysis function is based on a proprietary algorithm which was developed using the complete past drawing history of the California lottery as a model. In over 3 years of drawing 2 games per week, there was only 1 time that any of the numbers drawn went as far as 50 games before being picked during algorithm development, this was the number 44. Therefore, the algorithm has been designed to automatically compensate for any minor variances which may occur when using game drawing data other than that of California's lottery. The option to perform the aging analysis on the entire past winning number history has been included to allow you additional ways to analyze past drawing data, HOWEVER it is the authors belief that you will get a more accurate view of the current drawing trends if you base the aging analysis on recent history. This is because patterns and trends tend to change over long periods of time, and if the past winning game data file (WINGAME.DAT) becomes very large, the volume of data and time span covered will have a "masking" effect on your ability to determine current drawing trends. - 21 - UTILITIES MENU Selecting this function will take you to yet another menu where you will be able to perform several additional program functions. Please refer to the sections in this manual describing the functions contained in the Utilities Menu for more detailed information on these functions. EXIT PROGRAM (QUIT) Choose this menu selection when you have finished with your current session with "The LOTTO NUMBER GENERATOR". The screen will clear, and you will then be returned to DOS. - 22 - >>> UTILITIES MENU <<< DELETE SIMULATION DATA FILES Selecting this program function will allow you to erase any data currently in the simulation data files "RND.DAT" and "TSRND.DAT". These files are used by the "Run Lotto Drawing Simulator" and "Forecast Based on Simulations" to store the data generated by these functions. When you run the "Lotto Drawing Simulator" you are given the opportunity to save the top 6 numbers from the simulation for later use by the "Forecast Based on Simulations" function, which then stores the results of that forecast in the data file "TSRND.DAT". This data file is then used by the "Rank Correlation" function to compare to the top six actual winning numbers which were saved from the last time the "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers" function was selected. It is through the analysis of these data sets that the correlation between past winning numbers and your simulations is determined. If you do not get a high correlation percentage when you run the "Rank Correlation" function, it means that the data in the simulation files does not "fit" within the past history of the game and therefore would not be a good set of numbers to play. In this case you should delete the data in the simulation files, and go back and run more simulations, changing the number of reiterations and simulations, saving the data from these new simulations for further analysis. You should repeat this process until you obtain a set of simulated data which gives a high rank correlation percentage. These simulated numbers would then be a good bet to play. If you choose to erase these files you will be asked to confirm your choice. If you respond yes (Y), the data files will be erased and you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. If you respond no (N), the operation will be aborted, leaving the data files intact, and you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. - 23 - PRINT LOTTO WINNING NUMBER DATA Choosing this program function will allow you to print a paginated listing of the data contained in the past winning number data file. A window will appear and you will be asked to confirm your menu choice. If you continue, you will be asked to specify either a continuous form, laser, or single sheet printer, and also which game number to start printing at. This allows you to print either the complete file, or only a portion of the file (you will probably find that you only wish to print the last 20-30 games most of the time). When you have made your choices, the data will be sent to your printer. If you specified that you had a single sheet printer, the program will print a page and then pause, prompting you to insert the next page into the printer and press a key to continue. When the printing is completed you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. Note: This program function is designed to print a standard page size of 66 lines and 80 columns on a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. If your printer does not conform to these parameters, then the layout of the data may not be correct, however the data will still be printed. The printing function uses regular "ASCII" characters, so it should be printable on most any type printer. If you have a laser printer, but are printing using manual sheet paper feed, you should select the "single sheet" printer mode. - 24 - ENTER BOARD NUMBERS PLAYED THIS WEEK This program function will allow you to enter and track those game board number combinations that you played for the upcoming game drawing. The data you input will be saved to the "BOARD.DAT" data file for later analysis by the "Analyze Boards Played For Winning Numbers" program function (data may also be added to this file from the "Rank Correlation" and "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers" functions. Please refer to the section of this manual detailing those functions for additional information). A window will appear and ask you how many game boards you have to enter. After entering the specified number of game boards, another window will appear containing a data input screen similar to the one used in the "Enter This Weeks Winning Numbers" program function, and it functions in exactly the same manner. Simply enter the game board number sets, confirm that your entries are correct, and they will be saved to the data file for later analysis. You can enter a number of game board data sets on one day, and enter additional game board data sets the next day without overwriting those sets previously entered. If during your input session you discover that you do not have as many game boards to enter as you specified, you can abort the input session after entering the last set of game board numbers, and all of those entered previously during the session will still be saved. Suggestion: It will be much easier for you if you use some sort of identification of each play card and note the order in which the game numbers were entered. This will make it much easier to locate the play card(s) which contain winning number combinations after the lotto drawing has occurred and the "Analyze Boards Played for Winning Numbers" function indicates which board numbers played contain winning numbers. The program will refer to the game boards by number based on the order in which the data was entered, i.e. the first set of data entered will be referred to as board 1, the fourth as board 4, etc. - 25 - ANALYZE BOARDS PLAYED FOR WINNING NUMBERS This program function will allow you to check your game boards played (this information was entered when you last used the "Enter Board Numbers Played This Week" function) against the actual Lotto game numbers to determine which of your game boards contain winning numbers. To use this function, you should first make sure that you have entered all of the game board numbers that you played for the week, as well as the winning Lotto numbers drawn for the same week. Then select this function, and you will be asked to specify which game number you wish to compare your game boards played to. Usually, you would indicate the last or latest game, but this option was included for those states which allow you to play the same game boards in consecutive Lotto drawings. In this case, you may need to check your boards played against several sets of winning game numbers. After you have specified which game number to compare to, a file selection menu will appear and you will be asked to specify which data file to check, the first or default selection being the "BOARD.DAT" file, which is created when you have manually entered your game boards played. If you have played and saved any of the wheeled number combinations using the "Lotto Number Wheeling" function, you could select the filename of the saved wheeled number combinations, and the program will indicate which of the wheeled number combinations in the selected data file contain winning numbers. (Refer to the manual section on "Run Lotto Number Wheeling Routine" for detailed information on this program function) After you have entered the requested information another window will appear displaying the specified winning game numbers, and listing the game board numbers played. Any game board numbers which match any of the winning numbers will be displayed in reverse video, which will make it very easy to quickly determine if you have just increased your net worth. Depending on the number of boards played in the data file, the program will display a screen of 8 board number combinations at a time, and you will then be prompted to press a key to display the next 8 board number combinations. This will continue until all game boards in the data file have been displayed, and you will then be prompted to press a key to return to the Utilities Menu. At any time you are prompted to press a key, you can press [ESC] and the operation will be aborted and you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. - 26 - DELETE BOARD / WHEELED NUMBER DATA Choosing this program function will allow you to delete any of the old board or wheeled number data files which are no longer needed once they have been checked for winning numbers. Unless you are playing the same board numbers in several different game drawings, you should delete the old data prior to entering new information for the upcoming Lotto drawing. If you forget to delete the old data, any manual entry of new board numbers played will be appended to the end of the existing data in the "BOARD.DAT" file (which are no longer valid). This will not cause a problem as far as program operation is concerned, but you will be very disappointed if, after passing out because the program indicates that you have 6 of 6 winning numbers, you later discover that they were last weeks' game board numbers being compared to this weeks' winning Lotto numbers. NOTE This append function also works for the wheeled number data files if you have saved the data from wheeling 7, 8, or 9 numbers. Saving any wheeled number combinations of 10 through 20 numbers will overwrite any previously saved combinations of the same wheeled number size. This is done to conserve disk space in the event you are running the program from a floppy disk, as the disk space used in a single wheel of 10 or 12 numbers can be significant if you have all the program files on a 360K disk. Additionally, it is unlikely that you will be playing multiple sets of large wheels in a single drawing unless you are somewhat wealthy. Whether or not the files are saved by append or overwrite mode, they should be deleted once they are no longer needed to ensure that the program has sufficient disk space for subsequent operations. When you choose this function, a file selection menu will appear. Simply highlight the filename you wish to erase and press the enter key. After you have indicated your selection, another window will appear asking you to confirm your choice. If you respond yes (Y), the data currently in the selected data file will be erased and you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. If you respond (A), another screen will ask if you wish to erase ALL existing board or wheel data files. This is a convenient way of "cleaning house" without a lot of repetition. If you respond (Y), ALL existing board and wheel data files will be erased. Any other response will abort the process, leaving the data intact, and you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. - 27 - EDIT WINNING GAME NUMBER DATA FILE This program function will allow you to perform limited editing to the winning game number data file "WINGAME.DAT". A window will appear and you will be asked to specify which game number you wish to edit (if you do not know the game number you should abort the function at this point, and use the Main Menu selection "Display Past Winning Number Combinations" to determine the correct game number). Once the correct game number has been specified another window will appear containing a data input screen similar to the one used in the "Enter This Weeks' Winning Lotto Numbers" function. You can either enter a new value for each field, or press the return key to tab to the field you wish to change. After you have gone through all of the fields, you will be asked to confirm that the data is correct. If you respond yes (Y), the data will be written to the file and you will be returned to the Utilities menu. If you respond no (N), you will again be given the opportunity to make the necessary corrections. You can abort this program function anytime you see the abort prompt at the bottom of the window and the data file will remain unchanged. If you complete the editing session the original data file will remain on the disk by the filename "WINGAME.BAK". If you later wish to use the original data file, simply delete the current "WINGAME.DAT" and rename "WINGAME.BAK" to "WINGAME.DAT". Note: Since this file is critical to the proper operation of the program, any inserting or deleting of game data is not permitted. You may only correct any errors you may have made on previous entries, additionally, you will only be allowed to add game number sets by using the Main Menu selection "Enter This Weeks Winning Lotto Numbers". PLEASE DO NOT try to edit this, or any of the data files the program uses, with a text editor ! Although the files appear to be ordinary delimited ASCII files, they contain unique file pointers and end of file markers that the program uses to perform its' append function. Most text editors and word processing programs cannot detect these special markers and therefore will not preserve them when the file is saved. THIS WILL CAUSE UNPREDICTABLE PROGRAM OPERATION AND LOSS OF DATA, and the only way to fix it will be to delete the file(s) and recreate them again manually by using the Lotto program. - 28 - RUN "QUICK PICK" FORECAST ANALYSIS This program function will allow you to perform a simulation of the "Quick Pick" selection process used in many states, only it will apply a method of analysis based on the following logic: If I know what winning numbers were last drawn, and if there is any pattern in random number selection, then if I can get a random set of numbers to match on, say, 4 of the 6 winning numbers, then the very next five sets of random numbers generated would be worth looking at. I guess you could call this the "Lucky Streak" theory ? In any event, when you select this function a window will appear asking you to select either internal or external data selection. If you respond (E), you will be presented with an input screen and asked to provide six numbers to use in place of actual winning numbers, and how many of these six numbers you wish to match to during the quick pick analysis. You will then be presented with the main function screen, and the program will begin generating "Quick Pick" number sets and comparing them to your manual numbers entered. If you respond (I), you will be presented with the main function screen, where you will be asked which Lotto game number to compare to, or just press enter to use the latest game in the data file, and how many of these numbers you wish to match to during the quick pick analysis. The winning number data file will be searched to locate the specified game number data, and the program will then begin generating "Quick Pick" number sets and comparing each to the winning numbers. While the simulations are being performed the screen will inform you of some current statistical information. If any simulation contains the number of matches you specified, that simulation will be displayed and also the very next 5 sets of simulated "Quick Pick" numbers. At this point, you will be given the options of saving, printing, or both saving and printing the displayed data. If you elect to save the data it will be saved to the simulation data file "RND.DAT". You could then return to the Main Menu and choose "Forecast Based on Simulations" function to obtain a statistical breakdown of the simulated data. Additionally, you could then choose the "Rank Correlation" function to determine how this data compares to the actual drawing history. Additional choices are Continue or Quit. If you select continue, the screen will be partially cleared and additional simulations will be performed. If you select quit, you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. LOTTO NUMBER WHEELING MENU Whenever the "Lotto Number Wheeling Menu" function is selected from the Utilities Menu, you will be presented with another menu titled "Wheel Menu". All of the functions relating to the number wheeling routines are controlled from this menu. (See the section on "Wheel Menu" for details) - 29 - PROGRAM CONFIGURATION Choosing this program function will allow you to set or change the main program operating parameters. This is the same configuration routine that was used the first time the lotto program was run, and this menu choice allows you to change your previously entered settings. Please refer to the section of the manual on "Getting Started" for the detailed explanations of this program function. RETURN TO MAIN MENU Choose this menu selection when you are finished with the program functions contained in the Utilities Menu, and you will be returned to the Main Menu. - 30 - >>> WHEEL MENU <<< The program functions contained in this menu give you yet another way to increase your chances of winning by allowing you, in effect, to bet more than 6 numbers in a pick 6 game. Although there are many lotto wheeling programs available, this program is unique in that it will determine all possible combinations of 6 from the numbers you wheel. This guarantees that if you played all of the wheeled combinations from your favorite 9 numbers and the winning numbers contained, say, 4 of the 9 numbers you wheeled, then you would have AT LEAST 1 play board which will contain those numbers (although with this method of wheeling you will almost always have more than one play board that will pay off). Obviously, if you play all possible combinations of more than 6 numbers it will cost you more to place your bet, but your chances of winning will be greatly increased. Additionally, depending on the para-mutual parameters of your states drawing, it is very likely that the return on investment may be great even if you match on only 3 or 4 of the numbers wheeled. This is because if you match on 3 once, you will have numerous additional play boards that will also contain those 3 numbers. If you match on 4 once, you will have numerous play boards that will also contain those 4 numbers AS WELL AS numerous play boards which will contain 3 of the 4 numbers. If, as in California, there is a payoff on a 3 or more match, your total winnings could be significant, because within your wheeled combinations you would have several play boards that will pay off. The total number of play boards which will pay off is determined by the total numbers you wheeled. The more numbers wheeled the greater the cost to play, but the greater the payoff on a 3 or 4 match. For example, if you wheeled 9 numbers, it would cost $84.00 to play all possible combinations (84 possible combinations X $1.00 ea.). If you matched on 4 of the 9 numbers wheeled, you would have 10 play boards which matched on 4, AND 40 play boards which match on 3. A typical breakdown of your winnings, based on the California drawings, would look like this: Initial cost to play - (84 X $1.00) $84.00 Payoff on 3 matching - (40 X $5.00) $200.00 Payoff on 4 matching - (10 X $60.00) $600.00 Net Winnings ($200.00 + $600.00 - $84.00) $716.00 Percent return on investment (% R.O.I.) 952% - 31 - SET / CHANGE WHEEL OPTIONS This menu selection will allow you to set or change the operating parameters of the wheeling function. When you select this function, you will be presented with another configuration screen similar to the one used to set the main program preferences, only this one deals specifically with the operating parameters of the wheeling routine functions. You can simply press return to accept the defaults, or enter your changes at each prompt. The following is an explanation of each of the configuration options: Automatic or Manual Mode [A/M] ? Setting this option to automatic will allow the program to automatically enter the numbers to wheel based on the top 20 recurring winning numbers of the last "Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers" function. (When this program function was last executed, the top 20 recurring numbers were stored in the "TSWIN.DAT" file for later use by various other program functions.) Setting this option to manual will allow you to manually enter the number you wish to wheel. You can enter from 7 to 20 numbers in any order you choose. If you try to end the enter numbers function with less than 7 numbers entered, you will be prompted to enter at least 7 numbers. If you wish to abort the number entry routine, simply press return without entering a number. Display Combinations on Screen [Y/N] ? Setting this parameter to Yes will allow the program to display the wheeled combinations on the screen as they are being calculated. Setting this parameter to No will stop the combinations from being displayed, and instead a window will appear informing you of the progress of the computations. If you are wheeling a large number of combinations and either printing them or saving them to a disk file, setting this parameter to No will speed up the calculations greatly. Pause The Screen Display [Y/N] ? If you have set the screen display to Yes, then setting this parameter to Yes will cause the program to display a screen of data at a time, and then prompt you to press a key to continue. - 32 - If you have set the screen display to Yes, then setting this parameter to No will cause the program to display the wheeled combinations to the screen, scrolling the display continually until the last number combination has been displayed. Print The Number Combinations [Y/N] ? Setting this parameter to Yes will allow the wheeled combinations to be printed on your line printer. The printed combinations will be in a paginated format, and grouped in sets of 5 for ease in filling in your play cards later. Set this parameter to No if you do not wish to print the wheeled number combinations. Save Combination Data To Disk File [Y/N] ? Setting this parameter to Yes will allow the program to save the wheeled number combinations to a disk file for later analysis by the "Analyze Boards Played For Winning Numbers" function. The filename that the data will be saved to is automatically determined by the total numbers wheeled. For example, if you wheeled 7 numbers then the filename would be "7WHEEL.DAT". If you wheeled 9 numbers then the filename would be "9WHEEL.DAT", etc. Set this parameter to No if you do not wish to save the wheeled number combinations to a disk file. IMPORTANT- If you wheel a large amount of numbers and save the data to a disk file, the file can become quite large. If you are running this program from a 360K floppy disk, it is possible that you could run out of disk space. Therefore, it is highly recommended that if you plan on wheeling a lot of numbers, then you should run the program from either a hard drive (which will also speed up many of the programs functions), or a high capacity (720K, 1.2M or 1.44M) floppy disk. The data files created by the wheeling function work in two ways. For wheeled numbers sets of 7, 8, or 9 numbers the data is appended to any existing data already in the file. For wheeled number sets larger that 9 numbers, the data will overwrite any existing data in the file in order to conserve disk space. In either case, you should delete these data files when no longer needed to ensure sufficient disk space for future use. - 33 - Save Above Configuration Information [Y/N] ? Setting this parameter to Yes will cause the currently set configuration for the wheeling parameters to be saved to a disk file. The next time you choose the wheeling function, the saved configuration information will be loaded as the startup default, and you will be placed at the Wheeling Menu. Once you have saved a configuration, it will remain the startup default until you reconfigure the wheeling parameters and save them again, or until you delete the file "WHEEL.CFG". Set this parameter to No if you do not want the current configuration to become the default, or if you are just changing the configuration temporarily during the current program session. NOTE - Every time you choose the wheeling function you will be presented with the configuration screen first, until you save a configuration. After saving a configuration, when you choose the wheeling function, you will go directly to the Wheeling starting screen. - 34 - EXECUTE WHEELING ROUTINE This menu selection will begin the wheeling routine. A window will appear presenting you with some statistical data regarding the possible combinations of numbers wheeled. If the present wheeling configuration is set to "Automatic" data entry, you will be asked to specify how many numbers you wish to wheel (you can wheel from 7 to 20 numbers). The numbers used will automatically be entered from the "TSWIN.DAT" data file. After you have specified how many numbers to wheel, the wheeling computations will begin, and depending on the present wheel configuration, the combinations will be displayed, printed, or saved to a disk file (or any combination of the above). When the wheeling is complete, you will be prompted to press a key to return to the Wheel Menu. If the present wheeling configuration is set to "Manual" data entry, you will be asked to enter the numbers you wish to wheel. After you have entered all of the numbers you wish to wheel, enter "E" to end the data input function, and depending on the present wheel configuration, the combinations will be displayed, printed, or saved to a disk file (or any combination of the above). When the wheeling is complete, you will be prompted to press a key to return to the Wheel Menu. - 35 - GENERATE SKIP WHEEL FILE If you run the "Execute Wheeling Routine" function and save the number combinations to disk, this function can be used to create a file containing fewer sets of number combinations, and yet provide you with maximum coverage of the numbers originally wheeled. The benefit of this function is to allow you to wheel a larger amount of numbers for less money, and still retain a good chance of having a winning ticket if the numbers originally wheeled are drawn. The trade off is that the possibility of not having a winning ticket increases according to the decrease in number of possible combinations played. However, unless you are very wealthy, you couldn't afford to play a 20 wheel set any other way. When you choose this menu selection, you will first be presented with a file selection window. You would then select the name of the wheel file that was saved when you executed the number wheeling function. For example, if you wheeled 9 numbers and saved the combination data, you would select "9WHEEL.DAT". After you have entered your selection, and if the file exists, another window will appear and the program will verify the file data, and then ask you how many play sets you require. In the above example, wheeling 9 numbers will result in 84 different number combinations. If you wanted to play 20 of the 84 possible combinations, you would enter 20. The program will then read in the data from the original file, sort it based on the number of play sets you specified, and rewrite the data file so that it contains only the sorted number sets. The sorting is done using an algorithm designed to give you the maximum coverage of the original numbers wheeled as possible based on the number of play sets requested. After the skip wheel file is completed, you will be returned to the wheel menu. DISPLAY WHEEL FILE DATA Choosing this menu selection will allow you to display the data contained in any of the wheel files on screen. You will be presented with a file selection window, and after you have made your selection, if the data file exists, the file data will be displayed a page at a time, until the end of the data. Pressing [ESC] any time during the display of the data will return you to the wheel menu, as will pressing any key after the file has been displayed in it's entirety. This function can be used to view an original wheel file, a skip wheel file, or the "BOARD.DAT" file, which contains any number sets you may have entered manually using the "Enter Board Numbers Played This Week" function contained in the Utilities Menu. - 36 - *** TIP *** Although you can also display the original wheeled number combinations at the same time as they are being wheeled, the wheeling function is a very computer intensive operation, and displaying the numbers while wheeling will slow down the wheeling process noticeably. If you want to wheel the numbers as quickly as possible, you should turn off the display function while wheeling, and use this function to display the results afterwards. PRINT WHEEL FILE NUMBERS Choosing this menu selection will allow you to print a paginated listing of the number sets contained in any of the wheel data files, either original or skip wheel. The data will be printed in groups of 5 sets of number combinations for ease in filling out your lotto play cards. When you select this function, a window will appear, and you will be asked to confirm your selection. If you continue, you will next be asked to specify the type of printer. This will determine how the printed output will be formatted. The choices are [S]ingle Sheet, [L]aser, or [C]ontinous Form printer. (If you are printing to a laser printer using manual sheet feed, you should select Single Sheet.) After you have selected a printer type, a file selection window will appear and you will be asked to select the file to print. After you have specified the file, the data will then begin to print. If you have selected a single sheet printer, the data will be printed a page at a time, and you will be prompted to put another sheet of paper in the printer, then press a key to continue. This will continue until all of the data in the selected file has been printed, then you will be returned to the Wheel Menu. The printing of the file data is formatted to a standard 8.5 x 11.00 page, using 66 lines per page. If your printer does not conform to this standard, then the formatting may not appear properly, however, the data will still be printed. *** TIP *** Although you can also print the wheel file data at the time the numbers are wheeled, this would slow down the number wheeling considerably. If you wish to wheel the numbers as quickly as possibly, you should turn off the print option while wheeling, and print the number combinations afterwards using this function. RETURN TO UTILITIES MENU Select this menu option when you have finished with the Wheel Menu functions. You will then be returned to the Utilities Menu. You can also exit the Wheel Menu and return to the Utilities Menu by pressing the [ESC] key. - 37 - DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM DISK FILES There are several files on the distribution disk, as well as several files that are created by the use of the Lotto program itself. The following is a list of those files and their purpose, for those of you who may be interested: FILENAME DESCRIPTION LOTTO51.EXE This is the main lotto program file which is executed when you enter "LOTTO51" at the DOS prompt. LOTTO51.DOC This is the program documentation (user manual) that you are now reading. PARAMS.CFG This is the file which contains the program start up default operating parameters. WHEEL.CFG This is the file which contains the program start up default operating parameters unique to the number wheeling function. WINGAME.DAT This is the data file which contains the actual past winning game numbers that you enter using Main Menu selection "Enter This Week's Winning LOTTO Numbers. TGAMES.DAT This is a counter data file which keeps track of how many sets of past winning game numbers are contained in the "WINGAME.DAT" file. AGING.DAT This is the data file which contains past winning game number sets that is used by the "Aging Analysis" selection on the Main Menu. It is updated every time you enter a new set of winning game numbers and will limit its' size to only the last 60 sets of winning numbers (if there are more than 60 sets in the WINGAME.DAT file). RND.DAT This is a data file which contains any data you save when running the "Run Lotto Drawing Simulator" function. - 38 - TSRND.DAT This is a data file which contains the top six random numbers determined when you run the "Forecast Based on Simulations" function. TSWIN.DAT This is a data file which contains the top 20 numbers determined from the last time the "Forecast Based on Past Winning Lotto Numbers" function was ran. It is also used by the "Rank Correlation Analysis" and "Run Lotto Number Wheeling Routine" program functions. 7WHEEL.DAT These are the data files which 8WHEEL.DAT contain the wheeled number 9WHEEL.DAT combinations saved during use of 10WHEEL.DAT the "Execute Wheeling Routine". 11WHEEL.DAT These files are used by the 12WHEEL.DAT "Analyze Board Numbers Played 13WHEEL.DAT For Winning Numbers" program 14WHEEL.DAT function. 15WHEEL.DAT 16WHEEL.DAT 17WHEEL.DAT 18WHEEL.DAT 19WHEEL.DAT 20WHEEL.DAT BOARD.DAT This is a data file which contains the numbers you entered using the "Enter Board Numbers Played" program function. It is used by the "Analyze Board Numbers Played For Winning Numbers" program function. - 39 - SUGGESTED USE OF FEATURES IN DETERMINING WHICH NUMBERS TO PLAY USING SIMULATED DATA Method 1 You can use the Lotto Drawing Simulator to generate sets of simulated lotto drawing data. From each execution of this function, you will be presented with a statistical breakdown of the simulated data, and also the top six recurring numbers for that simulation. You should save the numbers, and then repeat this process 5 to 10 times, saving the data each time. Then, return to the main menu and select the Forecast Based on Simulations function. All of the previously saved simulated data will be analyzed, and you will be presented with the top six recurring numbers. These numbers will automatically be saved to another file for use in the next step. Return to the main menu and select the Rank Correlation function and specify to use Internal data for analysis. You will then be presented with the rank correlation factor of the random numbers compared to the actual winning numbers from the last time you selected the Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers function. If the correlation percentage is 50% or more you may want to play these 6 simulated numbers on a game board. If so, fill out your game board, then press "S" to save the numbers for later analysis by the Analyze Game Boards played for Winning Numbers function. (Please be sure to read the manual sections on each of the program functions mentioned in these examples to gain a full understanding of each program function) Method 2 Select the Utilities Menu and delete any previously saved simulation data. Then choose the Quick Pick Simulation Analysis. Enter your preferences at the prompts, and when the program displays data sets following your specified number match, enter "S" to save them. Save several sets of these numbers, and then return to the Main Menu and use the Forecast Based on Simulations function to perform an analysis of this data. You can then perform a Rank Correlation analysis on this data, and if you get good results and wish to play the numbers follow the same steps as in Method 1. - 40 - Method 3 You can use the Rank Correlation Analysis function and select External Data Input. Then enter any 6 numbers you would like to use for analysis. The rank correlation analysis will provide the results using the numbers you entered. If you get a high correlation percentage you may wish to play these numbers. If so, follow the steps as outlined in the earlier examples. USING ACTUAL WINNING NUMBER DATA This program is designed with the concept that past history repeats itself, therefore using past history to determine future events will have merit. Because of this concept the program provides many more analysis functions which deal with the past winning number data than with simulated data. Rather than trying to describe every possible use of the program in this manner, a few of the more successful methods are provided below. These methods have proven to have a high percentage of correct picks during program development, but in no way should you consider these to be the only methods to use. The program gives you numerous ways to use this data, so experiment! You may find a method of combining different program functions which will yield even better results. Please be sure to read the sections of the user manual describing the various program functions in order to fully understand these methods. Method 1 You can use the Forecast Based on Past Winning Numbers function to determine your numbers to play if you like to play those numbers which are "Hot" (have a history of being picked often). Although you can use all or a part of the past winning number data base to perform the analysis, experience has shown that using the last 8-10 games played produces reasonably consistent results. To perform this analysis, select the program function from the main menu and specify the beginning and ending game numbers to use. For example, if there are 100 games in the data file, you would specify 90 as the beginning game number. The statistical results will be displayed for each number along with the top 6 recurring numbers, which you may wish to play in the next game. If you do decide to play the numbers be sure to save them so you can use the Analyze Board Numbers Played function to determine if you have any winners. - 41 - Method 2 You can select the Aging Analysis function from the main menu and use this data to help you select which numbers to play. This function provides very valuable information because it shows you how many games have been drawn since a number was drawn, the average number of games between draws, and the maximum number of games it has taken in the past for a number to be drawn. This type of data is helpful to you if you wish to play those numbers which are "Due". You have a choice of using two different periods of history to base the analysis on - recent drawing history and complete drawing history. If you have more than 90-100 games in the past winning number data file, experience has shown that more consistent results will be obtained if you base the analysis on recent drawing history. The reasons for this are explained in the user manual section which deals with the Aging Analysis function. The data provided by this program function is also very useful if you wish to use the indicated numbers and enter them manually into the Wheeling function on the Utilities Menu. This can increase your chances of winning even more than using the Aging Analysis alone. Method 3 You can use the Aging Analysis function to produce data for both short term and long term drawing history and then compare the two sets of data and look for those numbers which show similar indications that they are "Due". This provides you a way of validating the short term history data to help in determining if the short term history is consistent with the overall history, or if the short term history of a particular number(s) is in the process of establishing a new trend. If the short term history of a number is consistent with the long term history, then if the short term history indicates that the number is due to be drawn you should play it. On the other hand, if the short term history is not consistent with the long term history, then that number may be in a state of change and is therefore less predictable. In this case, even though the short term history indicates that the number is due to be drawn, it may still take several drawings more than its current maximum before it is drawn again, therefore you may not want to play this number until after it has been drawn again and begins to show a consistent correlation with the long term history. - 42 - USING THE PROGRAM FOR MULTIPLE STATE PLAY The program defaults to specific filenames for its data files and looks for them in the default disk directory from which the program was started. Because of this you cannot track more than one specific states game on the same disk / directory or the data files will be either overwritten or will contain mixed states data depending on the particular program function executed. The obvious solution to using the program to track multiple states drawings would be to keep a separate copy of the program and its data files for each different state you wanted to track on a separate disk. If you are running the program from a floppy disk, this is probably your best solution because of limited disk space. However, if you are running the program from a hard drive, you could set up a data file directory for each different state you wished to track, and call the LOTTO50 program from that data directory. The program would then use the data files in the current directory for its operations. This way, you would only need to keep a single copy of the lotto program on your hard drive and yet be able to use the program for several different states play without corrupting the data files. An example of how to do this would be as follows: Step 1 (log onto the root directory of your hard disk) A> C: (press return) C> CD\ (press return) You are now logged onto the root directory of drive C Step 2 (change to your lotto program directory) C> CD\LOTTO (press return) Step 3 (make a subdirectory for each different state) C\LOTTO> MD\CA (press return) C\LOTTO> MD\FL (press return) C\LOTTO> MD\NY (press return) etc. ... You now have a working directory for California, Florida, and New York To run the lotto program for use with the California data, you would do the following: Step 1 C> CD\LOTTO\CA (press return) You are now logged onto the CA subdirectory - 43 - Step 2 C\LOTTO\CA> \LOTTO\LOTTO51 (press return) This will start the lotto program which is kept in the C\LOTTO directory, but it will come up and run in the C\LOTTO\CA subdirectory and will default to using the data files in this subdirectory. (Please read the user manual section under "Getting Started" for detailed information on installing the program onto a hard disk.) If you are familiar with the DOS batch file commands, you could enhance this set up even further by creating a batch file in the root directory of your hard drive for each state you are tracking and run the lotto program for any of these states with one simple command. A simple batch file named "CA.BAT" in the root directory of your hard disk that would allow you to do this would look like this: @ECHO OFF (turn off batch command screen display) CLS (clear the screen) CD\LOTTO\CA (log onto the C\LOTTO\CA subdirectory) \LOTTO\LOTTO51 (start the lotto program) CD\ (return to the root directory where you started from afterwards) You could create a similar batch file for each of your state subdirectories which would allow you to let the computer do all of the work for you. All you would need to do would be to enter "CA" (or "FL" or "NY") at the DOS prompt, and you would be running the lotto program for the specified state. When you were finished using the lotto program, you would automatically be returned to the root directory where you started from. This is just a simple example of using a batch file and you could enhance its operation greatly by adding additional commands to tailor it to your individual preferences. However, if all of this is not clear to you, you should consult your DOS manual or maybe ask a friend who is more familiar with these commands to help you. - 44 - WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 5.1 There have been many enhancements and additional functions included in this version. Some of the more important enhancements are: o The Number Wheeling function has been expanded to wheel up to 20 numbers in either automatic or manual mode. o The Forecast Based on Winning Numbers function has been expanded to indicate the top 20 recurring numbers. o The ability to create a Skip Wheel file has been added to the Wheel Menu. o The ability to display Wheel file data has been added to the Wheel Menu. o The ability to print Wheel or Board data files has been added to the Wheel Menu. o Added Laser printer format for printed data. o Delete all Board/Wheel data files function added. o Deleting data files now erases entire file. Eliminated file of zero bytes after erasing data in files. o The Analyze Boards Played for Winning Numbers function has been expanded to accept any of the Board or Wheel data files for analysis. o Internal error traps for Wheeling functions eliminates program abort if you run out of disk space. o All internal error trap message screens are no longer a timed display. You can exit any of these displays by pressing any key when ready. o Added manual data entry option to the Quick Pick function. o Manual entry of data in the Quick Pick function now checks for duplicate number entry. o Manual entry of data in the Rank Correlation function now checks for duplicate number entry. o Eliminated occasional duplicate numbers in the Quick Pick simulation routines. o Enhanced internal program coding to increase execution speed and accuracy, and to reduce overall program size. o Eliminated most of the flashing screen prompts, to be less distracting. - 45 - IF YOU EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS, OR HAVE QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE PROGRAMS OPERATION This program and user manual were scrutinized over a period of many months in an attempt to discover and resolve any potential problems, and answer any questions that you might have concerning this programs operation. Hopefully, this goal has been accomplished, if not you should follow these steps in sequence to correct the problem: 1) READ THE USER MANUAL in its entirety. 2) Remove any terminate and stay resident (TSR) programs that may be in the computers memory before running the Lotto program. 3) Make sure all of the necessary program files are on your working disk, or in the logged hard drive directory. 4) Make sure that there is sufficient free disk space for the creation of additional data files. 5) READ THE USER MANUAL again. 6) Recopy the file "LOTTO51.EXE" from the distribution disk to your working disk / hard disk directory. 7) Run the DOS "CHKDSK" utility on the disk / hard drive which contains the lotto program files. 8) Has the winning number data file "WINGAME.DAT" been altered or edited outside of the lotto program ? If so, delete it and re-enter the data using the lotto program. If none of these steps corrects your problem, please write to the program author and describe the problem IN DETAIL. You will need to state your computer type, CPU speed, amount of memory, display type, video adaptor card make and model. Also include the contents of your "CONFIG.SYS" and "AUTOEXEC.BAT" files and a list of any device drivers and or TSR programs you are using with the lotto program. Describe exactly what the problem is, what menu item causes it, and any error messages you may get. Be sure to include your name, telephone number, mailing address and THE SERIAL NUMBER from your program distribution disk. Mail this information to: Dan K Nelson P.O. Box 1218 Lakewood, CA 90714-1218 USA Although no guarantees are expressed or implied, every attempt to resolve your problem will be made as quickly as possible PROVIDING THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION OR SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM IS NOT EXPLAINED IN THE USER MANUAL. Due to time and expense constraints, personal responses by the program author to questions and problems which are explained in the user manual will not be made. - 46 - The LOTTO NUMBER GENERATOR(tm) Version 5.1 Program Registration / Order Form Name _______________________________________ Date _________ Address ____________________________________________________ City _____________________________ State ______ Zip ________ Phone ( )_______-______ Country _______________________ Please indicate how or where you obtained you copy of The Lotto Number Generator: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS Quantity Amount Program Registration Only @$10.00 ea. ______ (includes Validation info) __________ Program Registration and disk (5.25") Includes program, documentation, and ______ Validation info - @$20.00 ea. __________ Program Registration and disk (3.5") Includes program, documentation, and ______ Validation info - @23.00 ea. __________ Shipping and handling outside the ______ Continental United States @5.00 __________ TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED __________ All registration orders will be processed the same day received. Payment should be made by check or money order, U.S. funds only. You may send cash, but it is at your own risk. All registered users will also receive access to the registered users private Bulletin Board System (BBS). Send Registration form and Payment to: Dan K Nelson P.O. Box 1218 Lakewood, CA 90714-1218 U.S.A. > Thank You For Supporting The ShareWare Marketing System ! < === COMMENTS === === NOTES ===