How Lottery Wheels Work

Here's what happens when you  'wheel'  your numbers into a Lottery Wheel.

Lottery Wheel Fundamentals
What Lottery Wheels Do
What Wheeling Does Not Do
Choosing the Right Lottery Wheel
Effects on Winning Play
You are the Judge

How Lottery Wheels Work

Lottery Wheel Fundamentals When you 'wheel' a set of lottery numbers, you place them into combinations.  You are arranging your numbers in a planned way -- not in random groups. Why Use Wheeling? Suppose your lottery game is a Pick-6 Lotto, and you want to play 10 numbers -- your favorite numbers. You can see that you will need at least two tickets to play your numbers -- because you can mark just six numbers on each ticket. At that point some questions arise: How should you combine your numbers, to have the best coverage? How many tickets should you use? Nothing could be more frustrating than to match all six of the winning numbers, and then to not win any prize -- only because you didn't mark the right combinations on your tickets. Even if you choose the right numbers to play, you don't win unless you can form them into winning combinations.  Often in random play, you cannot know how to combine your numbers.  In random play, your numbers are isolated from each other. Wheeling removes that isolation from your numbers When you wheel your numbers, they work together to meet some prize goal. Wheeling makes your numbers work together as a team. What Lottery Wheels Do Wheeling lets you combine your numbers in a planned, organized way.   Your numbers can 'cooperate' toward reaching a desired prize goal. Wheeling also has another purpose:   It shows you in advance how many lottery tickets you will need.  You can see how economical (or expensive) your play will be, for the kind of prize you would like to have. Example:   If you wanted to combine your 10 numbers to aim for the Pick-6 Jackpot -- and to make sure that all of the possible combinations are covered -- you would need 210 tickets.  That is, 210 combinations are necessary to cover all possible ways in which your 10 numbers can be combined into groups of six numbers. That amount -- 210 tickets -- is your highest cost, for full coverage of your 10 numbers for the Jackpot prize.  However, there are many other wheeling choices that are less costly. If you wish, you could aim for a second or third prize, using a more economical wheeling system.  You'd find that much less than 210 tickets would be needed to match any five out of the six numbers drawn by the lottery.   Fewer still would be needed to match four out of the six. By knowing in advance how many tickets will be needed for each prize goal, you can choose the most practical wheeling system for your numbers, your playing style, and your budget. What Wheeling Does Not Do Wheeling gives you important tools -- but it does not, by itself, "guarantee" a win. There are two steps to playing: First, you choose a set of numbers that you want to play. Second, you put your numbers into combinations. Wheeling handles the second step, efficiently and economically.  However, it can only do this with the numbers you have chosen in your first step. If you can match the required amount of your game's winning numbers -- within your own set of numbers -- then the wheel will deliver the prize to you.  However, if you do not match the game's winning numbers, then the wheel cannot make any winning combinations for you. About 'Win Guarantees' The only guarantee any wheeling system can give you is a conditional guarantee. If the wheel is properly designed, it will give you its stated prize -- on this condition:  that you successfully choose the minimum required amount of your game's winning numbers and play them into the wheel.  The wheel will combine your numbers, but it does not choose your numbers. Be cautious of advertisements for wheeling systems that suggest you will have "sure" wins.  Remember that a wheel's "win guarantee" is always accompanied by a big "IF".  If you play the right numbers, the wheel can work.  If you do not do your part, the wheel cannot do its part. Choosing the Right Lottery Wheel You always have to consider two factors in choosing a wheel: A realistic prize goal Your financial means for playing. For example, you know that you'll need 210 tickets to cover every possible Pick-6 Jackpot combination of your 10 numbers.   You can make other choices -- such as the second or third prize -- and your play will be far more economical. Example:   You can use as few as 18 tickets to cover all of the 'second prize' combinations in your 10 numbers.  For the 'third prize', you can play as few as 3 tickets.  The second or third prize may not sound as attractive as the Jackpot -- but the cost of playing only 18 tickets, or 3 tickets, is certainly more attractive than the cost of playing the full set of 210 tickets. The main point is this:   Wheeling systems give you the choice.  You know in advance how economical each method of playing will be. How Many Numbers Should I Play? As you look at the 'economy' of wheels, consider one more important point.  How many lottery numbers do you want to play? Your combinations are affected by how many lottery numbers you play, as well as by your prize goal.  Aiming for a second or third prize often allows you to play more lottery numbers -- and thus increases your chances for matching the winning numbers in your game's drawing. Example:   Instead of wheeling 10 numbers to aim for the jackpot, you can wheel 12 numbers toward the second prize -- and your cost will be 44 tickets.  You can wheel 15 numbers to aim for the third prize -- at a cost of 24 tickets.  By playing more numbers, you have a better chance of matching the winning numbers drawn in the lottery.  It is easier to match the game's six winners out of your set of 12 or 15 numbers, than to do so out of 10 numbers. Effects on Winning Play Your chances of winning your game's Jackpot (top prize) are not affected by the type of wheeling system you use.  Your Jackpot chances are affected only by how many different combinations you play -- regardless of how you wheeled them.  This point is not always understood by players. Example:   Consider these three players in a Pick-6 game: You play a 'Full' wheeling system, with the goal of a Jackpot prize, and it gives you 28 combinations. Your friend plays an 'Abbreviated' system with the goal of a lower prize, and that system also results in 28 combinations. Further, imagine that a third person plays 28 different combinations, at random. All three of you have the same Jackpot chances. This is easy to see.  If your game is a Pick-6 Lotto with 49 numbers, for example, it has 13,983,816 possible Jackpot combinations.  It will draw just one of them.  Each of you has exactly 28 chances to match that one combination. Comparing the Three Playing Strategies The obvious questions are:   What is the difference between the two wheeling systems? And, what is the difference between the wheeling and random play? The differences are in how the lower prizes -- not the Jackpot -- are matched. The answers are in two areas:   How many numbers are being put into play;  and, how those numbers work together to cover the game's winning numbers. First, consider how many numbers are being put into play.  In your 'Full' wheel, you are playing fewer numbers than your friend plays in the 'Abbreviated' wheel.  This is required, if your costs are the same (at 28 combinations).  For example, you are playing just 8 numbers -- while your friend is playing 18. The second area concerns how the numbers are being covered inside the combinations. Your 'Full' wheel gives you complete coverage of your 8 numbers.  If the game draws 6 winning numbers that match any 6 of your 8 numbers, you have a Jackpot win. Your friend's 'Abbreviated' wheel does not provide that guarantee.  If the 6 winning numbers are among the 18 numbers your friend plays, there is no assurance of a Jackpot win. Your friend's wheel works like this.  The game will draw 6 winning numbers.  If any 4 of those numbers match any 4 of your friend's 18 numbers, your friend has a minimum prize of a 3-number win.  A higher win is possible, but it is not designed into the wheel. Your friend accepts this, in order to put more numbers into play.  It is easier to match 4 winners out of 18 numbers, than it is to match 6 winners out of 8 numbers. You and your friend have identical budgets, but different goals: You are willing to play fewer numbers.  You hope that all 6 of the game's winning numbers will be concentrated within your chosen set of 8 numbers.  You want assurance of a Jackpot win if that happens. Your friend wants better chances for matching the game's winning numbers.  Your friend hopes that any 4 of the game's winning numbers will be anywhere inside the chosen set of 18 numbers.  Your friend is willing to settle for a smaller prize if that happens. Finally, consider the person who played the 28 combinations at random.  That player has no guarantee of any prize by matching the 6 winning numbers.  Even if the player 'mixed' all 49 numbers, 'somewhere' in the combinations, there is still no guarantee that any combination has a specific match of the winning numbers. It would be possible to find out what each person's chances are for a second prize, third prize, and so on.  Lottery Director provides means for testing combinations like these in its  Professional Wheeling  menu.  However, the random player might find out that there are just as many missing combinations -- no chance for a prize -- as there are good combinations. To Summarize:   By wheeling your numbers, you do not improve your chances for making a Jackpot match.  Your chances are affected only by the amount of combinations you play, and the only way to improve them is to play more combinations.  However, by wheeling your numbers in a tested wheeling system, you do know in advance what your chances are for lower prizes -- while not giving up any of your chances for the Jackpot. You are the Judge Most lottery software programs give you a choice of wheeling systems.  In Lottery Director, you can wheel one combination or as many as 500,000 combinations with a single wheel -- even more with multiple wheels.  You can find wheels that comfortably fit your budget, and you can play them with maximum enjoyment. It is very easy to wheel your numbers with Lottery Director.  When you are 'inside' any game, your Wheels Directory shows all of the wheels that are available for that game.  It lists the wheels that come with your program -- over 350 Pick-6 wheels, over 250 Pick-5 wheels, and others.  It also lists the custom wheels that you have generated with your Professional Wheeling programs. Keeping Track of Your Wheels As you view your Wheels Directory, you can 'sort' your wheels.  You can arrange them according to their types, numbers played, prize levels, combinations, and other factors.  This makes it easy for you to see the wheeling options you have.  You can match them to your playing budget and your needs for the next draw. Try Before You Buy You do not have to purchase any actual lottery tickets to try your wheels.  You can wheel some combinations and test them for winners.  In Lottery Director, use the 'Test Wheeling Performance' selection on your PICK OPTIONS menu to do this.  You can see how various kinds of wheels take your numbers.  You can match them with the past winning numbers in your game, and see the kinds of Jackpots and lower prizes they match.

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