Tip 12:   Avoiding Filtering Conflicts (Part 2)

Checking Your Filters ...

When you use filtering to reduce a set of combinations, try to make them work together as a team.

Remember that each filter will work only with the combinations that it gets from other filters.  What one filter "passes" simply gets passed on to the next filter.  What you get -- in your final combinations -- is the result of all the filters you have selected, working together.

The better you can see how your filters work together, the more control you'll have over your play.

The Filtering Sequence ...

One question that's often asked is . . . "Does the filtering sequence matter -- which filter is used first, second, third, and so on?"

For example, suppose you are filtering for Sums and Even/Odd numbers.  Does it matter which filter you use first?

The answer is:  No, it does not matter.  You can filter Sums, and then Even/Odd.  Or, you can filter Even/Odd, and then Sums.  As long as you use the same filtering limits each time, you'll get the same final results.

What does matter, of course, is that your filtering limits are compatible with each other.  Otherwise, you might get no combinations to play.

How Lottery Director Helps ...

Lottery Director does everything possible to help you avoid filtering conflicts.

• In your Lotto filters, you get a "preview" of each filter -- before you use it -- showing you how (and if) your combinations will pass.



• In your Pick-3/4 filters, you get a "summary" of how your game has been producing its recent Front/Back Pairs, Front/Back Roots, Total Roots, and other advanced filtering topics.



• In your Professional Wheeling filters, you get a "warning" message if two or more filters appear to be incompatible, when you begin to create a custom wheel.

Still, it helps to understand how filters can conflict with each other.  At the least, you can re-filter your combinations if they are not what you expected.

Avoiding Pick-3/4 Conflicts

Suppose you are filtering for Sums and Even/Odd splits as follows:

• Sums:   A Sum of 14 -- a very common Sum in a Pick-3 game.



• Even/Odd:   A split of 1/2 or 2/1 -- either  "1 Even, 2 Odd"  or  "2 Even, 1 Odd".  Both of these are very common also.

Consider the Pick-3 combination 1-4-9:

• Sums:   It has a Sum of 14.



• Even/Odd:   It has 1 Even number and 2 Odd numbers.

The combination 1-4-9 passes both of your filters.

But you will not get any combinations with "2 Even, 1 Odd" -- even though you are asking for them in your Even/Odd filter.  Why not?  Because all of those combinations must have an Odd value for their Sum, and you're asking for only a Sum of 14.

The two filters are in conflict.  A Pick-3 combination with 1 Odd number and a Sum of 14 (an Even number) is impossible.

How to Avoid the Conflict:   You could specify a Sums range of 13 to 14 -- both of those Sums are common in Pick-3.  That would allow Even/Odd splits of either 1/2 or 2/1 to pass if they have Sums in this range.

Another Pick-3 Conflict

Here's another Pick-3 filtering conflict.  Suppose you are filtering some combinations like this:

• All Possible Numbers:   You're wheeling all possible numbers (0 through 9) in all three digits.



• Accepting Sums in Range:   17 and up.



• Accepting Low/High numbers:   A 2/1 split only -- "2 Low, 1 High".

Consider your first filter:

• Sums:   The only combinations you want to keep are those with sums of 17 and higher.

Next, consider your second filter:

• Low/High:   You want to keep combinations with only "2 Low and 1 High" numbers in them.



• Low:   The "Low" numbers are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.



• High:   The "High" numbers are 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Now consider how the two filters work together:

• The highest Sum you can possibly have -- with "2 Low, 1 High" -- is:  17.  You'll get it with only three combinations:   4-4-9,   4-9-4,   and   9-4-4.

If that is what you are trying to achieve, then ... no problem!  On the other hand, you might ask yourself ... why are you wheeling all 10 numbers in each digit, and only keeping two of them (4 and 9)?

The point is -- you should know what your filters are doing, together, and get combinations you are planning for.

And if you were looking for Sums of 18 or higher?  ...You wouldn't find any, because no Pick-3 combination could have that high a Sum, and also have two Low numbers in it.

Experiment!   You can always re-filter your combinations as many times as you like, before you decide to keep them.  Feel free to experiment with your filters -- and see how they work together.

Screen Samples

There are dozens of filters for Lotto games, and dozens more for Pick-3/4.

The screens below show some typical Pick-3 filtering menus.

Standard Filtering
Advanced Filtering (1)
Advanced Filtering (2)
Filtering Summary

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