by: Mandy Sheridan
You may occassionally come across websites or individuals who claim that lottery 'wheeling' doesn't work (wheeling is multiple entries using combinations of a set of numbers). The usual justification for this is that they say you are entering the same number multiple times in order to create your wheel, and thus spending money needlessly. They are correct in one sense - after all, you could cover all the 49 numbers in the UK national lottery (the 'Lotto') in only 9 tickets (6 different numbers per ticket). On the other hand, any wheel must 'combine' the numbers you want in order to create possible wins on any one ticket, so, for example, you might cover only 10 or 12 numbers with the same number of tickets in order to create a guaranteed '3' win.
But... and it's a big but, in the first situation, you have only 9 chances to win the jackpot (i.e. 6 from 6 correct) and only a slim chance of any other prize too. A '3' win, for example, the lowest win possible in the UK Lotto is actually quite remote, clocking in at about 55 to 1 against. In other words, if you enter your 9 tickets every week, you might expect 3 numbers once every 5 weeks or so - hardly a great return on your $50 investment!
And this is why wheels are so good - they allow you to cover large 'ranges' of numbers without buying all the tickets you would normally need to get the same sort of cover. The older less popular wheel would usually require you to buy a lot of tickets, but would guaranteee a certain outcome if you managed to 'catch' a certain number of draws in your picks. Good modern wheels provide you with 'statistical guarantees' - e.g. a certain wheel might require you to buy 10 tickets to cover 15 picks, with the promise that if all 6 numbers drawn are within your 15 picks, there is a 45% chance of getting 4 of them in one line, and an 80% chance of getting 3 balls in one line. Obviously, this is far more economical than buying enough tickets the 'hard way' to cover 15 numbers completely. What would you prefer for a prize of only $90 or $100 - an 80% chance of a win at a cost of $10 or a 100% chance of the same win at a cost of $1,000 ? Bit of a no-brainer really, isn't it? Remember that the sites or people who decry wheeling lotto systems usually are trying to sell you their own 'magic' lotto 'secrets' - perhaps using 'lucky irish clover' or 'the power of clairvoyance'. If their systems were any good, why don't they just keep very quiet and win the lotto themselves, week after week?
If you want to play around with wheels for free, WinthatLotto.com has a number of free online wheeling systems that allow you to cover up to 20 numbers using only 10 tickets, with guarantees that will payout up to 4 ball wins. And the odds of a 4 ball win using normal techniques are over 1,031 to 1 against! As you can see, a good modern lotto wheeling system will allow you to 'stay in the game' by catching regular small wins that help to offset or even cover completely your costs. And if it doesn't cost anything, why not play?! Picking at random brings you no guarantee above and beyond the certainty that the lottery executives salaries will get paid!