Tutorial

Welcome to the Analysis Lotto tutorial. This tutorial is available from within the program as well, by choosing Tutorial from the help menu.

First we're going to make a game file for an imaginary Lotto game, then we'll enter some winning numbers into the database, choose a system for picking winners, have the program pick numbers, and finally we'll look at some charts.

After the program is running, choose NEW GAME from the FILE menu.

On the screen you're presented with, enter TEST GAME for the name, and make the main number 5 digits from 1 to 30, and choose DON'T repeat. The other two lines should be set for 0 digits. When you've done this, click SAVE.

Now you're back at the main screen, and a description of your game should appear in the upper left.

The next thing we need is a collection of past winning numbers that Analysis:Lotto can use for study when calculating its picks. The upper right side of the screen is where the historical numbers are stored.

Click on ADD LATEST NUMBER just above the history screen.

Click with the mouse insde the entry window (underneath where it says enter lotto number.) Type in this (make-believe) winning number - type it EXACTLY as you see it, make sure to capitalize "Tuesday":

5 11 16 24 30 Tuesday Oct. 30, 2001

Now click on the GO button. The number will move from the entry window into the larger window on the right. You'll see another set of numbers next to it, in square brackets. This is the Delta of the number you entered, which Analysis:Lotto calculates automatically. Now, grab the slider at the bottom of this window, and slide it to the right - you'll see that the exact line that you entered, with the day and date attached, is stored here. This information is used with the FILTER feature, which we'll talk about later.

ALWAYS enter numbers in order - earlier drawings first, then later drawings - and in the lotto number itself, the main lotto or keno number first, then any extra numbers like powerballs, etc. If you make a mistake, you may get an error message, or the number won't move over to the right. In this case, fix it and press GO again. If you make a mistake, and it does go over to the right, press NO to do it over again. If you think you have messed up the whole list, you can press CANCEL, then press ADD LATEST NUMBER again to restart. Here are the rest of the numbers. Enter them the same as the first:

2 3 14 16 22 Thursday Nov. 1, 2001
1 8 12 20 24 Tuesday Nov. 6, 2001
4 10 19 20 29 Thursday Nov. 8, 2001
3 12 13 14 21 Tuesday Nov. 13, 2001
6 9 15 18 27 Thursday Nov. 15, 2001


When done, you'll have six sets of numbers in the window on the right. Now, we'll put these into our history file. Usually, you'll press the ADD button, to add to the numbers you already have. But since this is a new game, and there are no numbers yet, press REPLACE. The Add New Numbers window will close and you'll see the six records that you entered in the history window.

 

 

Now let's try something. On the middle left side of the screen, you'll see a box labeled FILTER. Click with your mouse inside this box, and type: Tuesday

(make sure to capitalize it again!). Hit your ENTER key on the keyboard, and look at the history window.

Where once there were six, now there are three! Only the Tuesday drawings are displayed, because that's what you're asking for in the filter. Now try something else: in the filter window, type: Tuesday AND Oct

Hit ENTER again, and watch. There is only one entry in the history window now, the only drawing that was both in October and on Tuesday.

To see all the history again, erase what you typed in the filter, and hit enter.

The next step is to decide which system we will use to choose numbers. Near the middle on the left of the screen you will see a selector labeled Picks are generated based on:. Click on the drop-down box and choose the first one, random number patterns. You might have noticed, when you did this, that a new list of numbers appeared in the Generated Numbers box and a new lotto number pick appeared in the Lotto Number box. Anytime you change one of the Number Generation controls, this will happen. Now, set the Lookback control to 6 (we have only six drawings in our historical database) and set the Looseness control to 25.

Random Number Patterns is a very basic system that picks lotto numbers randomly. Lets check out some charts to see what kinds of numbers it picks. Go up to the CHARTS menu, and choose Number Distribution. After a few seconds you will see a number distribution chart on the bottom of the screen. This chart shows you how many of each number have occurred in the historical data. It looks very blocky because there is very little historical data for it to look at (only six drawings.)

If you press the Next button, in the lower right corner of the screen, the chart will change to show you the number distribution of the generated numbers, the numbers that the program picks. This looks less blocky because it is based on 100 generated numbers.

Press the Pick New Numbers button. This is normally how you get new numbers to play.

The Generated screen will fill with new numbers, and the Lotto Number box gets a new number, too, all based on the system you choose. To see a chart of these new numbers, reset the chart by pressing Prev, then Next again. The chart has changed, in a random way, since this set of random numbers is different from the last set.

So, let's try a more interesting system. Go back to Picks are generated from: and this time, choose Historic Number Patterns. This time, numbers chosen will be based on the past drawings you see in your history window. Press the Prev button on the chart to look at your historical number distribution again. Now press Next, and see how the charts have a very similar shape. They don't look identical, since the Historical chart is based on 6 drawings and the Generated chart is based on 100. But you can clearly see, as you switch back and forth with the Prev and Next buttons, that the generated numbers have been based on the historical ones.

Other suggested exercises: Load a different lotto game, one with more data to play with. Try the above exercise using Historic Delta Patterns paired with the Delta Distribution chart. Try adjusting the lookback and looseness controls, and observe the effects on the charts.

Good Luck!

Frequently Asked Questions! --->


Tutorials are available on the Delta Lotto DVD now at a great price!