System Index

Lottery Systems are designed to be used on a distinct game format called a “Lotto”.

Lottos are drawings where 5 or 6 balls are drawn from a single machine. The number of balls in the machine varies by game, but typical games have 30 to 40 balls.

A common feature of lottos is that they pay prizes even if a player doesn’t match all the balls drawn. For example, Ohio’s Rolling Cash 5 pays $300 to players who match 4 out of the 5 balls drawn.

A Lottery System lets a player create their own set of probabilities and pay outs for the targeted game by buying the correct set of tickets.

A Simple Example (Roulette)

At first glance, the idea of creating your own set of probabilities and payouts from an existing lottery might seem unbelievable. But if you have ever played roulette at a casino, you have seen a similar technique in action.

An American Roulette Wheel has 38 slots which are identified by numbers and colors. There are thirty six slots numbered 1-36 which are alternatingly black and red while the last two slots are painted green and numbered 0 and 00.

In the simplest bet, roulette players bet $1 on a number between 1 and 36 or 0 or 00. If the roulette ball lands on their number, they get $35. That is the same as buying a single ticket in the lotto.

Imagine if a player wanted to take this basic form of betting to a systematic level. They could place 18 $1 bets on each red number knowing that their probability of winning the $35 for getting one number right would be 46.1%.

Such a simple bet would involve moving lots of chips around on the board and you can imagine how irritating this would be to the game operator and the other players. So instead, roulette offers a collection of side bets. Players can bet on all red numbers by placing a single bet and the payout on a $1 bet is $1.

Not only is roulette a simple version of a lottery, but it also lets players use a system to play.

Full Systems

Full systems are the most straightforward of all lottery systems. They are easy to design, but expensive and may not give players the desired outcomes.

Step 1: Select a Subset

In a full system, the player selects a subset of the numbered balls in the lotto machine. This subset has more balls in it than the number of balls which will be drawn from the machine. For example, if a player targets a 5-ball lotto, they may build a full system by starting with 7 numbers.

Step 2: Determine Every Combination of the Subset

Once the player has their subset of numbers, they figure out all the possible combinations that can be made from these numbers. The unfortunate problem with Full Systems is that the number of possible combinations grows exponentially as the subset gets larger.

Step 3: Assess Outcomes

The key benefit of a Full System comes from the way it changes the winning conditions and outcomes of the lottery.

When a casual player buys one ticket, their bet is "IF I match all the numbers, THEN I get the jackpot. AND IF I match some of the numbers, THEN I get a smaller prize".

When an advantage player applies a Full System, their bet becomes “IF 5 numbers are drawn matching my subset, THEN I win the jackpot PLUS several smaller prizes. AND IF some numbers from my subset are drawn, THEN I win several smaller prizes.

Knowing what those smaller prizes are and how they add up helps determine if a Full System is a good bet.

The Problem with Full Systems

There are two major problems with a Full System.

First, Full Systems can be very expensive. The number of tickets increases exponentially with larger subsets. This can be cost prohibitive for many players.

Second, Full Systems “concentrate” prizes on the winning system. That means, if all the numbers drawn in a lottery are in a player's subset, they are going to win the jackpot PLUS many second and third tier prizes. But if none of the drawn numbers are in their subset, they get NOTHING.

Spending a lot of money and getting NOTHING in return is a bad outcome. Especially when the alternative is winning a HUGE amount of money. Instead, most people would like to spend less money with a better chance at getting a small prize while still having a chance to win a HUGE amount of money.

The answer for many is Abbreviated Systems.

Abbreviated Systems

An Abbreviated System is a Full System that the player has systematically removed combinations from so that system requires fewer tickets.

Obviously, fewer tickets mean lower cost so an abbreviated system is cheaper than a full system.

The tradeoff is that an abbreviated system is missing some possible combinations that could be produced from the subset. That changes the bet yet again. Now instead of being certain that they will win a jackpot if the numbers drawn are in their subset, the bet becomes “IF 5 numbers are drawn matching my subset, THEN I win several smaller prizes and I MIGHT win the jackpot.

Abbreviated Systems tend to have one major flaw. Their designers focus on solving the problem of a Full System’s cost. They don’t smooth out the “concentration” to get consistently desirable results.

This problem was solved by the legendary lottery player Stefan Mandel back in the mid 1960’s.

Mandel Systems

Stefan Mandel grew up in Communist Romania and dreamed of a better life. To get the money he needed to escape, he developed “the theory of combinatorial condensation”.

In a nutshell, his systems were designed to increase the likelihood that he would win enough money to change his life. He designed his system to increase the number of outcomes which would give him “enough” instead of focusing on a HUGE outcome.

Over the years, Mr. Mandel has leveraged the nuances of lotteries in many ways to his advantage. But those early systems that got him out of poverty and a life without hope, have never been publicly available. Today, The Lottery Lab, in partnership with Mr. Mandel offers his full range of systems.