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Cool Lottery Tips for More Luck

Many people have superstitions when they play the lottery. Sometimes at a video poker machine if the money I put in immediately gets spit back out I think it could be an unlucky machine. When playing a scratch-it I and others sometimes think that scratching in a certain order will bring them more luck.

The website howstuffworks has an article in the entertainment section that discusses how to use coincidences or other factors in your life for gambling strategies to bring you more luck.

Here I'm posting various sections from the article that I found the most interesting.

The eminent Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, who studied with Sigmund Freud and is best known for his introvert/extrovert personality classifications, devoted many writings to numerology. He stated that numbers existed before the consciousness of man existed, meaning that man discovered numbers and did not invent them. He believed that numbers play a large part in everyone's life. Instead of joining the multitudes trying to decipher a predictable design or pattern in the lottery, try maximizing your chances by focusing on something far easier to predict: your own personal winning pattern.

You may have noticed that certain numbers crop up frequently in your life, such as phone numbers, anniversaries, and addresses. Or maybe you've observed particular days or times when it seems you just can't lose -- as well as those times when it seems everything you do goes wrong! Here's how to determine what some consider your luckiest numbers of all -- your birthday numbers. There are two different types of birthday numbers: your primary number and your secondary number. Each number is calculated in a different way.

Your Primary Number

Although some numerologists disagree as to which of the birth numbers are of greater significance, the birth date, or the primary number, is generally considered to be your most influential number. Your primary number will apply to you in every aspect from the lottery to significant anniversaries, such as births, weddings, and important career events.

Determining your primary number is a snap. It's simply the day you were born. If a person was born on December 8, 1950, his or her primary number is 8. If a person was born on a double-digit date, such as December 17, 1950, for example, the primary number is still 8; in numerology, numbers are always reduced to their lowest value: 1 + 7 = 8.

Your Secondary Number

Another significant number in your life is your secondary number. As mentioned above, some numerologists consider it of greater importance than your primary number. Through trial and error, you can use them both, and over a period of time decide for yourself which one to use when picking your Lotto numbers.

Determining this number is only slightly more complicated than figuring your primary number. To determine your secondary number, add the numerical values of the month, day, and year of your birth together. Then reduce the total number as previously shown. The months of the year have the following values: January = 1, February = 2, March = 3, April = 4, May = 5, June = 6, July = 7, August = 8, September = 9, October = 10, November = 11, and December = 12.

The person born on December 8, 1950, will compute the secondary number like this: month + date + year. The number for December (12) reduces to 3 (1 + 2 = 3). Now add 3 (month) + 8 (day) + 1 + 9 + 5 + 0 (year); this equals 26. Then reduce the double-digit total as follows: 2 + 6 = 8. This person's secondary number is 8.

But what happens if you forget to reduce the numbers before you add them up? You'll find that no matter how you add up the numbers, and then reduce them, the result will always be the same. Using the same date, if we were to add the numbers like this -- 12 + 8 + 19 + 50 -- we'd get 89. Then we would add 8 + 9 = 17, which then reduces to 8 (1 + 7 = 8).

Of course, we're just scratching the surface of what numerology has to offer. Move on to the next section for more tips and tricks using numbers.

How to Find Your Lucky Numbers
The formula you just learned on the previous page -- adding and reducing the numbers in your birth date -- may be used for determining additional lucky numbers besides your primary and secondary numbers. In fact, you can use it to obtain a single digit from any double- or triple-digit number or even from a long series of numbers.

The formula is simply to add each digit in a numerical series. Then add the digits of the sum until you've reduced it to a single digit. For example, you can calculate the numerical value of a telephone number. Let's say the number is 123-555-6789. Adding all the digits, we get 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 = 51. Use the formula again to reduce the number: 5 + 1 = 6. The phone number has a value of 6.

Now let's try a social security number: 111-22-3456. Adding all the digits together, we get 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 25. Then reduce that to 2 + 5 = 7. The social security number has a value of 7.

Remember, the result is always the same no matter how you add it. Instead of adding each single digit, you could add 111 + 22 + 3,456, which equals 3,589. Now add 3 + 5 + 8 + 9, which equals 25. Then 2 + 5 = 7.

This process works in reverse, also. Suppose your primary number is 3, and you want to choose three lucky Pick 3 numbers. Simply choose any combination of three digits that, when added and reduced, will equal your primary number of 3. The number 408 is a good choice: 4 + 0 + 8 = 12. This reduces to 3 (1 + 2 = 3). Or how about 057 for your Pick 3 numbers? Add 0 + 5 + 7 = 12, which reduces to 3. You can use this process for choosing your Pick 4 numbers as well. If your primary number is 3, try: 1 + 0 + 6 + 5 = 12. Reduce this to: 1 + 2 = 3.

Happy Birthday

If, as numerologists believe, numbers are important in our lives, then what more significant number could you have than the day you came into existence -- your birthday?

As for trying to win a Lotto jackpot with your primary number, you can play the number itself in combination with other numbers. A person born on August 15 might play her primary number, 6, with five other numbers.

You could even use several or possibly all numbers with a value of 6 when playing Lotto. As was illustrated previously, you may use any compound number that, when added and reduced, equals your primary number. Our August 15 birthday person could play 6, 15 (1 + 5 = 6), 24 (2 + 4 = 6), 33 (3 + 3 = 6), 42 (4 + 2 = 6), or 51 (5 + 1 = 6). (One thing to keep in mind when using this technique is to try to avoid popular numbers or popular series of numbers. )

Another common way of using your birthday numbers is to simply list the day, month, and year. The person born on August 15, 1970, would play 8 (August), 15 (day), and 70 (year). Seventy, of course, is too high to use in most games, so you could reduce the double-digit number and play 7.


According to astrologists, sun sign astrology can't be as accurate as studying one's natal chart, but it can provide some good insight and advice for your activities, such as trying to win the lottery. Check out your sign:

ARIES (March 21--April 20)
Traits: impulsive, individualistic
Buy tickets: in a skyscraper; in or near a hardware store
Best games: Instant Games; bonus ball-type games, such as Powerball
Best instant games: red-colored, with words Beat, Strike, Hot, or Fever
Best methods: use personal numbers; play a police officer's or a soldier's birthday; tracking; play hot numbers

TAURUS (April 21--May 21)
Traits: patient, stubborn
Buy Tickets: in an adobe or brick building; in a florist shop
Best Games: ones with large jackpots, such as Lotto or Powerball
Best Instant Games: copper-colored, with words Treasure, Bank, or Vault
Best Methods: play same series of numbers repeatedly; mainstream systems such as wheeling

GEMINI (May 22--June 21)
Traits: versatile, adaptable, restless
Buy tickets: at a neighborhood store; in a bus or train station
Best games: Little-Lottos (Fantasy 5, Cash 5)
Best instant games: yellow-colored, with words Fast, Quick, or Double
Best methods: buy two tickets; buy Quick Picks; play a sibling's birthday or your car license plate numbers

CANCER (June 22--July 22)
Traits: security-minded, moody
Buy tickets: at a grocery store; near a river, lake, or beach
Best games: Dailies; $2 instant games
Best instant games: silver-colored, with words Money, Cash, Monopoly, or Millionaire
Best methods: make use of numerology, lucky charms, and hunches

LEO (July 23--August 22)
Traits: bold, generous, fun-loving
Buy tickets: where kids congregate; where your sweetheart shops; in or near a sporting goods store
Best games: Lotto; bonus ball-type games, such as Powerball
Best instant games: gold-colored, with words Cat, Joker, or Gold
Best methods: track and play hot numbers; play a child's birthday

VIRGO (August 23--September 23)
Traits: practical, observant
Buy tickets: at a newsstand; in a brick building
Best games: Little Lotto; Dailies
Best instant games: yellow-colored, with words Bingo, Tree, or Combination
Best methods: tracking; pooling; play a coworker's or a doctor's birthday

LIBRA (September 24--October 23)
Traits: logical, romantic, indecisive
Buy tickets: in a florist shop; in or near a beauty shop; where your spouse shops
Best games: Pick 3; Lotto
Best instant games: copper- or pale blue-colored, with words Sweetheart, Diamonds, or Two
Best methods: wheeling; pooling; Quick Picks; play with a partner

SCORPIO (October 24--November 22)
Traits: intense, emotional
Buy tickets: in basement of a building; in a dimly lit place
Best games: Lotto; instant games
Best instant games: red- or black-colored, with words Life, Bonus, or Second Chance
Best methods: the paranormal; play your insurance policy numbers

SAGITTARIUS (November 23--December 21)
Traits: happy-go-lucky, impulsive
Buy tickets: at out-of-state lotteries; near a college
Best games: multistate games; Pick 3
Best instant games: purple-colored, with words Lucky, Happy, or Triple
Best methods: Quick Picks; use personal numbers; play an in-law's birthday

CAPRICORN (December 22--January 20)
Traits: serious, practical
Buy tickets: at a store near your job; in a wooden building
Best games: Pick 4; Little Lotto
Best instant games: green- or brown-colored, with words Green, Cold, Cool, or Tree
Best methods: track and play cold (overdue) numbers; use a lucky charm; play your boss' birth date

AQUARIUS (January 21--February 19)
Traits: intellectual, eccentric
Buy tickets: at an airport; where your friends shop
Best games: Lotto; Powerball, or other bonus-ball games
Best instant games: dark blue-colored, with words Wild, Seven, or Surprise
Best methods: join a small pool; use a computer to track and analyze odd/even numbers

PISCES (February 20--March 20)
Traits: sensitive, emotional
Buy tickets: at a gas station; near a lake, river, or beach
Best games: Lotto; Little-Lotto; Pick 3
Best instant games: turquoise-colored, with words Nine, Fishing, or Fantasy
Best methods: play numbers in your dreams; the paranormal; wheeling


Dreaming

Of course, you can't control the things you dream about, but if you do happen to dream about a specific number, then play it. Again, it can't hurt. If you dream about a certain number of people or objects, play that number also. Your subconscious often gives you clues in riddles, so become adept at interpreting hints from your dreams. For instance, if you dream of buying eggs at the convenience store, play the number 12 (a dozen). Or instead, play numbers with the same value as the one you dreamed of. For example, if you dream of the number 6, play the numbers 15, 24, 33, 42, or 51.

A Texas woman dreamed about dancing feet on three consecutive nights. Later she bought an instant Texas Two-Step ticket that depicted a pair of cowboy boots dancing. She won over $1,000.

Even though you may not be able to control your dreams, you can keep track of them. Sleep researchers recommend this method to help you remember your dreams: Keep paper and pencil within reach of your bed. Before you fall asleep, tell yourself that you will remember your dreams. When you wake up in the morning, try to recall the night's dreams while they're still fresh in your mind. Think about your dreams, and then write down as much as you can remember before you forget. And definitely jot down any numbers you see in your dreams.

The Unexplained

Carl Jung had an interest in numbers. He also made a lifetime study of coincidence. Jung attributed these occurrences to unknown forces seeking to bring order to a chaotic world. He wrote that coincidences happen more frequently than probability theories would predict. He called the phenomenon synchronicity -- when seemingly unrelated events occur in some unexpected association with each other. Certainly, when it comes to lottery games, some very strange things indeed have occurred. As to whether they are random occurrences or synchronicity, pure chance or fate, only you can decide.

Fred Thompson of North Haven, Connecticut, had played 111 in the Pick 3 Game for days with no luck. But when he went to the store, he bought a Lotto ticket on a whim and forgot his usual Pick 3. That night he watched in dismay as the winning Pick 3 numbers -- 111 -- were announced. He wasn't disappointed for long, though. Shortly afterward, he found his Lotto ticket had won him $3.2 million.

Remember Bernie Bobowicz, who won the New York Lotto? Several years before he found the six winning numbers in the Bible, he had won over $3 million using his old army dog-tag numbers. And on the day he won using the Bible, he also picked five of six on another ticket.

In July 2000, Lotto Texas changed its field of numbers from 50 to 54. On the very first night, the six numbers drawn were 9, 28, 35, 51, 53, and 54. In a seemingly incredible coincidence, three of the four new numbers were drawn. Some people were skeptical, believing the drawing results were too coincidental. At the time, an assistant professor of statistics at Rice University, Keith Baggerly, said, "It's rare, but not that rare." He said the odds were 1 in 330 that three of the new balls would be drawn.

If Jung's theory appeals to you, then your challenge is this: Assimilate what you read in this article about numerology, astrology, dreams, charms, and so forth. Then use all those ideas creatively in connection with people and things that are personally significant to you, such as your family members, house, job, and hobbies. Who's to say that the people who used a toy spinner to win $14 million weren't actually making use of the ancient art of divination?

Full article: Alternative Lottery Strategies by Jo Mason on howstuffworks.com

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