Zero for seven
October 6th, 2016 at 10:00:58 AM
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Hi all,
Not sure of my answer, but I told my mother than the odds of her not getting a SINGLE number to hit from three lines in a 6/49 lottery (with an extra number drawn for wildcard purposes) was about one in a gazillion. I HAVE one such ticket. And thought it relatively unique. She says she had two of them in the last two weeks. Now, we are talking about a nonagenarian and she can get things mixed up quite easily these days. But, now, I wonder JUST how unique a total failure ticket would be?
Seems to me the math would be 48/49 + ... for each number not being selected for seven elements on each of three lines. But my own calculations using that series comes up with a number that doesn't make sense (that is, that it would be fairly common). Now, there would ALSO have to be adjustments for commonalities in numbers, meaning the number pool might be as small as say 10, while maxing out at 21.
Can anybody give me a chart for the probability of a ticket drawing bupkus for that 10 to 21 series of numbers? I would appreciate having a third-party answer to assure my Mom her local store is not fixing her tickets (G).
Thanks, 0
Not sure of my answer, but I told my mother than the odds of her not getting a SINGLE number to hit from three lines in a 6/49 lottery (with an extra number drawn for wildcard purposes) was about one in a gazillion. I HAVE one such ticket. And thought it relatively unique. She says she had two of them in the last two weeks. Now, we are talking about a nonagenarian and she can get things mixed up quite easily these days. But, now, I wonder JUST how unique a total failure ticket would be?
Seems to me the math would be 48/49 + ... for each number not being selected for seven elements on each of three lines. But my own calculations using that series comes up with a number that doesn't make sense (that is, that it would be fairly common). Now, there would ALSO have to be adjustments for commonalities in numbers, meaning the number pool might be as small as say 10, while maxing out at 21.
Can anybody give me a chart for the probability of a ticket drawing bupkus for that 10 to 21 series of numbers? I would appreciate having a third-party answer to assure my Mom her local store is not fixing her tickets (G).
Thanks, 0
October 6th, 2016 at 11:03:03 AM
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Questions:
Does each line on the ticket have 6 numbers, or 7?
Is the "wildcard" number drawn from the same set of 49 balls as the other six, or is it a separate set (so the wildcard could match one of the other numbers)?
Assuming the wildcard cannot be the same as the other 6, then the probability of a ticket with anywhere from 6 to 21 different numbers not matching any of the 7 drawn out of 49 are:
Does each line on the ticket have 6 numbers, or 7?
Is the "wildcard" number drawn from the same set of 49 balls as the other six, or is it a separate set (so the wildcard could match one of the other numbers)?
Assuming the wildcard cannot be the same as the other 6, then the probability of a ticket with anywhere from 6 to 21 different numbers not matching any of the 7 drawn out of 49 are:
| Numbers | Odds 1 in |
|---|---|
| 6 | 2.665723688 |
| 7 | 3.184058849 |
| 8 | 3.820870619 |
| 9 | 4.607520452 |
| 10 | 5.584873275 |
| 11 | 6.806564304 |
| 12 | 8.343530437 |
| 13 | 10.29035421 |
| 14 | 12.77423281 |
| 15 | 15.96779101 |
| 16 | 20.10758868 |
| 17 | 25.52117025 |
| 18 | 32.66709792 |
| 19 | 42.19500147 |
| 20 | 55.03695844 |
| 21 | 72.54871795 |
October 6th, 2016 at 11:25:19 AM
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Thanks for the quick reply TDG. The fules are that you pick six numbers from 1 to 49. The lottery draws six and if you are six for six, you retire from your job. If you hit five of six PLUS the extra SEVENTH number (unique to the others), you get to buy a new house. Depending on where you live. After that, the winning totals dwindle into the low thousands, low hundreds, 20 bucks, free ticket.
On each ticket, you get three lines of six. So, I was wrong, in fact, to project out to 21 elements. The max was 18. Which means a ticket with 18 distinct numbers will come up totally dry every 33 draws. I find that counter-intuitive, but that was close to what I was calculating as I went along. So, my gut says no, but my math and your math tell me Mom isn't dotty at all. But even still, back to back weeks is still horrible. Makes me want to ask her for her ticket numbers before buying mine. That ought to even out the lotto odds a LOT.
Appreciate you taking the time to make Mom feel good. 0
On each ticket, you get three lines of six. So, I was wrong, in fact, to project out to 21 elements. The max was 18. Which means a ticket with 18 distinct numbers will come up totally dry every 33 draws. I find that counter-intuitive, but that was close to what I was calculating as I went along. So, my gut says no, but my math and your math tell me Mom isn't dotty at all. But even still, back to back weeks is still horrible. Makes me want to ask her for her ticket numbers before buying mine. That ought to even out the lotto odds a LOT.
Appreciate you taking the time to make Mom feel good. 0
