
    ┌────┬───────────────────┐
    │ F1 │ Help -> Lotto     │
    └────┴───────────────────┘
    You are reading the help file for the lotto games.
    The options F2 through F7 are explained in great detail in the main
    tutorial. They will not be repeated here. This help facility will
    deal only with the two options that are not covered in the tutorial.

    ┌────┬───────────────────┐
    │ F8 │ Lotto Systems     │
    └────┴───────────────────┘
    The procedure loads and runs WHEELS.EXE.
    The lotto systems or the lotto wheels represent an abbreviated
    form of playing combinations. If you want to play, say, 12 lotto
    numbers together, you have to play 924 tickets. That is the number
    of all possible combinations of 12 taken 6 at a time. If you have
    the 6 winners among the 12 numbers selected you are certainly
    assured of the first prize. In most situations, however, players
    prefer a more economical strategy. They are shooting for a smaller
    prize with drastically fewer tickets. They can play the 12 numbers
    in an abbreviated system or a lotto wheel of 10 combinations. They
    reduced the cost 92 times and still are assured of at least one
    combination with 4 winning numbers. We say that such a lotto system
    satisfies the minimum guarantee '4 out of 6'.
    The most popular minimum guarantee is '4 out of 6'. A group of the
    most commonly used lotto systems are part of subdirectory \SYSTEMS.
    They wheel from 9 to 18 numbers and meet the minimum guarantee '4
    out of 6'. Actually, they offer a good chance at two combinations
    with 4 winning numbers or can hit the minimum guarantee '4 out of 5'
    (better than '4 out of 6'). The 9-number system does meet the
    minimum guarantee '4 out of 5'. You shouldn't play a lotto wheel for
    more than 18 numbers. The system consists of 89 combinations --
    which leads to a cost almost equal to the prize. Wheeling more than
    18 numbers leads to a cost exceeding the prize.
    The '5 out of 6' guarantee requires far more combinations in a
    system. WHEELS.EXE will stop, however, after some 2,000 combinations
    were generated. It makes no sense to play far more combinations than
    the prize expectancy.

    You can generate your own systems, with different configurations than
    those included in \SYSTEMS. Select the same D6 data file and use
    minimum 2000 drawings. Select the type of guarantee and how many
    numbers you want to wheel. For example:
        - press 4 for 'minimum 4 out of 6'
        - type 13 for 'how many numbers to play'.
        - press D for the INPUT device and type S6 as file name. This is
        a tiny input file of zeroes (sets all the elimination conditions
        to 0).
        - you can display the system to screen (S) or save the
        combinations to a disk file.

    The systems are theoretical. You must replace the theoretical
    numbers by your actual picks. Suppose you want to play the 9-number
    system. Draw a line. Above, write the theoretical numbers from 1
    to 9. Below, write your picks, say: 24, 5, 19, 33, 44, 13, 36, 29, 2.

               1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9
              ──────────────────────────────────────
              24   5  19  33  44  13  36  29   2
    Number 24 will replace number 1 in the system, number 5 will replace
    number 2, 19 replaces 3, 33 replaces 4 etc.
      - theoretical system -              - system with your picks -
      1,2,3,4,5,6                         24,5,19,33,44,13
      1,2,3,7,8,9          ==>            24,5,19,36,29,2
      4,5,6,7,8,9                         33,44,13,36,29,2

    WHEELS.EXE has another powerful feature: it can wheel all the
    numbers in your lotto game. At the prompt HOW MANY NUMBERS TO WHEEL
    type the biggest number in your lotto game. For example, in
    Pennsylvania, we type 48. We can also use any strategy files (ST)
    that we are using to play POWER-6.EXE and ASCEND-6.EXE. That way, we
    reduce even further the amount of combinations in the system.
    This is a tough test for a computer system. The program starts fast
    then slows down progressively. Let it run for hours. The best time
    to stop the program (function key F10) is when some 30 minutes
    elapsed since the last combination generated.

    ┌────┬───────────────────┐
    │ F9 │ Lotto Utilities   │
    └────┴───────────────────┘
    The procedure loads and runs UTIL-6.EXE. You already know some of
    its features from the main tutorial. Other features:

        * Strip-off duplicate lines.
    This routine is applicable only to the output files generated by the
    program POWER-6.EXE ('free-form' combinations). Indicate what output
    file you want to clean of duplicates. You can use the same name for
    the clean file as the name of the file with duplicate combinations.
    That way, you save disk space.

        * Frequency (statistical) reports
    We do not strongly believe in the virtues of lottery frequency.
    Statistics have only a weak effect on predicting lottery winners.
    That's the only feature present in other so-called 'lottery programs'.
    We recommend you use the statistical reports in conjunction with the
    LEAST files described in the tutorial. The skip chart can give you
    some indication of what numbers to eliminate completely (put them on
    top of LEAST-6). The numbers in the skip chart show how many
    drawings a particular lotto number waited between hits.

