We Know The Lotto Is Poor Value But.....

[kinell]

the national lottery have surpassed all level of good sense.
wednesday draw was 5,9,11,20,23,30.
we understand that if many or all numbers are not common picks 'birthday numbers' the number of winners will be high and the prize values lower.
they also like to ringfence the three matching number prize at £25.
so this time for three numbers you get the expected £25
but for four numbers you only get £15!?
crazy and ill thought out surely
as the chances of getting 3 numbers are 1in 56.66 and the chances of getting 4 numbers is 1/1032.40 do we not agree that at the very (common sense, and fairness) best the 4 number win should be no less that £15?
a good idea i believe would be to have a reserve pot, they do have this facility for special draws, to cover for the times when this may happen.
also in the past because of pot size and number of winners of first prize, the second prize was larger than the one above...
how stupid is that?
national lottery apply some sense please....

[kinell]

i meant 'no less than £25'

[factor-fiction]

It's a lottery isn't it

[factor-fiction]

I see what you mean about the ring fencing- I didn't know they did that for 3 numbers. So it seems if you get four numbers you would sometimes be better off claiming for only three.

[Retrochic]

I know a fool proof way of winning at least £104 a year -put your £2 in a bank account instead of buying a ticket -simples!

[Gromit]

You think that is bad. Try comparing the prize for this week with last week for 5 numbers and the bonus ball...

This Wednesday Prize = £8,211

Last Wednesdayl = £197,336

The lesson of course is to make sure you have some numbers above 31 in your selections if you want a bigger prize.

[agchristie]

Yes Gromit that's correct.Same applies to the Football Pools as paper coupon players invariably start filling in selections from the top although the majority of players do prefer to use a Pools swipe card.

[Calibax]

I believe there are loads of people who select the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6. Should these numbers ever come up they would have to share the jackpot with 100+ other people. You can't improve your chances of winning, but you can improve your chances of sharing with fewer people by selecting higher numbers.

[Gromit]

7 is considered a lucky number so is widely chosen. If you have 7 and it is drawn, you are more likely to share the prize with more people so therefore get less money. On the other hand, 13 is considered unlucky, so you wpuld share the prize fund with less people and get a bigger prize.

[ToraToraTora]

Sadly that is the cost of ring fencing. You cannot guarentee the £25 without entertaining the possibility that the bigger prizes will be smaller! It's is possible for the 3 number prizes to swallow the whole fund so even a jackpot winner would get nothing. The reserve pot may help but even that can get swallowed by a freak happenning. The only true way to do this is to divide the funds proportionately like they do with Euro millions but then you could not ring fence the £25 for 3 numbers. In last nights draw the 3 numbers would have got a much lower amount if it was not ring fenced. None of this is "stupid" and ill thought out, it is a natural consequence of the rules that have been imposed and the arthmetic of probability.

[kinell]

agreed it is the arithmetics of probability,
however 16,593 4 correct numbers, making it up to £25 would be £166 grand, which is p'nuts in lottery terms, out of a reserve.
these people would not be s p'd off then.
analogy i bet usain bolt would not put up with winning the 100m olympic final and getting a silver medal

[jno]

hence the phrase "It's a lottery".

If you have matched four numbers perhaps you could claim to have matched three numbers four times (1,2,3; 1,2,4; 1,3,4; 2,3,4) and boost your winnings that way. But maybe they've thought of this already.

[ToraToraTora]

In this case kinnell it would cost 160k, but by making it a rule, you jeopardise future draws. Early on in 1994 there was a draw with 133 jackpot winners, that week they paid £10 for 2 numbers and £16 for 4, good job it was a double rollover!