It’s official. The September 20th Mega Millions marked the official end of summer with little fanfare. Although the {2-2-1-1} Pattern didn’t make an encore, the Specific Order of the evening made its first appearance in over a year. As the daytime continues to grow shorter up here, gather ‘round the computer screen and follow along with the recap of Tuesday’s drawing.
The winning numbers for the 305th drawing were 2, 22, 34, 62, 72, and MB 2.
Winning Mega Millions numbers from lotterytrend-megamillions.com.
Now having appeared 121 times, the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern has now played 39.7% of the time. Last we saw this Pattern was exactly one week prior on September 13th. In our Lotto Texas/Powerball post, we talked about how the {2-1-1-1-1} and {2-2-1-1} Patterns in Powerball seem to be locked into a neverending dance of alternating. Has Mega Millions caught this bug?
The [1-1-1-2-1] General Order played for the 28th time, and out of the 121 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern, this General Order has played 23.1% of the time. When taking all 305 Mega Millions drawings into account, this becomes 9.18% of the time. The [1-1-1-2-1] General Order previously played on September 6th, exactly two weeks prior to Tuesday’s drawing.
We round up the night with the 111021Specific Order, which made its 5th appearance. With 28 drawings where the [1-1-1-2-1] General Order has appeared, the 111021Specific Order has played 17.9% of the time. This becomes 4.13% when looking at the 121 drawings where the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern has played and 1.64% when looking at all 305 drawings. The last time the 111021Specific Order played was back on May 5th, 2015.
As we look ahead to fall, will Mega Millions continue to keep it cool, or will it get fired up?
Over the weekend I had a question about Patterns for the architect of the very system this blog covers. I sent her an email, and she quickly provided feedback:
Dear Lottery Meister:
In answer to your question: The less a pattern plays – say like 20 percent of the time – I would not look at the fact that it is not playing 80 percent of the time, and therefore, not play that pattern. I have calculated and verified the theoretical probabilities and actual probabilities on patterns, general orders, and specific orders listed on our sites. What you are reporting real time for www.lotterytrend.com, www.lotterytrend-megamillions.com, and www.lotterytrend-powerball.com, are actual probabilities. The actual pattern probabilities are not that far off from the theoretical. In general, the less a pattern plays the greater your odds of winning when it does play – providing you are playing the ” less played” pattern. But since Lottery Trend breaks the patterns down into general orders and specific orders, you have the choice of increasing your odds of winning, i.e., if you pick a specific order and you stick with that specific order, when that specific order does play, your odds of winning are increased, significantly.
For instance, if you are playing the {3-2-1} pattern in Texas Lotto (and you are only buying one ticket), your odds of winning when {3-2-1} does play is about 1 out of 13 million rather than 1 out of 26 million. If you are playing the {5-1} pattern, your odds of winning are about 1 out of 900,000, rather than 1 out of 26 million. The strategy is to stay the course and keep playing that same pattern until it turns up. A {5-1} pattern plays on average between 3 and 4 times every 100 drawings. If I know nothing else I would play the {5-1} pattern, seeing that my chances are better when it does come around. I can spend that dollar every draw until {5-1} does play.
It’s like picking a spot to fish, knowing where and how the fish bites.
If you know about specific orders associated with each pattern, you can increase your odds even more, providing you stick with that specific order. But the rarity of play for specific order kicks in, and my chance of picking the right specific order for {5-1} is about two out of three (when the {5-1} pattern does play -there are six specific orders to choose from and if {5-1} pops up 4 out of 100 draws, I have a 2 out of 3 chance that the specific order I’ve chosen will play). If I am playing the right specific order when {5-1} does play, the odds of winning, playing that one dollar, is 1 out of 154,000, rather than 1 out of 26 million.
The same goes for the {3-2-1} pattern. This pattern plays about 1 out of 2 drawings. Picking a specific order, and staying with that specific order increases my chance of winning, when that specific order does play. The {3-2-1} pattern consists of six specific orders. When the specific order I’ve chosen does play my odds of winning are about 1 out of 2,250,000, rather than 1 out of 26 million. Because of how often the {3-2-1} pattern plays it is nearly a given that the specific order you choose will play several times a year.
And consider this, if I choose to buy more than one ticket, but stay consistent with the specific order, I improve my odds of winning even more.
The {5-1} pattern plays about 3 to 4 percent. So I calculate that it plays about 3 to 4 times a year. I would not count it out due to the odds of winning when it does play.
Whether you play a pattern or not depends on (1) how often that pattern is expected to play, (2) the odds of winning, when that pattern plays, (3) and your patience. When I co-authored Lottery Trend in 1993, I calculated that the {6} pattern (based on five groups and ten numbers in each group) would play once every 150 years. This was when the Texas Lottery was playing 1-50. Now, that’s a pattern that I would not have played. And when the Texas Lottery went from 1-50 (over 600 drawings) to 1-54, the {6} pattern still had not played.
The {6} pattern is different for the 1-54 system (based on three groups, 18 numbers, each). It has played five times in 1378 drawings. I calculated that it should play 2 out of every 1000 drawings. As of this writing it plays about 4 out of every 1000 drawings. Based on my calculations it should trend about once every five years. Based on the way it is actually playing, it is trending once every three and a half years. The {6) pattern has three specific orders, and given the expectation of playing once every three to five years, you could wait as long as fifteen years before the specific order you choose plays. But it does play, and when a specific order for this pattern plays and you are “patient” enough, your odds of winning are 1 out of 19,000 (playing just one dollar). So that’s the trade-off.
I created this system in 1992 during the advent of the Texas Lottery system, and I am proud to say I have expanded it to include Megamillions and Powerball.
The September 17th Lotto Texas and Powerball drawings were truly something. On the Lotto Texas front, the {4-2} Pattern made a three-peat appearance. Powerball had its 100th drawing, and by 100th, we mean “The 100th drawing using number balls 1 through 69 and Powerballs 1 through 26.” What better way to mark the 100th drawing than for someone to win the jackpot?
Lotto Texas
The {4-2} three-peat was provided by the winning numbers 24, 32, 33, 34, 48, and 51.
Winning Texas Lotto Numbers from lotterytrend.com.
Now having played 152 times, and with 1378 Lotto Texas drawings to date, the {4-2} Pattern has played 11.0% of the time. This Pattern previously played in Wednesday’s drawing as well as the September 10th drawing.
The 042 Specific Order made its 30th appearance, and out of the 152 drawings where {4-2} was the winning Pattern, this Specific Order has played 19.7% of the time. When we look at all 1378 drawings, this becomes 2.18%. Unlike the {4-2} Pattern, the 042 Specific Order was last seen at the beginning of the year: January 16th, 2016.
The last Lotto Texas highlight of the evening was the Four-Number Combination of 24, 32, 33, and 48, which made its first appearance October 13th, 2012.
Repeating Four-Number Combo is highlighted in the red box. From lotterytrend.com.
Powerball
Even though Powerball had its 100th drawing, and somebody won, it appears that the {2-2-1-1} and {2-1-1-1-1} Patterns are locked in a dance. The {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern played for the 37th time, thanks to numbers 9, 19, 51, 55, 62, and PB 14.
Winning Powerball numbers. From lotterytrend-powerball.com.
The {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern has now played 37% of the time, and remains the most commonly played Pattern. This Pattern was last seen in the September 10th drawing.
Like the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern, the [1-1-2-1-1] Pattern was last seen in the September 10th drawing. Making its eighth appearance, it has appeared in 21.6% of the 37 drawings where the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern played. Taking all 100 drawings into account, this shrinks to 8% of the time.
September 10th appears to be a popular date, for the 110211 Specific Order also made its last appearance on that night! Now having played three times, it has appeared in 37.5% of the 8 drawings where the [1-1-2-1-1] General Order has played. This becomes 8.11% of the 37 drawings where the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern has played, and 3% when taking all 100 drawings into account.
With the last summer (or winter) Lotto Texas and Powerball drawings coming up this Wednesday, will the {4-2} Pattern be daring enough to go for a four-peat? Will the {2-1-1-1-1} and the {2-2-1-1} Patterns be locked in their dance, alternating between who gets to play?
Lately, we here at Lottery Trend have come across websites that are using our information and the creators of said sites are not giving us credit. This is the first of a series of special posts created in order to set the record straight.
Our sites constantly show how often Combinations play. We do this in order for people to see the futility in playing repeating Combinations, particularly Three, Four, and Five-Number Combinations. We were unable to find documentation for Combination counts, particularly for Three, Four, and Five-Number Combinations. This led us to the design and creation of algorithms that allow for a rapid count for these Combos.
The Combination is just one concept. We created the concept of Patterns based on groups back in 1992. We were met with great skepticism, if not outright dismissal.
Now, we don’t mind if you would like to use the information on our sites for your own. However, you must cite your sources;otherwise it’s plagiarism.
First, we’d like to give a shout out to the winner of the September 16th, 2016 Mega Millions drawing. In addition to creating a winner, Friday’s drawing gave us a glimpse back to the earlier, warmer (and hotter) times of the year.
Friday’s drawing saw the 96th appearance of the {2-2-1-1} Pattern, provided by the winning numbers 13, 21, 28, 34, 40, and MB 15.
The numbers that made somebody $133 million richer. From lotterytrend-megamillions.com.
Now that there have been 304 drawings, the {2-2-1-1} Pattern has played 31.6% of the time. Last we saw this Pattern was at the beginning of Labor Day weekend (September 2nd). Unlike in Powerball, this {2-2-1-1} Pattern isn’t close to taking the title of Most Commonly Seen Pattern away from {2-1-1-1-1}.
The General Order of the evening was [1-2-2-1], which previously played on August 19th, 2016. Making its 25th appearance, it has appeared in 26.0% of the 96 drawings where the {2-2-1-1} Pattern played. When looking at all 304 drawings, the [1-2-2-1] General Order has played 8.22% of the time.
The 122001 Specific Order made its fifth appearance, having previously played back on May 6th, 2016. Out of the 25 drawings where [1-2-2-1] was the General Order, the 122001 Specific Order has played 20% of the time. When looking at the 96 drawings where {2-2-1-1} was the winning Pattern, this becomes 5.21%, and becomes 1.64% of the time when looking at all 304 Mega Millions drawings.
Last, but definitely not least, we come to the Three-Number Combination of 21, 40, and MB 15, which first played on December 22nd, 2015.
The repeating Three-Number Combination is highlighted in the red box. From lotterytrend-megamillions.com.
As we look to the final Mega Millions drawing of the summer, will Mega Millions keep it warm?
What is generally associated with “four”, besides the number? There’s the four seasons (Vivaldi or hotel?), four directions, four-square, just to name a few things. September 14, 2016 saw quite a bit of “four” in both Lotto Texas and Powerball. Even with “four” making its grand stand, there appears to be yet another power struggle in Powerball.
Lotto Texas
The {4-2} Pattern, a Pattern we don’t see that often, made its 151st appearance. Wednesday’s numbers were 6, 15, 37, 38, 51, and 54.
Winning Texas Lotto numbers from lotterytrend.com.
Out of the 1377 Lotto Texas drawings, the {4-2} Pattern has now played 11% of the time.
The 204 Specific Order made its 18th appearance, and out of the 151 drawings where {4-2} was the winning Pattern, it’s played 11.9% of the time. When looking at all 1377 drawings, this becomes 1.31%. This Specific Order was last seen on May 21, 2016, which in fact was the weekend before our blog launched.
We saw two Four-Number Combinations each play for the second time. While we didn’t see anything from the previous decade, there was a pretty sizable gap! The Four-Number Combinations were:
6, 37, 38, and 51, which first played July 28, 2010 (For those people who believe the millennium started in 2001, they could say that 2010 was last decade…) and
6, 15, 37, and 54, which first played November 14, 2015.
The repeating Four-Number Combinations are highlighted in the red boxes. From lotterytrend.com.
Powerball
The {2-2-1-1} Pattern just doesn’t know when to quit. With winning numbers 10, 11, 23, 28, 31, and PB 14, this Pattern has now made 35 appearances.
Winning Powerball numbers from lotterytrend-powerball.com.
Given that there have been 99 Powerball drawings, the {2-2-1-1} Pattern has now played 35.4% of the time. Once again, it looks like it’s challenging the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern, which has played 36 times, for Most Commonly Played Pattern. To think that the {2-2-1-1} Pattern last played September 7, 2016, exactly one week prior to Wednesday’s drawing! Right now it looks like these Patterns are taking turns, but will it continue?
The [2-2-1-1] General Order, like the {2-2-1-1} Pattern, also previously played on September 7th. Now having played 12 times, and with 35 drawings where {2-2-1-1} was the winning Pattern, the [2-2-1-1] General Order has played 34.3% of the time. When looking at all 99 Powerball drawings, this shrinks to 12.1%.
Unlike the Pattern and General Order of the evening, the 221001 Specific Order previously played near the beginning of the year on January 13th. With two appearances, and with 12 drawings where the [2-2-1-1] General Order prevailed, the 221001 Specific Order has played 16.7% of the time. This becomes 5.71% of the time when we look at the 35 drawings where {2-2-1-1} was the winning Pattern, and 2.02% when taking all 99 drawings into account.
And now for something a little different. Normally, when we talk about repeating Combinations in Powerball, we talk about the Three-Number Combinations. Last night, we saw a Two-Number Combination that has played four times.
The unusual Two-Number Combination. From lotterytrend-powerball.com.
This Two-Number Combination came in the form of 11, 23, as shown in the boxed section in the picture above. Not only has this Combination played four times, every instance has occurred this year.
The 11, 23 Combination played on the following dates:
March 19, 2016
March 26, 2016 (exactly one week later)
July 30, 2016
September 14, 2016 (a.k.a. “The drawing we’re currently discussing”)
As we enter the final weekend of summer (or winter), will the Lotto Texas {4-2} Pattern go for an encore? Will the {2-2-1-1} and {2-1-1-1-1} Patterns continue their power struggle, or will another Powerball Pattern get a chance to play?
Of course, Mega Millions decides to spice things up on the 13th! On the surface, Tuesday’s drawing pointed to yet another mellow evening. Sure, the most commonly played Pattern came back after a week of absence, but, things get more interesting when you look deeper. One point of interest is that the Specific Order of the evening hadn’t played in almost a year.
The {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern made its 120th appearance in the September 13, 2016 drawing thanks to 6, 15, 17, 39, 56, and MB 15.
Winning Mega Millions numbers from lotterytrend-megamillions.com
Given that there have been 303 Mega Millions drawings to date, the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern has played 39.6% of the time, and remains second-to-none.
The [2-1-1-1-1] General Order made its 31st appearance, its first since the August 2, 2016 drawing. Out of the 120 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern, the [2-1-1-1-1] General Order has played 25.8% of the time. Taking all 303 drawings into account, this becomes 10.2%.
The 211101Specific Order made its fourth (ever) appearance, having last played in the October 13, 2015 drawing. With 31 drawings where [2-1-1-1-1] is the General Order, the 211101Specific Order has played 12.9% of the time. This shrinks to 3.33% when looking at the 120 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the Pattern and 1.32% when looking at all 303 Mega Millions drawings.
The other spectacle of the evening was that not one, not two, but three Three-Number Combinations repeated! We had
39, 56, MB 15, which first played August 19, 2014,
17, 56, MB 15, which first played October 30, 2015, and
6, 17, MB 15, which first played July 17, 2015.
The repeating Three-Number Combinations are highlighted in red boxes. From lotterytrend-megamillions.com
As summer (or winter for you Southern Hemisphere readers out there) officially draws to a close, was Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing a warm-up or will it settle back into a chilled approach?
So far, September has been unkind to streaks. The highest ranking achieved has been “three-peat”. Neither the Lotto Texas nor Powerball Patterns that appeared Wednesday night played on Saturday. But, with the appearance of a Pattern that doesn’t get much play, and another Pattern that wants to retain its title, one would be tempted to ask “Who needs streaks?”
Lotto Texas
The September 10, 2016 Lotto Texas drawing graced us with 2, 12, 25, 27, 29, and 30, and giving us the 150th appearance of the {4-2} Pattern. We last saw this Pattern this past August on the 20th.
Winning Texas Lotto numbers from lotterytrend.com.
Now with 1376 drawings to date, the {4-2} Pattern has played 10.9% of the time. The stats show that this is not a commonly seen Pattern.
The 240Specific Order made its 26th appearance, its first since August 3rd. Out of the 150 drawings where {4-2} was the winning Pattern, this Specific Order has played 17.3% of the time. When taking all 1376 drawings into account, the 240Specific Order has played 1.89% of the time.
One highlight of the evening was the repeat appearance of the Four-Number Combination 2, 12, 25, and 27.
The repeating Four-Number Combination highlighted in red. From lotterytrend.com.
This Combination made its debut back on April 12, 2008. Eight years is quite a bit of time!
Powerball
Although Powerball didn’t have any Three-Number Combination callbacks, the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern may as well have said “I don’t think so” to the {2-2-1-1} Pattern. Recall that {2-2-1-1} dethroned the {2-1-1-1-1} as Most Commonly Played Powerball Pattern and that it wasn’t that long ago that {2-1-1-1-1} reclaimed its title…and that last time {2-2-1-1} played. Never mind that {2-1-1-1-1} has played the Saturday prior (September 3rd)!
With its 36th appearance, the {2-1-1-1-1} can still lay claim to its title thanks to the following winning numbers: 3, 17, 49, 55, 68, and PB 8.
Winning Powerball numbers from lotterytrend-powerball.com.
With 98 Powerball drawings to date, the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern has played 36.7% of the time.
The [1-1-2-1-1] General Order made its 7th appearance, its first since August 27th, 2016. Out of the 36 drawings with the {2-1-1-1-1} Winning Pattern, the [1-1-2-1-1] General Order has played 19.4% of the time. When looking at all 98 Powerball drawings, this becomes 7.14%.
The 110211 Specific Order made its second-ever appearance, and has played 28.6% of the time when looking at the 7 drawings where [1-1-2-1-1] was the General Order. This becomes 5.56% when looking at the 36 drawings where the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern played, and 2.04% of all Powerball drawings. As to when this Specific Order first played? March 19, 2016.
As we approach the middle of the month, will there still be uncommonly played Patterns? Will another power struggle ensue in Powerball?
After a sizzling hot record-smashing August, Mega Millions continued its chill streak in Friday’s drawing. The {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern didn’t make an encore appearance, nor was there anything that screamed “Throwback!” There was one highlight of the evening, and that was the appearance of a Pattern that doesn’t get much play.
The winning numbers from the September 9th, 2016 drawings were 1, 34, 43, 44, 63, and MB 11.
Winning Mega Millions Numbers from lotterytrend-megamillions.com.
With its 48th appearance, the {3-1-1-1} Pattern played for the first time since July 1st. Given that there have been 302 Mega Millions drawings to date, the {3-1-1-1} Pattern has now played 15.9% of the time.
The [1-3-1-1] General Order also made its first appearance since the July 1st drawing. Now having made 15 appearances, and given the 48 drawings in which {3-1-1-1} has played, the [1-3-1-1] General Order has played 31.3% of the time. This General Order has appeared in 4.97% of all Mega Millions drawings.
Unlike the Pattern and the General Order of the evening, the 103011Specific Order made its first appearance in nearly two years. The last time this Specific Order played was back on October 21st, 2014. With that said, given its third (ever) appearance and the 15 times the [1-3-1-1] General Order has played, the 103011Specific Order has played 20% of the time. This becomes 6.25% of the time when looking at the 48 drawings where {3-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern, and approximately 1% of all Mega Millions drawings.
For now, it looks like Mega Millions is surrendering the blow-outs and extravaganzas to its brethren Lotto Texas and Powerball, not to mention football. Will this continue, or will Mega Millions throw a surprise in the weeks ahead?
After a quiet Saturday, Lotto Texas and Powerball were fired up in Wednesday’s drawings. Lotto Texas saw a {3-2-1} three-peat and more. On the Powerball side of things, the {2-2-1-1} Pattern called itself playing catch-up.
Lotto Texas
The September 7th, 2016 winning numbers were 9, 12, 26, 28, 33, and 40.
Winning Texas Lotto numbers. From lotterytrend.com.
Now with its 718th appearance, the {3-2-1} Pattern continues its rock-solid hold on Most Commonly Played Pattern. With 1375 drawings to date, the {3-2-1} Pattern has now played 52.2% of the time.
The Specific Order of the evening was 231, making its first appearance since July 20th. With its 118th appearance, and given the 718 appearances of the {3-2-1} Pattern, the 231 Specific Order has played 16.4% of the time. Taking all 1375 drawings into account, this becomes 8.58% of the time.
Now it gets a little more interesting. We saw a Four-Number Combination make an appearance for the first time in ten years! This Combination was brought to us by 12, 28, 33, and 40.
The repeating Four-Number Combination. From lotterytrend.com.
The very first time this Combination played was August 26th, 2006.
Powerball
Thanks to winning numbers 22, 23, 29, 33, 35, and PB 21, the {2-2-1-1} Pattern made its 34th appearance.
Winning Powerball numbers. From lotterytrend-powerball.com.
With 97 Powerball drawings to date, the {2-2-1-1} has played 35.1% of the time. The last time we saw this Pattern was back on August 24th.
The [2-2-1-1] General order made its 11th appearance, its first since early in the summer (June 11th). Given the 34 drawings in which the {2-2-1-1} Pattern has played, the [2-2-1-1] General Order has played 32.4% of the time. This becomes 11.3% of the time when we look at all 97 drawings.
We now come to the 022101 Specific Order. Making its debut last night, it has now appeared in 1 out of 11 drawings in which the [2-2-1-1] General Order has played, or 9.09% of the time. Looking at the 34 drawings in which the {2-2-1-1} has played, this becomes 2.94% of the time. Finally, the 022101 Specific Order has now played in 1.03% of all Powerball drawings.
As football kicks it into high gear this weekend, will Lotto Texas see a {3-2-1} four-peat? Will the {2-2-1-1} Pattern continue to play catch-up and dethrone the {2-1-1-1-1} in Powerball?
