Playing The Lottery

Cutter's Log - Stardate 2102.01.80
Current Song - I'll Make Love To You (Boyz II Men)

I've become interested in numbers and lottery drawings throughout the six years I've worked at gas stations. Probably because I'm bored and find myself trying to figure out a system.

Sometimes I play quite a bit, and then start to taper off with the money issues. Playing in moderation is something that I've tried to find a way to master. The need to do so becomes more and more paramount as the time flies by.

Luck will come around once in a while. The most I won on a single ticket is $200 on a Pick 4, wagering it as a fifty-cent "box" pick of "2010" (the year I graduated from college). I've hit a fifty-cent "box" pick on Pick 3 about 10 times, with a winning number getting no less than $40. Twice I've won $25 on Pick 3 "front pair" and "back pair" tickets.

The main games that I play are the Pick 3 and Pick 4, for the most part because they are a minimum of just a fifty-cent wager. (This is also influenced by regulars of mine at the gas station). If I feel lucky on a three- or four-digit number, it's just a half-dollar for me. You can bet up to $5 on a three- or four-digit number.  

Lately I've found myself playing more front and back pair tickets simply because I'm not looking to win that much. I feel that I've brought front and back pair to the limelight at the Shell station I work at. The way front pair works is that you pick two numbers in order with the final number being "wild." Back pair works the opposite way.

But even more recently, there have been certain numbers that have been in my head. These are special numbers.

Natrually, I filled out more Pick 3 and Pick 4 playcards and started playing them. The first time I played these numbers, I was one digit off in a Pick 4 ticket.

Now I'm in the middle of redoing my cards and am now making them permanent lottery numbers. No straying away from these. For now, I'm doing the minimum bets on the Pick 3/4 of fifty-cent "box" picks. Perhaps if these become lucky I'll graduate to "straight" or "straight box" picks.

Sometimes the need for a front pair or back pair number will come up, when I just want to play a single two-digit number. Usually I have to lecture the clerk on how to punch in such a number on the lottery machine, as there are no playcards for this type.

After leaving work last night, I brought home cards for Lotto, Little Lotto, Mega Millions and Powerball. I rarely play these games because I don't really win on them. The most I have won in Lotto was $39, Little Lotto $10, Mega Millions $4 and Powerball $3. I'm in the middle of filling out the cards with these special numbers right now.

Now I have to think about moderation. I'm not going to play these numbers every day and every draw. I'm one of those people that believes that when a number is in mind all throughout the day, I should start playing it. When a series of numbers are in mind all throughout the day, I should start playing them.

For today (Friday) I am going to play two Pick 4 numbers for both the midday and evening draws, $1 straight-box. Somehow the numbers "1214" and "1128" pop up. My Little Lotto pick will be 11-12-14-28-29.