Against All Odds

This book is about the lottery known as lotto, which has one of the longest odds for the big one. Four main problems are solved. • Learn principles of chance so you can be in the game but lose less • Learn that there is no strategy but improve the frequency of small wins • Use the object called 'spectrum' to compute combined chance of many blocks of numbers • Teach those who erroneously think that the utility-to-risk ratio is too small in lotteries While the main text is about odds and ways of playing and is easy reading as a daily newspaper, the large appendix explains the 'why' to the mathematically inclined. The appendix is also a source of probability problems for high school students. Implicit in the chapters on 'lotto designs' is a countable infinity of Ph.D. research problems. The vast subject of probability began centuries ago with a dice problem solved by great mathematicians. Here now is guidance on lotteries, from a mathematician! Here is help in your play against the long odds in the most popular lottery so it will not be a "lootery" on you!