In some scratch-off lottery games, it’s not that hard to beat the odds. In this edition of the Storyboard podcast, Jonah Lehrer goes into the psychology, and the algorithms, involved in cracking the scratch lotto code.

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Bosch Launches CCS 900 Ultro System at ISE with a Lottery
Bosch added a special touch to the launch of its CCS 900 Ultro discussion system at the Integrated Systems Europe 2010 (ISE) exhibition – a lottery open to all dealers and customers who came to the Bosch pre-exhibition customer day and CCS 900 Ultro seminar. The prize – the World’s first CCS 900 Ultro demo set containing 6 discussion units plus a Control Unit with a built in MP3 recorder and …

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I could sit here and talk about the latest big “hack attack” to strike the civilized world, but these have become so tedious. The story is always the same: hackers from scary place (here, China and Eastern Europe) attack Western government/corporation (here, corporations) for unknown, shadowy reasons. Blah, blah, blah. Instead, I’ll take this opportunity to remind you all of a very basic thing: please use the Internet with care. Don’t go clicking things willy nilly.

The story here is that hackers were able to penetrate German defenses by phishing. Yes, phishing. It’s the equivalent of, “You win Cool Thing! Please click here!”

And people click! Come on, people! Stop this nonsense already!

I understand that I’m talking to people who already know not to click every little thing on the Internet, but please tell your friends or something.

So many of the world’s computing problems could be solved if A) people let the Windows firewall do its thing and B) use some common sense when online.

Let’s say you’re walking down the street. A man in a shiny coat approaches you and says, “Good sir! Today you have won the Nigerian lottery! Oh, you don’t remember buying a ticket? Don’t worry, good sir, for the lottery is compiled using the latest United Nations statistics. Just give me your social security card and I’ll get back to you as soon as I get off the phone with the prime minister. Again, congratulations!”

Sigh.

For decades people have been playing chance games like state run lotteries for the thrill of someday winning a mega jackpot. This is especially true for people playing Powerball. Colorado, for example, has had many people lining up at the local convenience store, or state lottery, to get their weekly Powerball tickets. Recent winners include several $1 million dollar winners.

Powerball is one of those games that you have no control over. It’s not like playing popular card games like poker. At least in poker, to some degree, you have a little bit of control over how each hand is played. You can ask for new cards and bluff other players for a chance at winning the cash pot. Powerball is much different. You choose the numbers you want to play and hope that when the winning numbers are called, yours is the one that is chosen.

Working on a system of random chance, and the way that certain balls drop once the button is pushed, the winning numbers are announced. When you stop and think about it, the odds of winning at Powerball are astronomical. But, people still line up for the chances at winning at Powerball. Arizona residents get the chance to win in that state’s Powerball every Wednesday and Saturday. Residents can also play the same ticket for ten consecutive weeks if they have the clerk mark off the multi week option.

For just a dollar a ticket, you have the chance of landing into the winning of a huge jackpot worth millions. For those who are not into those kinds of odds, there is also an excitement about playing card games for money. Many people get together, throughout the country, in their basements, living rooms, garages, or anywhere else they can gather for weekly nights of poker. Although there’s a lot of money changing hands at these friendly games, it still provides a better chance of winning than buying a Powerball ticket.

Powerball throughout the country is a huge business. While the chances of winning at it are astronomical, people do win. Some people even hit on the major jackpot, and then several smaller ones all within a few months of each other. When you think about it, paying $1 for the chance to win millions is a pretty small sum to pay. Even if all you get is the thrill and excitement of hoping for the right numbers.

As part of your winning roulette strategies, you need to understand whether you are playing European or American roulette roulette. The games operate the same way, with one major difference being that American roulette will have a “0″ and a “00″ at the head of the table, while European Roulette only has the “0″ at the head of the table. This changes the odds considerably in favor of the house, and is one of the major roulette game differences that you need to understand. Definitely try it at an online casino.

Roulette betting can be any or all of the following: single number bets, multiple number bets, black or red, even or odd, betting with the house on “0″ or “00″ and on rows or columns of numbers. The odds and payouts will vary depending on the type of bet you make. Betting on a single number pays 35:1 odds while betting on even or odd, black or red will pay 2:1 odds.  Find out the tricks of the trade at roulette secrets.

Now that we understand a bit about the basics of roulette, you can begin developing your winning roulette strategies. Some players will bet only single numbers while others will be odd or even, black or red, and so on. Players will watch the history board, which shows past numbers and they will thus bet accordingly. One of the basic winning roulette strategies is to ensure that you never bet more than you can win. Some players cover the roulette table with chips and win less than what they put on the table .. i.e they lose. Do the math to ensure that you can at least make back what you wagered when you win. Enjoy the game and investigate some winning roulette strategies to help maximize your winnings.

Have you tried other gambling favorites such as Online Slots and blackjack? Online gambling is definitely the way to go. Play now at Vegas Roulette or find out more at rules roulette.

Many people around the world play at online casinos, and that’s fine if it’s your only source of gambling. However, online casinos are nowhere near as close to the real thing when it comes to simulation. Take Craps for example. Do you have a good craps strategy? The casino determines what number rolls by using a random number generator. However, just how random is random? If you have been in a casino, you know that every single person at a table has a unique rolling pattern. Some stack the dice and casually vault them into the air. Others shake them up and rocket them to the back wall, while other frequently launch the dice off the table or fall short of the back wall. There are even players who change their rolling pattern every roll or point.

An online casino does not have the ability to simulate this. Sure, they can manipulate the random number generator, but there’s still no way to accurately simulate table action. Having programmed, I know that a random number generator is not all that random. Worse, if the computer simply “picks a number”, it is not even a proper setup to being with. Let’s keep looking at Craps. Does the casino have a random number generator that simply picks a number between one and twelve? If so, all the numbers have an even shot at coming out, which is against true probability. Perhaps they list out all probable combinations and then the computer selects one. This would be a little more accurate, probability wise, but it still lacks the real randomness of live action—and weird events are more likely to ensue.

What I’m about to tell you is true and happens more frequently that one would imagine. A tester recently played at an online casino (online casino craps) to monitor number frequency in the field. Within the span of just 150 rolls, the computer rolled 11 non- field numbers in a row and then followed it up a handful of rolls later by rolling 12 non-field numbers in a row. What’s the big deal you ask? Well, first, the field has a 44.5% chance of winning on every roll and second; the probability of throwing 11 non-field rolls in a row is .0015%. The probability of throwing 12 non-field numbers in a row is .0008%. These events should happen once every 667 rolls and once every 1176 rolls respectively, yet both where seen within a handful of rolls from each other within the 150 rolls monitored.

Try computer blackjack and Deuces Wild Poker while you’re at it!