Lotto5  Reviews

V2.00 Review by Alan Barlow

"Lotto5" is an EPOC programme for, as you have probably guessed, monitoring, checking and evaluating the numbers from the twice-weekly National Lottery. The program has recently (14 April 1999) been completely rewritten by its author Mian Gardner, and, as such, has become much more Geofox-friendly. I have been using the program since the middle of last year and the rewrite has proved to be both effective and welcome.

The installation from the standard .zip file is manual - no .sis file so room for improvement here - and can be installed to either drive. The author has been good enough to supply all the results from previous draws up to 14 April 1999 so if you are using it for the British National Lottery you won't have to type in dozens of sets of results from previous months. However, before you get to the program itself, there is the ReadMe file to deal with. Whereas most ReadMe files simply deal with installation and registration (yes, I know there are exceptions) this is much more detailed. In Word5 format rather than the usual plain text, the author has included screen shots of all aspects of the program. He has obviously taken a considerable amount of time and effort to make sure that he has covered all the main features of the program. Some day all ReadMe files will be written this way!

Once installed, the program is run from the Extras bar and is divided into three main sections; "Ticket Checking", "Number Analysis" and "Random Draw", all accessed either from the main screen or from the menu. The "Ticket Checking" screen allows the user to enter up to six different syndicate tickets, each of unlimited lines, which should be ample for most users. Having entered all your tickets, this screen then allows for the checking of the weekly draw numbers, highlighting how many (if any!) numbers in each line match up. Once checked, these draw numbers can then optionally be added to the "History" file for analysis. The input of numbers for both tickets and draws is very much pen orientated, but 'fox users need not be disheartened because the screen is clear and well laid out and pointer input is feasible. However, being 'fox friendly, the author has allowed for keyboard input of numbers (which was not available in Version 1.xx, so this is an excellent improvement) both for setting up tickets and for results checking. This "Ticket Checking" view is the main working part of the program. As well as the details above, there is also the option to add and remove lines from each syndicate's ticket and to either remove or rename each syndicate.

The "Number Analysis" view shows all the records that have been entered from previous draws. This includes the draw number, the day of the draw, the numbers (natch!) as well as the draw machine and the ballset used. As there are now some 350 lines of draws, various navigation buttons (First… Last… etc.) are also provided to help the user move around. There are also buttons provided so that the user can see the six most and six least frequent drawn numbers, and for editing records in case you've made a mistake entering them. More in-depth analysis of the numbers can be carried out, allowing a range of draw numbers (from… and to…), the day of the draw, the machine used, the ballset used, and the option of whether or not to include the Bonus Ball (if applicable). None of these is mutually exclusive, and an "All" option is available for each criterion. Once run, each analysis can be saved as a "View File" should you wish to revisit it later. The other part of this screen allows the same sort of analysis of your syndicate tickets, so if you find that everyone in the office has the same lucky numbers, you may want to review your choices.

The final screen is the "Random Draw" screen, which uses an animated display to simulate the ball-dropping machine that you see twice a week on the Tele. It is quite simple, you press the "Draw" button and one by one, your six random numbers drop out. These numbers can then be added to your "Shelves" so that you can keep track of them. Up to 10 "Shelves" of numbers can be drawn and stored for use if you wish. This is the least useful of the program's functions; there is no option to automatically store your random draws on a Syndicate ticket, and if you want a random draw, why not just tick "Lucky Dip" on the ticket? Although, to be fair, the author does stress that this is a purely a fun part of the program.

Finally, there are a number of customisation options to allow the program to be used for Lotteries other than the British National Lottery. The draw machine names can be changed (handy for British Lottery users if any more machines are ever introduced) and the maximum number of balls can be set anywhere between 30 and 60. Finally there's also the option to "Compress All Files". Now I have to admit that I have no idea how expanded "Lotto5" files can become, but assuming the author knows far more about it than I do, it's good to know that, if they do, then I can deal with it! Overall, this was a good program when it was issue 1.xx and it has progressed considerably with the recent rewrite. The interface is clear and well laid out and it is straightforward to use. As with any program that relates to gambling on random events, there is no guarantee that this program will make you any richer, but at least it will take the strain out of checking your syndicate's tickets each week and, you never know, it might spot a winning line you missed.

The £5 registration fee shouldn't bankrupt anyone, and with only three numbers in one line, you've got twice your money back - excellent VFM.

Star Rating 5 stars for the program, Originally I took one off for the lack of a .sis install, but then added one for the truly excellent ReadMe file!

4 Foxes - the program runs perfectly on the Geofox, but it doesn't utilise the entire Fox screen.

Version Reviewed: 2.00

V1.3 Review by Paul Law

As you would expect Lotto5 is a lottery analyser for the EPOC platform. It is based on the British National Lottery, so will probably be of interest to the British users. I was looking at Version 1.3

I have never been a particular fan of lottery checkers or analysers,always working on the basis that the principle of random draws sort of did away for the need to analysis,but I have to say that I really quite liked this one.

The first thing that strikes you, (apart from the image of Demi Moore ?!?) , is the great graphics. These have been implemented very well.

The Actual application has three main functions:

Ticket management - keep track of the draws, and check your lottery results each week. The graphics on this page are particulary good, and the implementation works well.
Number Analysis - Puts the education into your educated guesses for your choice of numbers each week. Number Analysis will tell you all the information you could possibly need to know on how often your numbers have been drawn, from which machines, and the average times the number has come up in recent times.
Random Draw - Let Lotto5 pick your numbers for you each week. If you're like me, and simply get 5 lucky dips each week then this might suit you. I always wonder how people my lucky dip numbers are being given to !! The animation for the number draws within this function is particulary well done.

The actual program is pretty much intuitive to use, although the interface did not use the standard menu option or a tool bar. I think this would be an asset in future version.Also a standard Help file could be useful, however the applicationdidn't really loose too much from these absences.

All in all Lotto5 does very well to fulfil a particular need, and I am sure that devotees of the British National Lottery could find it very handy - (It also looks pretty cool, always a good thing to show of to your mates !)

Paul Law

Copyright © 1997-1998 Adrian Harper