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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Subtopics
Theory and Philosophy
Usage
"Bugs"
Ordering
Registration
Upgrading
Current Issues
Wheels
Data Subscriptions
Printing Playslips
Frameworks
Miscellany
Q: Will Lotto Sorcerer guarantee to give me a winning lottery number?
A: No, no one can legitimately guarantee that. If they do, they are either relying on the fact that 99% of people will not bother to cash in on the guarantee, or make the claim terms so confusing that no one can understand the terms, or have enough loopholes in the terms that no one can cash in a claim.
The function of Lotto Sorcerer is to find non-random and weighted patterns to the lottery drawings, and help maximize the odds in your favor.
Q: You can't possibly predict the outcome of random events!
A: Yes, it is true, you cannot predict the outcome of truly random events. But Lotto Sorcerer looks for non-random patterns and weighted influences. Although lottery officials try to make the drawings random, some weighted influence can alter the randomness. For example, does the weight of the ink on the balls have an effect? After all, some balls have more ink than others, so there must be a weight variance. Are the balls of exactly the same thickness? Probably not; plastic manufacturers generally cannot keep tolerances greater than 5 thousandths of an inch. Different thicknesses mean different weights. Although the weight differences are small, they still could effect whether some balls get picked more than others. Even the moisture content in plastics can drastically effect the weight of a lottery ball. Many countries in the Far East do not use balls; they use wheels. And for all practical purposes, it is impossible to perfectly balance a wheel. If you cannot perfectly balance a wheel, that means there is some non-random influence at work.
Is your lottery truly random? Or is there some weighted influence which ever-so-slightly alters the odds? Only a neural network program, such as Lotto Sorcerer, can detect these influences.
Q: What types of lotteries can Lotto Sorcerer track?
A: Lotto Sorcerer can track standard lottos, lottos with one or two bonus balls, one to three extra (supplemental) numbers, keno type lotteries and "Pick 3" and "Pick 4" type lotteries.
Q: How many previous drawings should I put into the database?
A: As of version 6 (the current release), you should put as many drawings as possible into the database. Although previous versions (versions 5 and earlier) limited the maximum number of previous drawings (because older drawings were considered statistically irrelevant), version 6 does not. This is because version 6 uses a new algorithm to search for long-term patterns within the patterns of previous drawings: this is to compensate for lottery officials attempts to make the drawings "more random" by swapping the lottery machines, and so forth.
Q: What is the purpose of the statistical settings in the Preferences Panel (standard deviation, median, etc.)?
A: These are extra tools which you can use to "fine tune" the performance of Lotto Sorcerer. The neural network engine is always in use when Lotto Sorcerer performs its analysis, but these other statistical functions are options you can experiment with to get the best results. Choosing these statistical settings causes Lotto Sorcerer to sort the suggestions by those settings.
Q: Is there any way to import a list of past numbers instead of typing it in?
A: Yes, Lotto Sorcerer can import from a wide range (147,000+ formats!) of delimited text files and fixed-width text files. Many lotteries offer free downloads of past lottery drawings which you can import into Lotto Sorcerer (although some may require a little "massaging" of the data to make it importable into our program). US Datamines offers lottery datasets that are "Lotto Sorcerer ready". You can also update many (300+) lotteries automatically using our Lottery Subscription Service (use menu item Lottery Data > Lottery Data Subscription > Subscription Setup Wizard).
Q: The lottery I play has drawings twice a day. Should I track
these together, or treat them as separate lotteries?
A: You should treat them as separate lotteries. Lotto Sorcerer uses the date of the drawing as the Primary Key. If you are familiar with SQL databases, you understand the importance of this Key.
Q: My state has a keno program that runs once every five minutes. Can I use Lotto Sorcerer for this type of lottery?
A: No. Lotto Sorcerer can handle lotteries that play no more than once a day. Besides, it would be practically impossible for you to keep up with entering the prior drawings every five minutes.
Q: In the Enter Numbers Picked window, I noticed the year pull
down in the calendar only goes up to this year. Will this software
work next year?
A: The pull down will always go up to the current year, whenever
you run the program. So it will always be valid.
Q: What is the minimum amount of past drawings Lotto Sorcerer needs?
A: This figure varies by the lottery's parameters (lottery type, numbers drawn, numbers played) and by the starting neural depth setting. Lotto Sorcerer will advise you if you do not have enough drawings entered. If this happens, you can either enter more drawings, or decrease the neural depth.
Q: What is the maximum amount of past drawings Lotto Sorcerer needs?
A: For version 6, there is no maximum. For versions 5 and earlier, older drawings were considered too old to be statistically relevant. Version 6, however, not only looks at patterns of past drawings, but looks for patterns of the patterns themselves. In other words, it looks at both short-term and long-term trends.
The purpose of this unique feature of Lotto Sorcerer version 6 is to compensate for a tactic used by many lotteries, which is to swap out the machines that pick the lottery numbers, in an attempt to make the drawings more random.
Q: My lottery changed its parameters: it used to have a pool of 48 numbers, and now it has changed to 49. What should I do?
A: First, you need to edit the lottery's settings by using Lotto Sorcerer's menu item "Lottery Structure > Edit Lottery Settings" to reflect the new parameters. Next, because the lottery has changed, you should delete the older drawings (that were drawn using the older parameters) by using the Prune Database function (menu item "Lottery Data > Prune Lottery"). This will ensure the statistical integrity of your database.
Q: What is the purpose of the "Neural Depth" slider on the Suggestion tab?
A: This allows you to set the starting neural depth, that is, the longer patterns that can be detected. The higher the starting depth, the better Lotto Sorcerer will be at detecting long-term patterns.
Q: So if the higher the neural depth is always better, then why is there a way to change it? Shouldn't it always be on the highest setting?
A: Yes, but we give the user the ability to change this for two reasons: 1) The higher the depth, the longer Lotto Sorcerer takes to run its analysis. On older computers, high settings may take an unacceptably long time to run. 2) The higher the neural depth, more past lottery drawings are required. If a lottery is new (that is, it doesn't have enough past drawings available), it may not be possible to run it at the higher neural depths.
Q: How long are the suggestions from Lotto Sorcerer good for?
Until the next drawing. After that, the statistics change. Lotto Sorcerer should only be run with the latest drawing in its database. So it is imperative you keep its database (of prior drawings) up-to-date. Otherwise, the program is useless.
Q: Lotto Sorcerer was creating very accurate suggestions until a couple of weeks ago. What is going on?
A: Lotto Sorcerer relies on the laws of "Cause and Effect": If there is a change with the results (the effects), then there is a change with the cause: something has changed with your lottery. It is a common practice amongst lottery officials to sometimes swap out the machines that draws the winning numbers (in an attempt to make the lottery drawings "more random"*). Lotto Sorcerer version 6 is designed to detect these changes, but it may take several drawings for this detection to occur (typically, around 20 drawings, minimum).
*the very fact that lottery officials take such steps to make the lottery drawings "more random" implies that lottery drawings are not purely random: that there are varying degrees of "randomness" (less random/more random). This is the main principle behind Lotto Sorcerer: that lottery drawings are not truly random, and that there are other influences at work (weight of the lottery balls; weight of the ink on the balls, etc.).
Q: If I repeatedly press the Start button in the Suggest Numbers
window, completely different number suggestions are generated.
If Lotto Sorcerer is recommending the best numbers, shouldn't
the same set of numbers be generated each time?
A: Lotto Sorcerer does not recommend the best numbers, it recommends the best pool to play, based on the best
strategy that worked in the past. The suggested numbers are pulled from
a pool of numbers, not specific numbers. For example, if the best strategy is numbers
that have two hot numbers, one cold number and two non-hot, non-cold
numbers, the plays the program recommends will pull two numbers
from the pool of hot numbers, one number from the pool of cold
numbers, and two numbers from the pool of non-hot, non-cold numbers.
It is unlikely that the same number recommendations would appear
twice in a row.
Consider the consequences of what would happen if Lotto Sorcerer recommended specific numbers instead of pools: everyone using Lotto Sorcerer would be generating the same, exact set of suggestions! So if you were to finally win the jackpot you have been dreaming of, you would not be happy to learn that you will have to share that huge jackpot with the thousands of other Lotto Sorcerer users who played that same game; you would not be happy to find that the millions that you thought you won is now only worth thousands (due to the jackpot being divided up amongst all of the winners who also used Lotto Sorcerer).
Q: When Lotto Sorcerer runs its analysis, it doesn't "count down" from neural depth 32 to neural depth one. For example, for my lottery, it stops at neural depth 16!
A: This is not a bug. In your example, if the program stops at neural depth level 16, that means that Lotto Sorcerer found a pattern at neural depth level 16. Once it finds a pattern, it stops (because there is no need to search shallower depths) and creates suggestions. In other words, Lotto Sorcerer is performing exactly as it was designed to do.
Q: I don't have a credit card or checking account. How can I order Lotto Sorcerer?
A: We accept U.S. Postal Money Orders as well as International Money Orders. We also routinely accept payment from Western Union and MoneyGram International. Many customers send us cash (in U.S. Dollars or Euros). You can find these deals on the Purchase page.
Q: I see you use PayPal. I don't want to deal with a hassle of setting up an account with PayPal just to buy Lotto Sorcerer.
A: If you are using a credit card, you can still use PayPal without setting up an account with them.
Q: I lost my registration codes! What do I do?
A: We perpetually keep all registration information secured in a database. Just email us at least your name. If you are emailing from a different email account from which you originally registered, it will help if you also supply your address or other identifying information.
We've been in business since 1987, far longer than 90% of other technology companies. We were here long before the "Dot-com bubble" of 1995 and we are still here long after the "Dot-com bust" of 2000. We plan to be here for you.
Q: Where is my software I ordered? I got an email from you, with serial numbers and registration codes, but I never received any CD!
A: As mentioned in the email, manual, and on this website, we do not ship software... this is why you were not charged for shipping, and this is what keeps our costs (and your prices) down. Just enter your name and registration codes in the registration screen of the program, and your evaluation version is transformed into the full registered version. This practice is very common in the shareware industry.
Q: If you do not ship out a CD, why did I need to enter a physical address at the time of order?
A: For two reasons: first, we are required to collect Indiana state sales tax in-state orders, so we need to know if the order was placed in Indiana. Second, we will use your address to send you your registration codes if necessary. In any case, our adherence to our strict privacy policy is assured.
Q: Where is my registration codes? I never received them!
A: You (or your Internet Service Provider [ISP]) probably have a spam filter, blocking our email. We think the word "Lotto" in our email that we sent to you may be falsely flagging our email as "spam", or junk email. To prevent this, add "satoripublishing@mac.com" to your white list (list of approved senders).
Also, if you ordered through PayPal, we send your codes to the email address you have set in your PayPal account. If you have multiple email accounts, make sure you check your PayPal email account.
If you do not receive your registration codes within 24 hours of purchase, please email us (at registrations@satoripublishing.com) or call us at 219-874-3449. Please provide an alternate method of contact (other than your email address), such as phone or fax. We will attempt to email your codes again, plus we will print out the codes and mail it to you via U.S. Mail. If you provide a telephone number, we will call you to rectify the situation. In the meantime, please check your Junk Mail folder, in the event that your spam filter thought that our email was spam.
Q: I subscribed to the Lottery Data Subscription Service. Where are my registration codes?
A: As mentioned in the sign-up page of the Lottery Data Subscription Service, the subscription service is an optional and separate part of Lotto Sorcerer. Registration is separate.
Q: My registration codes don't work!
A: Please use our Registration Troubleshooter.
Q: I want to upgrade, but I'm afraid that I will lose all of the lottery data that I have entered.
A: Starting with version 5, the lottery data is stored in a separate area. This data is in your Documents folder. Even uninstalling Lotto Sorcerer will not delete this data.
Q: I purchased Lotto Sorcerer in the past. Am I eligible for upgrade pricing?
A: Yes. Go to http://www.satorisoftworks.com/LS/upgradels.html. You will need your registration codes from your previous installation.
Q: What is your upgrade policy?
A: Upgrades from minor to minor versions are always free to registered users of the major version. For example, Upgrading from v6.3 to v6.4 will always be free to registered users of version 6, because these are minor upgrades. Upgrading from major versions are not free: for example, upgrading from version 5.2 to 6.5 is not free, but you may be eligible for a price break.
This section has been moved to our Support page.
Q: What is the difference between "Discrete" and "Wheeled" suggestions?
A: Discrete suggestions pull from the full potential pool of numbers. Wheels pull from a truncated pool.
Q: What exactly is a wheel?
A: When using a wheel, the numbers suggested are pulled from a truncated pool. For example, suppose you are playing a lottery which draws six numbers from a pool of 48, and you decide to use a wheel described as: "7 wheeled suggestions (4 numbers match if 5/10 numbers drawn)". This means that instead of generating suggestions from a pool of 48 numbers, Lotto Sorcerer will generate seven suggestions from a pool of 10 numbers; if five of the six numbers drawn by the lottery are from this pool of 10 numbers, at least one of seven suggestions will match four numbers.
Q: When generating wheels, sometimes I get this message: 'Number pools, given
current statistical framework of this lottery, are to small to run
this wheel. Please choose another wheel with less numbers.' What causes this error, and how can I work around it?
A: This is not an error.
Lotto Sorcerer generates suggestions based on the "temperature" of the "pools". The pools consist of hot numbers, cold numbers and non-hot/non-cold numbers. If the prediction algorithms have generated suggestions that are heavily skewed towards one temperature, there will not be enough suggestions available for the wheel you have chosen.
Actually, this is good news: Lotto Sorcerer has detected a strong pattern to your lottery.
The bad news is that Lotto Sorcerer may not be able to generate enough suggestions to fill your wheel.
The only solution is to do as Lotto Sorcerer suggests: Choose another wheel with less numbers.
Q: I subscribed to the Lottery Data Update Service, but my lottery database isn't getting updated!
A: The update isn't automatic until you click the "Update Subscriptions" checkbox in the "Auto" tab in Lotto Sorcerer's Preferences. If you do not want to update automatically, you will need to update manually by using the menu item "Lottery Data > Update Lottery Now..."
If you are doing this, and your data is not being updated, please keep in mind that we update the central database once a day (mid-morning, U.S. Central Time).
You may also want to avail yourself of our Subscription Troubleshooter.
Q: Do I need to purchase a lottery data subscription to use Lotto Sorcerer?
A: No, it is entirely optional. But, if your lottery is supported through this service, you may find it a fantastic convenience.
Q: How do I cancel my Lottery Data Subscription?
A: Our subscriptions are handled entirely through PayPal. Only you can start as subscription, and only you can cancel your subscription. To cancel a subscription:
- Log on to PayPal.
- Click on the History tab.
- Find the transaction where you signed up for the subscription.
- Click the "Cancel" button.
Q: I'm having trouble getting the playslip printing to work properly.
A: Playslip printing is very complex. Use the Playslip Troubleshooter. Also, please note that not every playslip can be printed with Lotto Sorcerer. The playslip printing function within Lotto Sorcerer is designed to be a convenience that you may be able to use, but the primary purpose of Lotto Sorcerer is to find patterns to past lottery draws.
Q: Is Lotto Sorcerer compiled as a Universal Binary?
A: Yes, versions 6 and higher are compiled as Universal Binaries.
Q: Is Lotto Sorcerer Vista ready?
A: Yes, versions 6 and higher are Vista ready.
Q: Will Lotto Sorcerer work with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)?
A: Yes, version 6.10 and higher is Leopard ready.
Q: You say your software is 64-bit. But my computer (or my operating system) is only 32-bit. Will Lotto Sorcerer run on my machine?
A: Yes. On 32-bit computers or 32-bit operating systems, Lotto Sorcerer will "mimic" 64-bit operations. On true 64-bit computers and operating systems, Lotto Sorcerer will utilize the 64-bit capabilities of those computers.
Q: Can I buy a CD with Lotto Sorcerer on it?
A: Yes, you can. Please click here for more information.
Q: Do you have an affiliate program?
A: Yes! Click here for information.
Q: What did you use to create the cool "crystal ball" image?
A: The crystal ball is made of translucent vaidurya (lapis lazuli); the lottery balls are made of pearl; the base is hammered bronze. The image was created with Bryce 5.5 (with just a little help from Photoshop Elements).
Q: What does "Satori" mean?
A: The coming together of separate parts to form a whole (viz., synergy).
Q: How is "Satori" pronounced?
A: suh-TOHR-ree: "suh" as is "such", "TOHR" as in "tornado", "ree" as in "reach"; stress is on the second syllable.
Do you have a question not answered here? Ask us! Click
here: support@satoripublishing.com
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