Are you poor?

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It's a shame you can't live with your parents...

Until the pension arrived, I seldom had $15,000 little Canadian dollars a year, and I supported research on that. Why not move into a smaller place in better shape? Or, learn home repair. That will always help with your rent, and could be an income. Replacing windows is pretty easy. One caveat - if you are not asking the landlord for repairs, don't show them yours, or the rent will go up.

I have thoughts along similar lines.

Including your comments I snipped about the 0.1%

Whilst I have living parents - who are stupidly wealthy compared to their own parents (who lived in really basic council houses) my father told me "You're getting nothing!" - not that I asked - and my mother indicated she'll blow everything she has anyway.. seemingly just to spite me for being born... but I expect to die before her anyway.. so there's nothing waiting for me. Neither of them are particularly bothered about whether I have food to eat, and I've had food donated to me by the church three times now.. [edit : oh yeah actual destitution, because I believe the definition of that is choosing between essentials like food and heating]

I've lived on nothing for 19 of the past 20 years. From the outside maybe not obvious, however I was bankrupted, had £30 a week for about 6 years for all food and bills except electricity (UK readers you know how poor that is!).. I remember borrowing £20 one Christmas eve to put gas on the meter so I didn't freeze, but I had no food. Then for years since, just the bare minimum to survive on, no savings, no career, no hope, no future..

That is until about a year ago.. I now have a much better amount of money coming in. It's not a negative amount ! ! But I'm conditioned now I'm stuck in the constant anxiety / trauma of 18 years hardship, and it's also temporary, this is the UK which is now a toxic environment for people with disabilities who are being gaslighted, denigrated, and put through a welfare system that is literally psychological torture. The amount of money I'm getting reduces anxiety about day to day bills, but not overall anxiety. Disability denial is a reality in the UK. "Brown envelope syndrome" - "Vivaldi" - anyone relate? I'm due for another round of that soon which will no doubt make me very sick and poor again.

Like yourself I have concluded, either I'm going to hit on something that makes me money quick, or win the lottery which is about as likely, or I'll probably end up killing myself. All I want is a roof over my head and food to eat. There is no hope or future in the UK, if you depend on the state, constant fear is the order of the day - the worst thing is knowing you can do nothing to help it!

The history books will write about this democide - there are some ministers who should be up in the Hague

On the part about winning the lottery...I can't help but mention that most people don't understand the odds. Not all sequences of numbers are equally likely to occur. You can significantly increase your chances by making your numbers fit into certain kinds of patterns (like having primes, numbers from each "10" set, odds and evens, etc.)

I've never actually played, but I find the odds behind it interesting. Obviously the wealthy (and the organized teams that do it) have an advantage due to the ability to purchase many numbers without as much concern for cost.

aren't the odds of most national lotteries akin to having to be struck by lightning twice, before one can win?

The wealthy "play the lottery" by selling tickets, not buying them.

People usually seem to calculate the odds based on a notion that every sequence is equally likely. I'm not suggesting the odds are favorable even with wise selections, but they are superior compared to random guessing. I would not advise someone who is financially desperate to place hope and resources into it, but if one wants to play responsibly there are more intelligent ways than others.

As to how the wealthy play...a decent amount of winning tickets were held by wealthy individuals. If I can afford 1,000 tickets without it being a serious financial detriment, I would clearly possess an overwhelming advantage against the average player.

with odds of 350 million to one, wouldn't a fella first have to be struck by lightning at least a few times first?

Your odds of drawing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are nearly impossible compared to drawing 3, 14, 25, 29, 32 (if we're playing a 5 number game with an upper numerical limit in the mid 30's for instance)


There are all sorts of tendencies one will notice in winning numbers that can be described mathematically. Some sequences are just pure garbage like the 1-5 thing.


If you want a simple example, go to any site displaying winning numbers and calculate the percentage of those sequences that are composed of purely odd numbers. Then calculate the percentage composed of purely even numbers. You'll find that you significantly increase your chances if you mix odds and evens, because the majority of winning tickets will be composed that way.

If some sequences are more likely than others...that fundamentally changes the game from the perception that the average person has that all sequences are equal.

You can get a lot more complex with these relationships than just "odds and evens."

EDIT: To make sure I'm expressing myself clearly...if some sequences are more probable than others, then it means that your odds are NOT 350 million to 1. Your odds are dependent on how competitive your numbers are (considering the patterns which can be observed that increase probability of victory) compared to the competitiveness of other viable numbers. You're not competing against people with suboptimal or s**t numbers because they are so incredibly unlikely to hit their chosen sequences, but we tend to calculate the odds as though they are just as likely to win as individuals with well chosen numbers.

ok then, if you leave out all the amateur inumerate gamblers and just are competing against other experts, what does that do to the odds in terms of a ratio? not 350 million to one, but what? 10 million to one?

Please, read some books about probability before writing about it.

No.

^^^i want some of your good luck.

I'm pretty sure the best numbers to play for the lottery are:

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42

I'm also highly skeptical of the statement that the winning numbers are not random sequences, and that there are organized teams that play the "better" numbers. Never heard of an already rich person winning or even playing the lottery.

how to explain the lucky folks who repeatedly win some amount of lotto? or the ones who win big twice within a decade?

Isn't it all just luck? Though I guess people have been searching for the holy grail casino,lottery etc etc prediction for centuries.


I do the Euro millions. I stick to the same numbers. I've won several very small amounts.I accept the chances are miniscule of winning. But someone eventually has to win the jackpot, even if it takes several draws.