I have seen many groupings of "Magic" eight numbers that when played boxed are guaranteed to get you 2 of the 3 winning pick 3 number as long as the combo drawn is not a double or triple digit combination. I have also seen where people have stated that your odds of winning boxed with these combos are 1 in 10 or even 1 in 8 when a nomatch number is drawn.
Here is the sad reality when playing the "magic 8 #" systems......
True Odds:
Yes - any of the magic 8 number sets will guarantee you 2 of 3 in boxed form when a nomatch is drawn, HOWEVER - you are still ONLY playing 8 of the 120 NoMatch Boxed combinations that are possible when a nomatch number is drawn. This means your odds are 8 in 120 (1 in 15 reduced) or 6.67%. This is far from 1 in 10 (10%) or 1 in 8 (12.5%).
Probability:
In the long run - you can expect any of the guaranteed magic 8 number sets to each hit only around 4.8% of the time. Heres why:
As stated above the true probabilty is 6.67%, but this percentage occurs only when a nomatch is drawn and that is 72% of the time. So 6.67% X 72% gives you the overall probability of .048 or 4.8% for any givin drawing.
Another way to think of it is that the 8 boxed combos also represent 48 straight numbers (each of the 8 boxed play 6 ways straight), so thats 48 in 1000 or still 4.8%.
Results:
I have back tested 3 of the magic 8 number sets in 10,053 Ohio Pick 3 games. Here are the results that verify the 4.8% probability:
045
123
169
178
268
279
367
389
|
039
059
069
124
178
278
356
478
|
012
148
024
028
359
367
567
679
|
489 Total Hits |
427 Total Hits |
505 Total Hits |
Conclusion:
The overall probability of 4.8% is shown to be accurate - Now how "Magic" or "Lucky" is the system really? Additionally, if you try to calculate the 3rd digit and/or replace digits in any of the 8 combo sets, you will lose the mathematical arrangement that is guaranteeing you 2 out of three!