Contact & Outside Numbers

The Game Layout View Introduction topic described a lottery game ticket as resembling a graphical box of numbers.
Each number drawn in the game is surrounded by other numbers, called Contact numbers.
Below is an example of a game ticket with the drawn numbers highlighted on a red background.

Numbers 4 16 21 30 43 49

To make the contact numbers stand out, we will display them on our game layout with a unique background color. 
In the example image, the contact numbers are highlighted in gray and appear as the numbers surrounding the drawn ones.

 
Numbers that aren't part of the Contact numbers are referred to as Outside numbers. 
This system guarantees that every game is split into two distinct groups: Contact and Outside numbers. 
This principle applies universally across all games, including keno and pick games.
 

In the majority of lottery drawings, and in almost every game, there is an mixed distribution of those number types.

For example, in game 6/49 we can have like 2 contact numbers drawn and 4 outside, or 3 contact and 3 outside etc.

You can check it out how the numbers are drawn using Visual Analyser and its Types Of Numbers section.
 

In most lottery drawings and nearly every game, there is a mixed distribution of number types.

For instance, in the 6/49 game, you might see 2 contact numbers drawn along with 4 outside numbers, or perhaps 3 contact and 3 outside numbers.

You can explore how the numbers are drawn using the Visual Analyser and its Types Of Numbers analysis.

Here’s an example of poor number selection:
 

 
All numbers on the ticket above are exclusively outside type numbers (circled in green). It is quite uncommon for a new lottery draw to include only outside numbers.
 

Here is another example of bad numbers choosing:
 

 
​All numbers on the ticket above are exclusively contact type numbers (circled in green). It is quite uncommon for a new lottery draw to include only contact numbers.
 

Below are the optimal numbers. Some of them are contact numbers, while others are outside numbers.
 

This filter can be used to filter out lottery numbers, wheel system combinations, or generated tickets.
You can filter those numbers by occurrences of Contact or Outside number types

On the Filters window select the Add Filter tab, choose Types of Numbers main filters group from the list on the left side of page.
Select Contact or Outside Numbers filter from the list on the right side of page.

Click the Add Filter button located on the toolbar. Selected filter will be added to your Game Filters list.
 
For more detailed information about filters page please see Add Filter topic
 

After adding the filter, you can go to the Game Filters page in the same Filters window to edit the filter properties.

The added filter will be located under the Types of Numbers group of all filters, with its value in the Number Main Type cell set to added number type
In this example, we will focus on the Contact numbers, but this also applies to the Outside numbers as well.
 
Use

If selected, the filter will be used to apply filtering.
 

Action

- When you choose Accept action then:

The generated ticket include Contact numbers.

The wheel system will only accept combinations that include Contact numbers

- When you choose Reject action then:

The generated ticket will not include Contact numbers

The filter will reject wheel system combinations with Contact numbers

 
Property

Not used with this filter

 
Number Main Type

Display the number type to filter numbers.

You can choose another type to filter by using the drop-down menu.

However, avoid setting the number type to ALL when using this filter.

Number Subtype

Not used with this filter
 
Value

Sets the condition value for the filter to be satisfied. The value applies to Number Main Type and Number Subtype options.

You can set here for example how many Contact numbers you want to include into generated tickets

Range

Displays or sets the filter's condition range value, used only when the filter's condition is set to a Range of Values.

The range value applies to Number Main Type option.

Condition

Filter conditions you can apply to meet the filter Value option criteria  

You can select a filter condition from drop-down list combo box one of the following conditions:

Any Value
If the filter action is set to Accept, tickets and all wheel system combinations will be included regardless of how many Contact numbers they contain. This option effectively disables filtering for this condition, allowing every possible combination to pass through.

If the filter action is set to Reject, all tickets and wheel combinations will be excluded, regardless of how many Even numbers they contain. This option can be used to completely eliminate all combinations for the selected number type from the results.

Equals Filter Value

If the filter action is set to Accept, tickets and all wheel system combinations will be included only if the total number of Contact numbers they contain is exactly equal to the number specified in the Value column. This ensures only combinations meeting the exact Contact number count are selected.

If the filter action is set to Reject, any tickets or wheel combinations where the total number of Contact numbers is exactly equal to the specified value will be excluded from the results, leaving only those with a different count of Contact numbers.

Higher than Filter Value

If the filter action is set to Accept, tickets and all wheel system combinations will be included only if the total number of Contact numbers they contain is greater than the number specified in the Value column. This allows you to focus on combinations where the quantity of Contact numbers exceeds the set threshold.

If the filter action is set to Reject, any tickets or wheel combinations where the total number of Contact numbers is greater than the specified number will be excluded from the results, ensuring that only combinations with Contact numbers equal to or below the specified value remain.

Lower than Filter Value

If the filter action is set to Accept, tickets and all wheel system combinations will be included only if the total number of Contact numbers they contain is less than the number specified in the Value column. This makes it possible to target combinations with fewer Contact numbers than the set limit.

If the filter action is set to Reject, any tickets or wheel combinations where the total number of Contact numbers is less than the specified value will be excluded from the results, leaving only combinations with Contact numbers equal to or above the specified value.

Range of Values

If the filter action is set to Accept, tickets and all wheel system combinations will be included only if the total number of Contact numbers they contain falls within the range specified in the From and To columns (inclusive of both ends). This range condition enables fine control over the acceptable quantity of Contact numbers.

If the filter action is set to Reject, any tickets or wheel combinations where the total number of Contact numbers falls within the defined range will be excluded from the results, ensuring that only combinations outside that range are kept.
 

Here is the example of setting up filter to filter wheel system or numbers when generating tickets:
For example in a game 6/49 and for flexible and rather fail safe filtering please do as following
Set the Action property to Reject

Under Filter Condition Options > Value cell, set the cell value to 4, a little less than the quantity of numbers drawn in a game .
Under Filter Condition Options > Condition combo box choose the More Than Filter Value condition
The generated tickets or wheel system combinations will not contain more than four Contact or Outside numbers. The occurrence of more than four numbers in such games is very rare.
 
If you want to play with Contact numbers only and eliminate the Outside numbers you can set:
Set the Action property to Accept

Under Filter Condition Options > Value cell, set the cell value to 6, the quantity of numbers drawn in a game .
Under Filter Condition Options > Condition combo box choose the Equals Filter Value condition
The generated tickets or wheel system combinations will contain only 6 Contact and 0 of Outside numbers.

Select from the Visual Analyser menu select:

Types of Numbers > Occurrences of Contact or Outside Numbers
The result of analysis is shown on a Visual Analyser's screen

The first diagram shown at the top of screen illustrates the general occurrence of Contact numbers.
In this example, we will focus on the Contact numbers, but this also applies to the Outside numbers as well.
 

If numbers were not drawn as contact numbers, then a diagram will show a point in row 0. If numbers were drawn as contact numbers, then the diagram will show a point in the row indicating how many contact numbers were drawn. The next diagrams will analyze numbers that were drawn as the selected number type and in combination with other types.

Each game draw is different, and therefore, each time the contact and outside numbers are different as well.

Use the Visual Analyser feature to observe how many numbers are drawn and how often.

In the majority of games, those numbers are mixed, so it is a good idea to choose both types of numbers.

Of course, in some games, from time to time, only contact or only outside numbers are drawn.

But if that event happens, you just lose one chance out of many better chances.

Choosing both types significantly increases the number of right combinations to use and eliminates many that are unnecessary to play with.
The upcoming diagrams will examine numbers drawn as the main type and their combinations with other types.