Lotto Helper app

The_B_Man

Lads,
I just stuck up my first app on the Android Market yesterday:
Lotto Helper IE

Its basic at the moment. All it does is shows the most common numbers that have come up on the lotto since the start. Its updated after every draw, but the numbers don't really vary that much, tbh.

I'm in the process of doing the euromillions too. Just need to find the time.
Then after that, I can easily put in a full statistics page. I have all the info already, pretty much. Just need to make it usable.

But anyway, I know its a small app but would appreciate some constructive criticism and/or suggestions. I can probably process and update fairly quick.
And if someone can make it crash, let me know!

Thanks!

Mr E

Good job... so that's the lite version.
Will the full version actually give you the winning numbers?

The_B_Man

hah, I wish!
Apparently you can make more money from betting on number couples/triples than actually playing and getting a few numbers. Obviously getting all 6 gets you more.

The lite edition will basically just show some basic numbers for both the lotto and hopefully euromillions next, eg top 6 numbers or so. Maybe something else if I think of it.

The "pro" version, which I hope to make soon, will have a lot of statistical work put into it so I may consider sticking a €1 price tag on it, just to try justify the time I'll be spending on it, when I should be doing other stuff!!

Mr E

FYI, I meant to post this earlier.
You get a force close if you try to update with wifi/mobile turned off.

I take no pride in crashing a 1 button app...

TanG411

I'd love to give this a look at but it's not for my device unfortunately. Looks like a nice interface from the screenshots.

I have a question though. The lotto started with 36 balls back in 1988. Now there's 45.

Would there not be a huge bias towards the first 36 balls? Because 45 balls came in around 2006. Wouldn't it be better to have the statistics from the first draw with 45 balls?

The_B_Man

Good question.
At the moment, thats true. But i'm converting the algorithm so that its based on percentages, rather than raw number frequency.

I'm currently updating it with the euromillions, so thats the update that i hope to have up tonight, since I'm off in the morning on a stag for the weekend!

IF i get that done tonight, then i'll get to work on the percentages when I get back.


Regarding your phone, I was told by a few mates that they cant get it. Apparently its coz I left something out that tells it to support phones with small screens. Does your phone have a small screen?
Expect that to be fixed in the next update anyway.

Cheers.

longshanks

Also, how often have the six numbers drawn been the most popular six numbers at that time?

The_B_Man

Well, there was a feature I'm thinking of implementing whereby you can supply your usual weekly numbers, and the app will tell you when, if ever, that they came up.

Akrasia

A better lotto app would be one that gives you a minor electric shock every time you feel like buying a ticket.

The_B_Man

I researched overloading the NFC chip to see if it could do that but also I failed.

FYI, I've now managed to stick in the Euro millions data into the app!
I also fixed a pretty obvious bug, so 1.2.1 is the version you want.

Also, it doesnt seem to support small screens. According to the Google docs, all apps support all screen sizes by default, so I'll have to figure out whats going on there. If theres any fellow devs out there that can shed any light, feel free to volunteer some info!

Have a good weekend!
Cheers!

Atomic Pineapple

Might be the density, is your supports screen in the manifest like this?

<supports-screens android:resizeable="true"
                      android:smallScreens="true"
                      android:normalScreens="true"
                      android:largeScreens="true"
                      android:xlargeScreens="true"
                      android:anyDensity="true"/>

The_B_Man

I tried that before and I think it gave me hassle about needing to be SDK 1.6 minimum, whereas I am supporting 1.5 onwards.

Atomic Pineapple

The_B_Man wrote: »

I tried that before and I think it gave me hassle about needing to be SDK 1.6 minimum, whereas I am supporting 1.5 onwards.

Why? There are no devices left on 1.5? Even the first ever Android phone was left on 1.6!

The_B_Man

haha true! But I have one user on 1.5 so I can't piss that person off!

I'll try again anyway. Maybe I did something wrong.

srsly78

Rated 0/5, did not help win lotto. Uninstalled.

The_B_Man

srsly78 wrote: »

Rated 0/5, did not help win lotto. Uninstalled.

You need your phone rooted to get the actual numbers!

PS, in case anyone is wondering, statistical analysis of lottery numbers is popular enough in the bookies, with people betting on certain numbers to come up. I suppose I had that in mind when I made this!

TanG411

The_B_Man wrote: »

Regarding your phone, I was told by a few mates that they cant get it. Apparently its coz I left something out that tells it to support phones with small screens. Does your phone have a small screen?

Yeah I have the Samsung Europa which has a 2.8" screen.

The_B_Man

Bugger.
Right, I'll try get an update done in the next hour or so, using draffodx's suggestion.

By the way, do you know what version of Android you're on? I'm assuming its newer than 1.5?

Chet T16

Its showing as not compatible with my LG-P990 in the market. I don't actually own an LG-P990 but thats what my tablet shows as but it might give you something to go on

TanG411

The_B_Man wrote: »

Bugger.
Right, I'll try get an update done in the next hour or so, using draffodx's suggestion.

By the way, do you know what version of Android you're on? I'm assuming its newer than 1.5?

I'm running 2.3.7

I should mention that most Samsung Europas run on 2.2. I'm just using a custom ROM.

The_B_Man

Cheers for the feedback lads.

Just a heads up, I've figured out a way to keep support for Android versions 1.5 and up, as well as small screens.


Chet T16, I googled that LG-P990, and it keeps saying its a regular phone, not a tablet. Either way, I've updated the screen support so maybe the newer version will be compatible. I don't own a table so can't go on the android market to test it.


Let me know if you have any more problems.

Cheers.

G1032

Is there a number generator with this app*?
Would be a good idea............

*just saw this thread now. At work and don't have mobile with me so can't check the app till later.

srsly78

The_B_Man wrote: »

You need your phone rooted to get the actual numbers!

PS, in case anyone is wondering, statistical analysis of lottery numbers is popular enough in the bookies, with people betting on certain numbers to come up. I suppose I had that in mind when I made this!

Forgot to add smiley to last post Good luck with your app.

Please consider the following however: when you flip a coin the chance of heads vs tails = 50/50. It doesn't matter what the last 100 flips came up. People that play the lottery are not mathematically inclined though so grab their money and run.

Chet T16

The_B_Man wrote: »

Chet T16, I googled that LG-P990, and it keeps saying its a regular phone, not a tablet. Either way, I've updated the screen support so maybe the newer version will be compatible. I don't own a table so can't go on the android market to test it.

The tablet has a modded build.prop to allow more apps to show on the market, when i log into the website on the PC is says its not compatible

maki

srsly78 wrote: »

Please consider the following however: when you flip a coin the chance of heads vs tails = 50/50. It doesn't matter what the last 100 flips came up. People that play the lottery are not mathematically inclined though so grab their money and run.

I was going to say this. It's called the Gamblers Fallacy.

While this app might have some uses, it will not increase your chances of winning the lotto whatsoever.

The balls 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06 are just as likely as any other combination to come out.

The_B_Man

I say it in the description, and in the "About" page within the app that the numbers arent guaranteed and its purely for statistical purposes only.

BTW, next on the "To Do" list is a number generator with weighting on certain criteria.

Chet T16

With regards to versions, heres some stats from one of my apps. Plenty of 1.5's out there!

The_B_Man

Just a quick update:

Since the Lotto gradually added new numbers over the course of Lotto history, sorting numbers by overall frequency wasnt as accurate as could be.

I've stuck up a little update there that sorts them based on percentage.
I've also added in the percentages in the "stats" screen (Menu -> stats).

Let me know if you get any bugs.

Cheers.

The_B_Man

I've updated this again.
Its now showing the lucky stars for euromillions.