When choosing the best type of wheeling system for you, you have three choices:

• Full Wheel
• Abbreviated Wheel
• Key Number Wheel

A full wheel always contains ALL the possible combinations that can be made with the group of numbers you select. For example, for a Pick 6 lotto game, wheeling 8 numbers gives you 28 possible combinations. A Pick 6 game using 10 numbers gives you 210 possible combinations, and a Pick 6 game using 20 numbers gives you 38,760 possible combinations.

The math and science of determining ALL possible combinations for the amount of numbers you want to play can get quite complicated so we won't even attempt to discuss it here. Just know that the purpose of the full wheel is to give you the best possible shot at a jackpot prize AND multiple lower prizes.

Benefits of Full Wheel: Playing a full wheel gives you maximum coverage of the prizes if some or all of the winning numbers are in the numbers you chose. If all of the winning numbers are in the group you chose, then you are guaranteed to win the jackpot AND multiple second and third prizes. Even if you have only some of the winning numbers in your wheel, you are guaranteed to have multiple winning tickets.

For example, in our sample wheel, if you have only four winning numbers out of the eight you chose, you are guaranteed to have 5 tickets that match four of six numbers and 15 tickets that match three of six.

Drawbacks of Full Wheel: To put it simply, it's not cheap if you want to wheel large amounts of numbers. As we mentioned above, wheeling 8 numbers for a Pick 6 game (like Ultra, Grand or Mega Lotto) results in 28 possible combinations.

• Playing a full wheel with 8 numbers would cost you ₱20 x 28 = ₱560.00
• Playing a full wheel with 10 numbers would cost ₱20 x 210 = ₱4,200.00
• Playing a full wheel with 20 numbers would cost ₱20 x 38,760 = ₱775,200.00

An Abbreviated Wheel is a set of minimum combinations that guarantee you a win whenever you match a specified amount of the winning numbers. Below is an example of an Abbreviated Wheel for a Pick 6 lotto game. It wheels 8 numbers in 7 combinations. If 4 of the 6 winning numbers are among the 8 numbers you wheel, then you are guaranteed to have at least one successful combination matching 4 winning numbers.

Benefits of Abbreviated Wheel: It's an economical way to increase your chances of winning! With fewer combinations to play, you can wheel a large amount of numbers at a reasonable cost and still have a win guaranteed. By being able to play more numbers, you greatly increase your chances of having more winning numbers fall into your wheel and cashing in winning tickets!

Drawbacks of Abbreviated Wheel: Even if all the winning numbers fall into your wheel, you're not guaranteed to win the jackpot. However, you could still win multiple lower prizes, even the jackpot - it's just not guaranteed.

In a Key Number Wheel, one "key" number appears in every combination of the wheel. There are Key Number Wheels which have the same win guarantees as Abbreviated Wheels, but they contain fewer combinations. For a Key Number Wheel to be a guaranteed winner, two conditions must be met:

1. All of the winning numbers must be somewhere in the wheeled numbers, just like in regular wheels.
2. The "key number" which appears in every combination MUST be one of the winning numbers drawn.

Key wheels have fewer sets to bet for a given guarantee, but if you don't hit the key you don't get the win guarantee. Let's do a comparison between a Abbreviated Wheel and a Key Number Wheel:

If you choose 12 numbers in an Abbreviated Wheel for a Pick 6 lotto game, a four-of-four win would require 132 combinations. In the Key Wheel, though, only 113 combinations would be required. However, remember that your "key number" MUST be among the winning numbers. You should only use the Key Number Wheel when you feel strongly that your "key number" is going to be drawn.

What is a Lottery Wheel? What is Wheeling?
How is a minumum win guaranteed?