Has someone figured out how to game the algorithm to win the lottery? It might not be legit—but it might be as reasonable as waiting for lightning to strike. This self-proclaimed “pattern recognition” expert says he has the system to win the latest Powerball payout.
Of course, there is a catch. There always is. You have to be pretty skilled at statistics—or at least be able to analyze a spreadsheet—to keep up.
The video explaining the system was posted on Oct. 4 by TikToker @gmsteinback, whose profile identifies himself as being “Placed in top 1% of USA in advanced math.” It’s picked up 115,000 thousand views and counting since then.
Until Wednesday, the Powerball lottery payout was up to $1.73 billion with an estimated lump sum payout of $756.6 million, but the winning ticket has already been sold in California, according to ABC News.
That gives you plenty of time to pick up a statistics textbook and try to follow along with Steinback as he walks you through how to allegedly find the most likely numbers to hit.
“Powerball is a waste of money,” Steinback confesses in the video’s voiceover. But, he says, if you are going to play, “then use statistics to help you out.”
He then shows a dizzying array of spreadsheet information designed to show what numbers have hit, are most likely to hit, and are overdue for a payout.
“Right under the notes on the Powerball, numbers in blue are my favorite,” he says, indicating which ones are allegedly likely to hit. “All these algorithms are built into the database to produce these favorable combos.”
@gmsteinback Pattern recognition algorithm Powerball #powerball #megamillions #lotto #nationallottery #lottery #lotterypool #DraftKings #fyp #wealth #NPR #vicenews #foxnews #abcnews #nbcnews #cbsnews #mathhack #predictions #nfl #prediction #trending ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono – moshimo sound design
However, Stainback’s methods might be a little too deep for most, judging by viewers’ comments on the video.
“I don’t understand any of this,” TikToker @mounjarho wrote.
“Just tell me what 5 numbers to pick and that’s it,” another viewer added.
Another simply wrote, “Huh?!?”
And then a few asked the obvious question: “Why haven’t you won then???”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Steinback via TikTok for further comment.