Trying to understand better how the lottery works:
1. I see that you can enter 15 alternate choices on one entry. I am assuming this can include alternate group sizes as well as alternate dates - is that correct?
2. So, for example, if I enter my preferred date and group size (say, 7) as my first choice, can I then enter the same date with 6 as my group size as my 1st alternative, and same date with 5 as my group size for the 2nd alternative, to increase my chance of getting my preferred date, at the expense of not getting my preferred group size?
3. If my entry gets pulled, would the computer work through my alternatives and award me a permit for the highest-ranked alternative for which both date and # of spaces are available at that point?
4. I am assuming that whatever I put as the exit date does not affect whether or not I win the permit, and only entry date and # in party matters in that regard?
Does the exit date affect anything at all, in terms of the lottery, or is it just informational?
5. I am also assuming that I can make multiple entries that are identical in absolutely every respect, to increase my odds?
6. So the main advantage of having a different person in my group making separate entries (instead of me filing them all) would be to have a possibility that each of us would win, and then we might have two different entry dates and/or group sizes to consider, accepting one and declining the other?
Thanks for any insight on this, or any advice on what one can do to make it more likely to win a permit (other than applying for week days rather than weekend dates).
