In Indiana, there are 288 straight Pick-3 numbers that haven't been drawn since 1999. That means almost 30% of the field has essentially been eliminated from the game.
Now, we all know why this is happening in Indiana, so how does this relate to Kp2o3's question about Florida?
OKay, it doesn't have anything to do with Florida, but I wanted to get that off my chest, because this still bugs me.
Kp2o3, The situation you describe can be easily monitored with a simple hit/ skip chart. I've seen pairs stay out for over 100 draws, but that doesn't mean anything by itself. The Law of Averages states that, over time, every digit, every double, every pair and every combination will appear an equal number of times. You are correct when you say that every number must appear dventually, but there is no definitive time frame in which this must take place.
On the other hand, I am fairly certain that your state's game is an honest one, so you can turn your frustration into opportunity, if you have the patience for it. When you run into this situation, don't fight the trend; let it play itself out. Just keep your eye on it until it finally hits, and then start to include it in your selections.
For example, let's say you notice double fives have been not been drawn for thirty or forty days. Your strategy would be to wait for them to hit once, and then include the double fives in your selections for the next ten to fifteen days. It gets expensive if you convince yourself that they have to hit any day now, and keep chasing them. Save your money, because they could be out 60 or 70 draws or more.
The Law of Averages will prevail in any honest lottery game. So if your double fives have been out for a lengthy period of time, they must appear more often in a subsequent, shorter period of time in order to average out with the rest of the doubles field.
This works for single digits and pairs, too. I've used this method with great success in Ohio and Michigan, and I see no reason it wouldn't work for you in Florida.
Incidentally, your skip/ hit chart will also tell you, with a fairly high degree of accuracy, when a seemingly overdue digit or double is likely to make an appearance. This is a very powerful tool for the daily games, and well worth the effort required to set it up.
To answer your question, the maximum number of draws any digit, double or combination can stay out depends on your lifespan and when you actually began playing. If you live to be 119 years old, and you began playing on your twentieth birthday, the maximum number of days any element can stay out would be 36,500, assuming you stick to the deal and die on the day before your 120th birthday. Even if it's out longer than that, it doesn't change your personal upper limit.
Good luck!
P.S.
When I wrote this, it was under the assumption that Kp2o3 was a novice player. Now that I've seen his website, it's obvious to me that he should already know the answers to the all of questions he's asking.