Don't repeat winners

A wheel of names without repeats turns Don’t repeat winners on so each name leaves the pool after it is picked. Open the homepage wheel or the student picker, paste the list, and spin.

Open a wheel without repeats

Homepage wheel · Random student picker · Classroom hub · Secure random selection · Classroom name picker

Why “don’t repeat winners” matters

If you spin ten times on a ten-name list with repeats on, some people go twice and some never go. That is normal random chance. It still feels unfair in a classroom or a raffle.

Don’t repeat winners is an elimination draw. After a name wins it is out until you start a new round. The chance of a repeat drops to zero for that round. The room can see the pool shrink. That is the whole point of a wheel of names without repeats.

A hat in a bowl does the same math if you leave the paper out. A wheel on a screen does it where everyone can watch. Use this when the job is “everyone once,” not “one lucky winner who can win again.” Keep high-stakes grades off the wheel. A fair turn is the job.

Turn it on and watch the pool shrink

Open the homepage wheel or the random student picker. Paste one name per line. Find Don’t repeat winners and leave it on. Press Spin the wheel or Space.

The winner is chosen before the wheel moves. Then that name is marked out. Spin again. History shows who already went. When the list is empty, start a new round so everyone can go again.

The student picker starts with Don’t repeat ready for class. The raffle wheel does the same for giveaways. The homepage wheel can do it too. Pick the tool that matches the room, then use the same switch. You do not need a second list.

What repeats look like if you leave it off

The chart below is the chance of seeing any name twice if you keep spinning a ten-name list. The red line climbs. The green line stays flat when Don’t repeat is on.

That is not a bug in the random picker. It is what “with replacement” means. People notice the second Ada more than they notice the missing Ben. If your rule is everyone once, turn the switch on and say it out loud.

The randomness page explains how the winner is chosen and lets you run a 10,000-draw test in this browser. Use that page if someone asks whether the wheel is “rigged.” Then come back and spin where the room can see the shrinking list.

Classroom and raffle patterns

In class, paste the roster, drop absent names, and spin for a cold call. In a raffle, paste entries, show the list, spin, and keep first, second, and third in history.

Late arrivals can be added mid-round. Do not reshuffle by hand. The tool already knows who is left. If a name is wrong, edit it in the open. Trust comes from the same list staying on screen.

Reading order is often better on the random order generator, because you need the whole line at once. Groups belong on the team picker. Review games can stay on the student picker: spin a name, ask a question, spin again. The classroom hub has projector tips.

Start a new round without losing the list

When nobody is left, start a new round. The names come back. History can stay so you can show who already spoke if someone asks.

New wheel clears the list. Use that when the period changes. Save a named wheel such as Period 2 if you will use the same roster tomorrow. It stays in this browser. There is no account.

If you only needed one winner, you can leave Don’t repeat off. Say that before you spin. Mixed rules confuse a room. One rule, one switch, one spin. Then stop talking about the method and go back to the lesson or the prize.

Open a wheel, turn on Don’t repeat winners, and spin where people can see the list shrink. That is a wheel of names without repeats. The classroom hub and the raffle guide sit next to this page if the job is class or a prize.

Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving Don’t repeat off, then acting surprised when the same name lands twice.
• Keeping absent people on the list so the wheel “picks an empty desk.”
• Starting a New wheel when you only needed a new round, and wiping the roster.