Odds Of Winning Powerball
The overall odds of winning a Powerball prize are approximately 1 in 24.9: Figures calculated using results drawn between April 22nd 1992 and February 6th 2021. If you calculated your odds of winning the jackpot, you know that your odds of guessing the Powerball correctly are 1 in 26. Therefore, your odds of guessing the Powerball incorrectly are 25 in 26. Use the same equation with these values to determine your odds of winning the second prize: 1 11, 238, 513 × 25 26 displaystyle frac 1. Odds are you don’t know this Did you know your odds of winning a prize are the same in every Powerball drawing? You have a 1 in 24.9 chance of winning a prize when the advertised jackpot is $40 million. You still have a 1 in 24.9 chance of winning a prize when the advertised jackpot is $1 billion. The odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 292 million. The Mega Million odds are slightly better - only 1 in 259 million. 'If you buy both tickets, you've doubled your odds of winning,' said Ben. The Powerball jackpot this Saturday is $510 million, but your chances of winning are just one in 292 million. Here's what that looks like.
When you fill in a Powerball playslip, there are two ways you can choose your numbers: you can either pick your own or you can opt for a Quick Pick. Both options are pretty simple, but a Powerball Quick Pick is the fastest way to play, as the store’s lottery terminal will randomly select your numbers for you. There is a common misconception that the odds of winning differ depending on whether you choose your own numbers or go for a Quick Pick. That is not true; your chances of winning are exactly the same in both cases.
Quick Picks
Odds Of Winning Powerball Tonight
To play a Quick Pick, you just have to select the option on your playslip instead of marking the numbers you want to play. After you’ve done that, just hand the slip to the cashier and they will take it from there. In some cases you can just ask the cashier directly for a Quick Pick for a specific draw and they will do the rest. A random number generator inside the lottery terminal will then produce five main numbers between 1 and 69 and a Powerball between 1 and 26, and these numbers will be printed on your ticket. Here are the pros and cons of using Quick Picks:
- Quick Picks offer the fastest way to play in-store, as you don’t even need to fill out a playslip. You can just ask the cashier for a Quick Pick entry.
- While the odds of winning are the same as choosing your own numbers, there is more chance you won’t have to share the jackpot if you win it, as your numbers will be completely random and not based on commonly used selections and patterns.
- Players who use the same numbers every week may feel like they’ve missed out if they don’t enter a particular draw and their numbers come up. There is no chance of this happening with a Quick Pick, as your numbers will be different every time.
- You have no input into which numbers are selected, as they are picked at random. This means that you cannot select your line using Powerball statistics or meaningful numbers or patterns.
- Checking whether you’ve won on a Quick Pick can take a bit longer compared to playing your own numbers, as you’re less likely to remember a completely random line so will need your ticket to hand.
- You have to stick with the first line of numbers you are given. You cannot return Powerball tickets once they are printed, so if you do not like the numbers you are given, you cannot change them.
Selecting Your Own Numbers
This is the traditional way of playing the lottery, where you mark the numbers you want to enter on a Powerball playslip and then hand that to the cashier to print your ticket. See the pros and cons of choosing your own numbers below:
- You have complete control over your entry, so you can pick your numbers using any method you want. Whether you use important dates, certain patterns, or you base your selection on statistics from previous draws, it is all up to you.
- Playing your own numbers on a regular basis makes it easier to check whether you’ve won, as it is likely that you will be able to remember your numbers soon after you start playing.
- You have more flexibility when it comes to entering multiple draws. If you want to play for several weeks in advance, you can choose the same numbers for each draw, different ones every time, or a mixture of both. With Quick Picks you will usually have to use the same numbers for every draw.
- It takes longer. During busy periods, particularly when the jackpot approaches record amounts, you may have to first queue to fill in a playslip and then queue again to purchase your ticket.
- There is more chance that you will have to share a jackpot if you use common numbers or patterns. For example, many players use birthdays or other important dates, which restricts the pool of numbers to between 1 and 31. While your odds of winning remain the same, the chances that someone else has chosen the same line are greater.
- There is margin for error when filling out a playslip. It can be easy to mark a wrong number or forget to mark the Power Play box, and once your ticket is printed, you are not entitled to a refund.
Odds Of Winning Powerball
Odds of Winning
Around 70 to 80 percent of Powerball players use Quick Pick tickets, and the same percentage of winning entries are Quick Picks. This shows that regardless of whether players choose to select their own numbers or not, the odds of winning remain the same. Whether you include meaningful numbers on your Powerball ticket or leave it all to chance with a random entry, your odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338, with the chances of winning a prize in any category set at 1 in 25.
It is also worth noting that the cost of entry remains the same whether you choose your own numbers or opt for a Quick Pick, and in both instances you can add Power Play to your ticket.
The Powerball jackpot will reach an all-time estimated high of $1.4 billion by Wednesday, when the winning numbers will be announced. The number has escalated primarily because no one's ticket matched last week's winning numbers. And according to USA Today's Bart Jansen and Cara Richardson, the chances of choosing the magic combo of numbers is so minuscule that it's almost impossible to visualize. Your chance of winning is about one in over 292 million. So, good luck. Depending on whether you're a first-timer or an avid Powerball player, these simple pointers will improve your chances of winning the Powerball ... at least slightly.
UPDATE: This post was originally published in January 2016. As of Aug. 23, 2017, the new Powerball jackpot has hit $700 million (and if there are no winners, it'll go to $1 billion). The Powerball will be drawn at 10:59 p.m. EST.
Odds Of Winning Powerball 2019
EARLIER: Everyone has their lucky number, and it might be tempting to throw it into the mix if you're a first-timer. But the statistics say that you should actually refrain from personally selecting any of the numbers. On Saturday, the opportunity to win the jackpot was missed when no one guessed 16-19-32-34-57, with Powerball number 13.
Jeffrey Miecznikowski, associate professor of biostatistics at the University of Buffalo, told USA Today that the Powerball number 13 in particular might have been to blame. He cited the tendency to consider 13 an unlucky number, which explains why people didn't choose it. It makes perfect sense, considering it's simply a part of our culture to avoid the number if we can help it. Superstition warns us of Friday the 13th, and buildings hardly ever even list their 13th floors as such — in an elevator, the buttons often go from 12 to 14.
ABC News suggests that many lottery players base their numbers on meaningful dates. According to the Powerball website, though, 70 percent of winners have left their fate in the hands of the computer system Quick Picks. If you're just starting out, this may be your best bet. But it's not always that simple; the rules change depending on how often you play.
If you're an avid Powerball player, ignore that first tidbit of advice. Frequent players actually have a better chance of winning if they dedicate themselves to the same number combination each time and buy several tickets (or dozens) at a time. In that case, the most common winning numbers, as listed by the Powerball website, are 32 and 41. ABC's Denver channel estimates that the two numbers occur about seven percent of the time.
There's a lesson to be learned here. With your chances being one in 292.2 million, the odds are not in your favor in any case. Keep in mind that the way you choose the numbers may only play the slightest role in increasing your prospects of becoming a billionaire. If you do win, though, CNN suggests that you take the lump sum of money, which is already taxed as income at that point, and invest in tax-free bonds.