What are the odds of winning Powerball?

Despite the fact that Powerball is officially sold in the United States, and even then not in all, residents of Russia and other countries can also afford to buy tickets for this lottery thanks to intermediary sites that buy tickets for you in the states using your pre-filled e-ticket. The most popular such intermediary service is Lotto Agent.

The Powerball lottery is played in 44 US states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The cost of one ticket is two dollars, however, some participants want to improve their chances and buy several tickets at once, so the collection of each drawing reaches billions of dollars.

In order to win the lottery, you need to guess the randomly determined numbers of five white balls (from 1 to 69) and one red (from 1 to 26), which is called the Powerball.

At the time of purchase, the numbers named by the participant are printed on the ticket and also recorded in the database. This is how the lottery organizers learn later that there is a ticket holder for the winning combination.

What is Powerball

Powerball is an American lottery game that is available for sale in all but six US states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. In 1992, it replaced the Lotto America lottery, becoming the first game to use two reels to draw winners. One reel is used for the white balls and the other for the red, the latter giving the name of the Powerball lottery.

Winners are determined on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:12 pm Central Time. The draws are held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The winning numbers are announced on television, on the Powerball website, as well as in newspapers and on the Internet. To win the jackpot, the player must match all five white balls correctly, as well as the red Powerball.

There is no guarantee that the jackpot will be drawn in the current draw. If all six numbers do not match someone's ticket, then the jackpot continues to the next drawing. As the jackpot values ​​rise, more and more people are eager to buy tickets, so a larger percentage of the possible number combinations are sold. So in the end, a draw without a winner becomes nearly impossible.

The Powerball jackpot starts at $ 40 million and goes up by at least $ 10 million every time no one succeeds to win it. Thus, it can and often reaches hundreds of millions of dollars. As of 2019, the largest lottery jackpot in the history of the world was precisely the main prize of the Powerball lottery in the amount of more than $ 1.5 billion.

But it's not just the jackpot that can be won in Powerball. Each draw also raffles other cash prizes ranging from $ 4 to $ 2,000,000. Their value depends on how many numbers the player guessed correctly, and the number of prizes awarded in each drawing is limited only by the number of people who choose the correct numbers.

How much does it cost to play Powerball

The base price of the Powerball lottery with one field filled for players from Russia is $ 5.3, subject to the purchase of an electronic ticket through Lotto Agent. For an additional $ 2, you can add a Power Play option that increases the prize size if you match one to five qualification numbers correctly. Thus, the maximum cost per Power Ball ticket is $ 7.3. However, at the same time, a promotion often takes place on Lotto Agent, according to which, for the purchase of one ticket, the second is given as a gift, so the price of one ticket comes out to about $ 2.6, which by the way does not differ much from the ticket prices for this game in the USA ($ 2) ...

Of course, you can pay on the Lotto Agent website in rubles as well. Payment can be made in any convenient way - from a plastic card, webmoney or Yandex money to payment via a cell phone by sending SMS.

How does the Power Play option work?

If you purchase the Power Play option, the value of any winnings you win for a matching combination of less than five balls will be multiplied by a random value between two and five.

For payouts based on matched five or six balls, the Power Play option works differently. The million dollar prize, which is awarded for correctly designated five white balls, always doubles to $ 2 billion with the Power Play option. This option does not affect the size of the jackpot, which is fixed regardless of whether the player ticks the Power Play box or not.

How is the Power Ball draw?

This lottery belongs to the two-reel type. One reel contains 69 white balls and the other contains 26 red balls. Only one red ball will be drawn and this particular ball is called the Powerball.

When you buy your ticket, you choose five numbers (these winning numbers will be drawn from the first reel with white balls) and one Powerball number (which will be drawn from the second reel with red balls). You can choose any numbers on the ticket manually or let Lotto Agent pick them at random for you.

How many numbers do you need to match to win something and what prizes will you receive?

So, once again, let's define the terminology, the white balls correspond to the numbers in the upper field from 1 to 69; the red ball is called Powerball and you need to guess it in the bottom field with numbers from 1 to 26.

The following winning combinations are possible:

• 5 Correct White Balls & Powerball: Jackpot (starts at $ 40 million and has no cap)
• 5 Correct White Balls, but no Powerball: $ 1,000,000
• 4 Correct White Balls & Powerball: $ 10,000
• 4 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $ 100;
• 3 Correct White Balls & Powerball: $ 100
• 3 Correct White Balls, but no Powerball: $ 7
• 2 Correct White Balls & Powerball: $ 7
• 1 Correct White Ball and Powerball: $ 4
• No white balls, just Powerball: $ 4.

If you have not regretted two dollars and have chosen the Powerplay option, then the amount of remuneration for you will be as follows:

• None of the white balls is matched, only Powerball is matched: $ 8 - $ 40 *;
• 5 Correct White Balls & Powerball: Jackpot;
• 5 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $ 2,000,000;
• 4 Correct White Balls & Powerball: $ 20,000 - $ 100,000 *;
• 4 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $ 200 - $ 1000 *;
• 3 Correct White Balls and the Powerball: $ 200 - $ 1000 *;
• 3 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $ 14 - $ 70 *;
• 2 Correct White Balls and Powerball: $ 14 - $ 70 *;
• 1 Correct White Ball and Powerball: $ 8 - $ 40 *.

What are the odds of winning Powerball? Probability of winning

On the official site of the lottery, information about the probability of winning a particular prize in Powerball is openly presented.

Combination of numbers: Probability of match

• 5 white balls and Powerball (jackpot): 1 in 292 201 338
• 5 white balls, but no Powerball: 1 in 11,688,053
• 4 Correct White Balls & Powerball: 1 in 913,129
• 4 correct white balls, but no Powerball: 1 in 36,525
• 3 Correct White Balls & Powerball: 1 in 14,494
• 3 correct white balls, but no Powerball: 1 in 579
• 2 Correct White Balls & Powerball: 1 in 701
• 1 correct white ball and Powerball: 1 in 92
• No white balls, only Powerball: 1 in 38
• Overall odds of winning any prize: 1 in 25

What is Powerball Multi-Draw Option?

Powerball Multi-Draw allows, firstly, in one ticket to fill not one, but several cards (fields) at once, of course - different cards have different numbers. So, if one card does not win, you may well be lucky with the second, third, and so on. Secondly, a multi-draw allows you to play with the same numbers chosen once in several draws at once. That is, your ticket will participate not only in the current drawing, but also in the next four, ten or 25, depending on the parameters chosen. It goes without saying that these options will cost you extra money, but they will give you additional chances of winning.

Is there any secret to winning Powerball?

The Powerball.com FAQ page states that if you buy a Powerball card for every possible red ball, you are guaranteed to win at least a small prize. Sure, you spent about a hundred dollars to guarantee a $ 4 win, but if you compare a few white balls on those 39 cards, your total winnings may be higher.

Other than that, there is no secret about picking winning numbers that will improve your odds. The drawing of the number is completely random. Therefore, one can only hope for luck, because that is what it is and a lottery: whoever does not take risks, he does not drink ... well, in general, you yourself know everything very well.

If you have friends or colleagues who enjoy playing the lottery, you can also team up to increase your chances of winning without paying more money using the lottery.

Why you really shouldn't win

As The Guardian notes, winning the lottery is the worst thing that can happen to a person. Experience shows that the “lucky ones” often turn out to be people who are not able to reasonably manage for years or even months coming to a state of bankruptcy.

Research shows that the burden of responsibility on winners makes them more unhappy than they were before.

The story of American businessman Jack Whittier, who won $ 315 million in the lottery in 2002, is well known. Ten years later, his daughter and granddaughter died of drug overdose, his wife left him, and the trail of court proceedings followed him for years.

Once Whittier was drugged in a strip club and $ 545,000 was stolen from his car. In conversations with the press, he repeatedly repeated: It would be better if I tore that ticket to shreds.

Due to the record Powerball jackpot in January 2016, a lot of instructions have appeared on the network on how to remain anonymous in case of winning, as well as where to invest money so as not to lose it. However, the problem with lotteries is that often huge amounts of money go to uneducated or overly gullible people.

What Americans dream of doing with the money they win

Despite the exceptionally low chances of winning, the people of the United States did not deny themselves the fantasies of winning. The phrase “If i win the Powerball” has become incredibly popular on the English-speaking Internet.

One of the Reddit users said that if he won, he would keep his winnings a secret, and then ask friends and acquaintances to help him with rearranging the furniture. Anyone who responded, he intended to pay a million dollars.

Much ado about nothing

To show how small the odds of winning a Powerball are, Time magazine used a few striking examples. For example, winning this lottery is less likely than death from an asteroid or lightning strike, death from chronic constipation or a parasite in the body, the possibility of becoming a Hollywood star, or being the same height as the actor Hugh Jackman.

The New York Times turned out to be even tougher and published a note under the headline You Won't Win Powerball, which for most Americans is pure truth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can play powerball?

According to the official Powerball rules, anyone can buy a Powerball lottery ticket and take part in the draw and possibly win a prize.