Powerball type games are hugely popular - and include games such as the US Powerball, Mega Millions and EuroMillions. Unfortunately they also have the worst odds of all lottery games. The jackpots get so big because the games are so hard to win that the jackpot amount keeps rolling over to the next draw.
So what can you do about it? Let's find out.
How Do Powerball Lottery Type Games Work?
Firstly, what is a Powerball lottery game? Well, a Powerball game is a lottery where there are two different draws to generate the lottery results. First there is a main draw which determines most of the numbers (or main numbers) but then there is also a second draw which generates another ball (or two) from a different set of numbers.
Mega Millions for example draws out 5 main numbers from the range 1-70. Then draws out 1 number from the range 1-25, which is called the Mega Ball. You have to match all of these to win the jackpot.
This second set of numbers may not sound like a big deal, but it makes a very big difference to your chances of winning as we'll see in a moment.
How To Play Powerball Games
Let's do a specific example. To play the US Powerball lottery you choose 5 numbers from a set of 69 balls (1 to 69, these are the white numbers). Then you choose one number from a set of 26 balls (1 to 26, this is the red number or 'Powerball').
Each of your 5 main numbers must be different of course, but you can pick the same Powerball number as one of your main numbers, e.g. you can pick 10 as a main ball and 10 as a Powerball.
To pick your numbers you mark each one clearly in a block of all the available numbers on a playslip. There is a different block for the Powerball numbers next to the main numbers. Playslips also have multiple panels so you can play more than one combination using the same ticket. You can also complete multiple playslips to cover all the different combinations that you want to play. Each playslip is scanned into a lottery terminal by the lottery retailer and you get one lottery ticket back for each playslip.
Powerball Type Games Jackpot Odds
The jackpot odds for Powerball type games depend on both the range of main balls available in the game and the extra 'Powerball' set of balls too. This is important because it makes a big difference to your odds of winning and can be confusing to calculate.
For example, the odds of matching all 5 main balls on Powerball are 1 in 11,238,513 (over 11 million). That's for the 5 main balls picked from a set of 1-69 balls.
The odds of matching the Powerball are 1 in 26. That's an easy one because we pick 1 ball from a set of 1-26.
To get the odds of matching all 5 main balls plus the Powerball you multiply the two big numbers (i.e. 11,238,513 x 26).
Which gives odds of 1 in 292,201,338 (over 292 million).
That extra 'Powerball' doesn't look like it makes a lot of difference but it turns odds of over 1 in 11 million into 1 in 292 million. That's a huge difference and what you are up against when playing this type of game.
For comparison, a typical Pick 5 game would be 5 balls drawn from 42. The jackpot odds for this are 1 in 850,668. Which makes the US Powerball 343 times harder to win than your typical Pick 5 game.
Pick 6 games on the other hand are harder but usually around 1 in 13 million (for a standard 6 from 49 game), which is still 22 times easier than Powerball (more about how to win pick 6 lottery).
These are the jackpot odds for the most popular 'Powerball' type lottery games:-
| Game Name | Game Format | Jackpot Odds |
|---|---|---|
| US Powerball | 5 from 69 plus 1 from 26 | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| Mega Millions | 5 from 70 plus 1 from 25 | 1 in 302,575,350 |
| EuroMillions | 5 from 50 plus 2 from 12 | 1 in 139,838,160 |
What are the odds of winning a Powerball game?
The odds are very high to win Powerball games, amongst the most difficult of all lottery games (see the Powerball games jackpot odds). The prizes may be big but the chances of winning are extremely small.
Winning Powerball Games
How do you win Powerball type lottery games?
To win the jackpot on a Powerball game you must match all of the numbers drawn for both sets of numbers.
Even though they do sort the numbers into numerical order on your ticket you don't have to match them like that, they can be in any order. You can't match Powerball numbers with main numbers (or the other way round).
How much do Powerball games pay out?
The payout for Powerball games is usually many millions - the US Powerball starts at $20 million.
These games are all about the 'rollovers' - when the prize is not won, the jackpot 'rolls over' to the next draw and keeps on getting bigger. Because the games are so hard to win the jackpot rolls over a lot (it's not uncommon for these games not to be won for many months in a row). This results in huge jackpots (hundreds of millions) which get a lot of publicity and therefore sell a lot of tickets.
How many numbers do you need to win on a Powerball game?
You need at least the Powerball number to win on the US Powerball. This pays out just $4 though. On EuroMillions you need to match both Lucky Stars (the 'Powerball numbers') or at least 3 main balls to win something.
Powerball Game Lottery Strategies
These are a few basic strategies you can use to improve your chances of winning with Powerball games. Think first though how important that size of jackpot is to you, as the odds of this type of game are far more difficult than most other lottery games. Your best strategy may be to switch game completely and play something with a smaller jackpot.
Stick With Your Chosen Game
If you do decide that your Powerball type game is the right game, then don't play other games as well. Instead, if you focus your efforts on playing just the one game this will overall give you a better chance of winning.
Only Play Some Draws
These big games are mostly drawn twice a week (US Powerball is now drawn 3 times a week) - but you do not have to play all of these draws. Instead, choose one draw per week and play just that draw using the same amount of money you spent overall per week. The math is complicated but the fact is this does improve your odds of winning.
Don't Play The Most Popular Draw Of The Week
Most people play the lottery on weekends, so if you play the less popular Monday draw and win then it is more likely that you get the full jackpot amount to yourself instead of having to share it with other winners who also matched all the numbers on the same day.
Store Your Tickets Safely
Tickets get lost and accidentally destroyed every day which is why a lot of prizes end up unclaimed (even jackpots). So always store your tickets somewhere safe and check the results soon after the draw is done. Even better is to check your ticket while watching the draw live on TV or online - you'll get a lot more fun out of playing the lottery this way.
Powerball Lottery Numbers Strategy
There are no guarantees of winning when playing the lottery but there are a variety of different Powerball lottery numbers strategies you can use.
To start with you can avoid picking numbers that are popular as this can mean your share of the jackpot is much greater if you win the lottery. A lot of people play what they consider 'lucky numbers'. This is of course just superstition as no ball has any concept of being 'lucky', but hundreds of players still buy combinations made up of lucky numbers. If those combinations ever get drawn all of those players will end up sharing the jackpot prize meaning each of them only get a few thousand dollars instead of the millions they were expecting.
There are many lottery systems based on identifying patterns of numbers and either choosing or not choosing numbers because of those patterns. It's important to remember however that these patterns only exist in our minds as the lottery balls themselves do not know if they are 'odd' or 'even' so this cannot effect how likely or unlikely they are to appear together. There are various methods to try to identify numbers which are more likely to be drawn, some of which have merit, but there are no proven methods as any improvement is likely to be very small so would be impossible to prove statistically.
Questions
Why is powerball drawing on Monday?
Powerball is drawing on a Monday because they added a 3rd draw starting on August 23, 2021. The Powerball is now drawn on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Do you win anything with 2 numbers on Powerball?
You don't win anything for matching 2 main numbers on the US Powerball. You do win if you match 1 main number and the Powerball number, but for matching these 2 numbers you only win $4.
Do you win anything with just the Powerball number?
Yes, you win $4 for just the Powerball number.
Do you win anything with 1 number on Powerball?
If you match 1 number on Powerball you only win if that number is the Powerball itself. You do not win anything for matching 1 main number on Powerball.