The more drawings that occur without a jackpot winner, the higher the jackpot gets. Method 2. Fill out your ticket. Though Powerball tickets will vary slightly from state to state, the basic method for filling a ticket out is the same everywhere. On your ticket, you'll need to specify the numbers you want to bet on, the number of drawings you want, and whether or not you want the Power Play option.
Follow the guidelines below for filling out a basic ticket: [11] X Research source Fill in the spaces for five numbers from and one number from Usually, Powerball tickets are divided into multiple sections called "boards" which have rows of multiple-choice style bubbles to fill in to choose your numbers.
Indicate for each board whether you'd like the "Power Play" option. Each board except in California should have a space that allows you to buy a Power Play for your set of numbers. For random numbers, fill in the QP space instead of your numbers.
Choose how many drawings you want. Most tickets have a "Multidraw" section that allows you to pay for multiple drawings. For instance, if you want to bet on your numbers for two back-to-back drawings, fill in the "2" space. Each subsequent drawing costs as much as an additional ticket.
If you make an error on any board, fill in the "VOID" space for that board. Don't try to erase - instead, mark the board void and fill your numbers in on another board. When you're finished, pay for your ticket. The clerk will calculate the price of your ticket based on how many boards and Power Plays you've selected. Alternatively, ask the clerk for a Quick Pick ticket. If you don't want to fill out a lengthy Powerball ticket by hand or you don't care which numbers you bet on, you can usually ask for a Quick Pick ticket instead of the normal Powerball ticket.
In this case, a computer will randomly choose your numbers for you as if you had filled in the "QP" space for a board on the normal ticket. Check your numbers for Powerball's prize-winning combinations.
If the numbers you picked match the numbers drawn in any one of nine combinations, you can collect your winnings. Note that the prize amounts below represent base values - Power Play prizes are subject to a 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x multiplier, selected at random except for Jackpots, which aren't multiplied, and prizes for matching five white balls, which will only double.
Note: prizes differ in California because state law requires lottery prizes to be awarded on a pari-mutuel basis where the payout depends on the pool of bets, instead of a fixed payout.
Collect your winnings if your numbers match up. Small prizes can be claimed directly from the vendor you bought the ticket from, while larger prizes require official verification. The precise procedures for claiming large prizes differ from state to state - you may need to fill out a claim form, etc. Powerball tickets do expire. The time window you have to claim a prize differs from state to state - from 90 days to a full year.
If you can't make it to the vendor or lottery office for some reason for instance, if you've left the state you bought the ticket in , it's legal to mail your ticket to the state lottery office. Powerball provides a map that links you to state lottery pages, which will have more specific information about claiming prizes in your state. Choose a payout option for jackpot prizes. Congratulations, you won the jackpot! The only question remaining before you retire is this: how would you like your money?
Powerball jackpot winners have two options for receiving their cash—they can receive the entire prize at once in a lump sum , or they can receive it as an annuity —in other words, in yearly installments.
In every game of Powerball, you get one ticket with five white numbers out of 69 possible choices and one red number the Powerball, out of Your odds of actually winning the Powerball jackpot are pretty slim: one in ,, But that means, 4. Image credit: screenshot from the official Powerball site, at So if these are the possibilities for what the payout is, what does this mean in terms of expected value?
In other words, each time you play the lottery, you have a small chance of winning a certain prize, and if you multiply your expected winnings by your odds of each option , you get your expected value for each option.
This teaches us two things:. Screenshot and headers from the official Powerball site. That's what you need to make it "worth" grabbing the Power Play option: a guaranteed 5x multiplier or more. The fact that the second-biggest-payout is only doubled, no matter what the Power Play multiplier happens to be, makes this a raw deal any way you slice it. In other words, you should never take the Power Play option. So finally, we come to the big prize: the Jackpot, or the Grand Prize, which you win by hitting all five numbers plus the Powerball, something that has a one-in,, chance of happening.
Even after the taxman calls, the Powerball jackpot could make the lucky winner wealthier than the Don't miss: The best credit cards for building credit of Skip Navigation. Jennifer Liu.
VIDEO How the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries work. Learn more with this winner's guide to the most common Powerball numbers. If you win the Powerball, you could be set for life.
You probably also want to know about some of the best tips that could make you more likely to be a winner. This way, you can understand what your odds of winning are.
In terms of the jackpot odds, your chance of winning the Powerball grand prize is 1 in ,, These may seem like comically low odds, and they are, but keep in mind that someone is bound to win the jackpot eventually.
Considering that there are lottery jackpot winners who win multiple times , there must be strategies that are effective. Basically, in the Powerball, there are two drums that have numbered balls in them. Then, the balls are drawn publicly, one at a time.
The first drum has 69 balls in it. From this drum, the five winning numbers are chosen. The second drum has 26 balls in it. The Powerball is one of these drums. If you have a Powerball ticket that matches all of the winning numbers pulled out from the first drum, and matches the Powerball that is pulled out of the second drum, you win the jackpot!
One of the most common strategies used to try to enhance your odds of winning the Powerball lottery is to choose the most common winning Powerball numbers. These best Powerball numbers have been pulled out from the first drum many times more than expected. The most frequently pulled Powerball numbers are 1, 26, 18, 10, 2, 12, 11, 9, 6, and
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