Smash the MM odds...it is easy!

Reply #33

Raven62 — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:59:04 GMT

Not for me either: http://www.johnph77.com/math/stlot.html

Reply #32

scorpio — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 20:43:53 GMT

if one was to buy a hundred bucks of lottery tickets;would you find your chances by dividing by 1/100th

Reply #31

ryanm — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:37:36 GMT

Odds of 1 in 3,819,816 do not justify spending $44 for a single drawing, at least not for me.

Reply #30

Raven62 — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 04:20:51 GMT

When you play MM you're playing two games:5/56 and 1/46odds 3,819,816 and 46odds of winning both 175,711,536

Reply #29

Bradly_60 — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:42:31 GMT

If you buy the 46 mega balls on 46 tickets you cut your odds down to the odds of matching the first 5 numbers (white balls). Say the mega ball came up as 7. You have the seven and what you need to win is the first five white balls. The odds of hitting that are just shy of 4 million. You gauarantee yourself a return (at least $2) So really all you have to do is spend $44 to lower your odds of hitting the jackpot to less then most states jackpot games. I have started using this strategy whe... [ More ]

Reply #28

Down — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 12:09:11 GMT

Think,let me see if i understad this...you are saying play $46 in tickets and every play on the ticket has a differant mega number is that right? if you did that would only make your chance of hitting the jackpot like 46:170million the only thing you would get back for sure is $2 for matching the mega number, and another thing you have to think about if you pick your numbers and not QP you have to come up with 5 numbers that have never been drawn before. but i know of a really really good way to... [ More ]

Reply #27

JAG331 — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:40:57 GMT

I don't want to burst your bubble...but by buying 52 different tickets, your odds of winning are 1 in 3,379,068. I see how you figured the 1 in 689,065....but there's more than one way to match 4 + 1. Say the winning white ball numbers are 1-2-3-4-5 and you've matched the MB. You could do it 1-2-3-4 (plus the other 52 white balls)...1-2-3-5...1-2-4-5...1-3-4-5...2-3-4-5. There are 260 ways to match at least 4+1...255 ways to match just 4+1 without hitting the jackpot. 175,711,536 divided by... [ More ]

Reply #26

bbjbb — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 02:01:30 GMT

Hey, as long as we're dreaming, why not say we have four whiteballs and the mega-ball...then all we'd need is that combination with the other 52 whiteballs...so for $52, we can reduce our odds to one in 689,065. So for a $52 ticket, you can win it all with the odds of 1 in 689,065!....not bad!And believe me, if I thought we knew we had four regular numbers the mega-ball, I'd play the 52 other combinations.

Reply #25

Bradly_60 — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:53:59 GMT

haha....i hear you on that one. I have asked clerks to run slips through a couple times and they are always like huh? until I explain what I am doing.Brad

Reply #24

JAG331 — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:49:49 GMT

It's a great way to play Key/Banker and Random numbers together.Just ignore the quizzical look from the clerk when you ask to run the same playslip through five times

Reply #23

Rip Snorter — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 02:17:40 GMT

That's also how PB is in NM. If you fill in 3 numbers and check QP the machine will take your picks and add the rest.Jack

Reply #22

RJOh — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:27:44 GMT

Ohio MegaMillions card has two QP slots, one for the five core numbers and one for the megaball. Both have to be checked to QP both sets of numbers. When I play PowerBall in Indiana, the instructions on the cards says if I check the QP slot the machine will pick any numbers not picked, thus I mark what I want and use QP to chose the rest.RJOh

Reply #21

Chewie — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 21:00:06 GMT

In NY, for MM, you can chose either and/or QP either. In NJ, for MM, it's all QP or all or selection. In PA, for PB, it is all QP or all selection.

Reply #20

Bradly_60 — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:06:01 GMT

That would be up to the lottery. In Michigan we can do that. We can quick pick the white balls and use our own Mega Ball. well i know we used to but I don't think they have changed anything like that. You should be able to do it that way. Brad

Reply #19

scorpio — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:29:17 GMT

you can possibly cut those odds down,like eliminate 12345,678910,etc.in powerball,you can play a pb #,and ask for whiteball qp's,but in megamillions in massachuesetts,you can only ask for a qp,and it gives you the mb,and white balls,it doesn't give you a choice of either or,why

Reply #18

sagan — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:22:53 GMT

how much time would it take a player to purchase enough tickets to give them a chance at winning and how long would it take to check them.so if you formed a pool what would the timing numbers be thenand then the verifying the honesty of the other pool members

Reply #17

Bradly_60 — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 17:21:24 GMT

Lotteries know that this game isn't has hard as it seems to win. They should just make tickets $46 each and have the odds of winning the jackpot 1 in less than 4 million. There are probably 4 million players out there in the MM states that could afford the $46....talk about a lottery pool there hey....haha...that seems like the logical way of playing the game. But the lotteries know that peole are not going to spend that much money on tickets. I don't think it is a lot but the go to the sto... [ More ]

Reply #16

ryanm — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 16:53:53 GMT

Think, out of what, 18 million tickets sold, there's normally only four or five second place winners. I highly doubt that's a concern for big spenders having an edge in winning the jackpot.

Reply #15

Think — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 15:44:44 GMT

Konformthismfs says One more thing, if you play the MM for the jackpot and you think you might have found an edge, why would you write the MM and let them know? lmao Easy, I dont want the big money players to have a true advantage. I cant afford to spend that much money per draw!!!RJOh says If you play to win the MegaMillions jackpot then your odds are 1:175,711,536 per ticket regardless of the number of tickets you buy. There are 175,711,536 possible combinations and 4,405,086 of them will win... [ More ]

Reply #14

RJOh — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 05:21:27 GMT

Think,If you play to win the MegaMillions jackpot then your odds are 1:175,711,536 per ticket regardless of the number of tickets you buy. There are 175,711,536 possible combinations and 4,405,086 of them will win something from $2 to the jackpot so that leaves 171,306,450 combinations that will win nothing at all. That's a little different than your figures.RJOhP.S. If you really believe you have an edge to smash the MM odds so easily, good luck to you.

Reply #13

Konformthismfs — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:55:46 GMT

One more thing, if you play the MM for the jackpot and you think you might have found an edge, why would you write the MM and let them know? lmao

Reply #12

Konformthismfs — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:49:41 GMT

Lotteries love this kind of logic- Spend $46 and the only real guarantee is $2 ???? If you get lucky and hit 1 with it we'll give you 3 bucks! If you get luckier and hit 2 numbers with it, we'll give you 10 bucks. Looking at the payouts in calif. 5 correct numbers pays 25 times more then 4+1 mega. Appears to me that anyone playing this game should concentrate on the regular numbers

Reply #11

Think — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:27:48 GMT

RJoh I play MM for the Jackpot. I should have made that clear, sorry.You are missing something subtle when you say If you buy one MM ticket, your odds of matching 5of5 is 1:3,819,816. If you buy 46 tickets your odds are 1:83,039 Your odds really are not 83,039 to 1 because if they were, you would have 83,038 losing combinations. Your odds would be 3,819,816 to 46 which would mean there are 3,819, 770 losing combinations. That is a huge but subtle difference

Reply #10

RJOh — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:18:45 GMT

If you buy one MM ticket, your odds of matching 5of5 is 1:3,819,816. If you buy 46 tickets your odds are 1:83,039 if they aren't the same combination.

Reply #9

Think — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:16:27 GMT

Ichoro, you are missing something subtle here! With the odds being 175,711,536 to 46 you have 175,711,490 losing combinations and only 46 winning combinations when the odds are 3,819,816 to 1 you have 3,819,815 losing combinations and 1 winning combination. If you buy all 46 mega balls with the same 5 of 56 you really are improving your odds and making the game a 5/56 game

Reply #8

lchoro — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:11:56 GMT

The problem with buying the lot of 46 with the same mega ball is that you haven't improved your odds of matching the 5 straight balls that's the necessary precondition to winning the jackpot. You've spent 46 dollars but you still only roughly 1 chance in 4 million in getting the second prize. It's the same odds as if you spent 1 dollar.

Reply #7

JimmySand9 — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:08:13 GMT

Another way, albeit not surefire, to cut the odds is to eliminate numbers that you're certain won't come up. Like a number that's cold, but not so cold that it's hot. Or a rare number that was drawn recently.

Reply #6

Think — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:04:04 GMT

Todd says Therefore, for $46, it's like buying one ticket for a 5/56 game. You are correct Todd, that is what I was saying. Perhaps I was being too subtle.My point being that levering the odds on MM does not take as much thinking and is not as subtle as levering the odds on x/xx (eg 6/49) games.

Reply #5

Todd — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 18:20:21 GMT

Think,That's not an example of a broken game, that's an example of a great game! Use Lottery Post's 2 if 5 of 56 wheel, which has exactly 46 lines (there is also a 45-line version), so not only will you be guaranteed to hit the Mega Ball at least once, but you'll also get at least a 2+0 match on at least one of your tickets.You still haven't cracked the code however, since only one of your 46 tickets will have a chance to win the jackpot. Therefore, for $46, it's like buying one ticket for a... [ More ]

Reply #4

Drywall1 — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 18:13:33 GMT

Just think, if you hit the jackpot, you would also hit the 2nd prize 45 times.Except for California, that would add another $11,250,000 to your winnings in Mega Millions.Californians would still get the pari-mutual say $250,000 divided by your 45 winning tickets or $5,500 each. That explains why people hate the pari-mutual system.Also, Texans with the megaplier could really clean-up or as they say in horse racing, light up the tote board

Reply #3

Just6ntlc — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 17:12:41 GMT

I agree about not buying too much lotto tickets. Usually, my dad tells me to buy his tickets either $1 or $2. Otherwise, I have very little money in terms of buying lotto tickets. I should be worried about food and education because lotto isn't easy.

Reply #2

Bradly_60 — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 16:03:35 GMT

Thats the reason why the lottery doesn't care. Most people play what one or two tickets. Now if everyone started playing 46 tickets at a time then they would have a problem. Just think if 4,000,000 of California's 30+million of people spend $46 on tickets they could sell every possible combo. Seems so easy hey.Brad

Reply #1

ryanm — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 15:45:25 GMT

How many players buy $46 worth of tickets though

Smash the MM odds...it is easy!

Think — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 14:24:53 GMT

I have been writing letters to editors and to the Mega Millions websight here is the response I got from MM-------------Dear Player,Thank you. I've passed this information on to our Online Games manager.Lottery PR Department>>> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.com> >>>The Mega Millions (and powerball) game has a MAJOR FLAW!If you buy 46 easy pick tickets your odds are 175,711,536 to 46However if you buy the same set of 5 numbers with each mega ball(1,2,3,4,5-1 thru 1,2,3,4,5-46 for example... [ More ]