If you are going to buy 46+ tickets.....

Reply #55

scorpio — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 15:01:57 GMT

and in megamillions,one cannot just fill in all the mb's,and ask forqp's,like in powerball.

Reply #54

dvdiva — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 04:24:58 GMT

You only see a decrease in odds if the white numbers are all the same. There was someone else who was confused between the words odds and combinations. Your odds increase to 1:3.8 million if and only if all white numbers are the same for all 46 numbers. This method insures that you will get the right megaball. This is not a cheap way of playing though.

You can also cover the same megaball for all different white ball combinations. If and only if you guessed the right megaball you now have ho... [ More ]

Reply #53

Chewie — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:50:58 GMT

So all 46 tickets have the same white ball numbers, or do you mix them up in some sort of pattern

Reply #52

scorpio — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 14:02:20 GMT

me only indulge in buying 42 tickets when it's up to around 300 million,now i only purchase 1 ticket,letting others raise it up for awhile,mm looks good now

Reply #51

anonymous77 — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:16:13 GMT

I think that, if one's subjective belief is one thing, objective fact should be another. All I have been saying about it is purely based on my knowledge of math and stats: that is, $42 spent on covering all 42 PBs have exactly the same odds and expected value as 42 tickets with all PBs of a kind OR mixed.

I am not saying any method is wrong. Far from it, I am just saying that what you're saying is not based on the objective fact, but on your subjective belief and/or preference.

Reply #50

sirbrad — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 09:05:45 GMT

Yeah another problem with 42 tickets, and all the powerball numbers, is that after the powerball is drawn you basically now have 41 other useless tickets if you did not win. You can only hope that ONE line is a jackpot win. Personally I would rather have a few of the same powerball, that way I had more chances if one lost.

Reply #49

anonymous77 — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 10:06:45 GMT

I think that picking just one bonus ball for 40+ tickets is just like placing all the money straight on a single number in roulette or, putting all the eggs in a single basket. It wouldn't be any better as long as one can pick the right one or s/he does not stumble over a stone. But, it may not be so easy to pick the right one out of 46 or 42 numbers, harder than in roulette.

Reply #48

sirbrad — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 11:31:47 GMT

I spent $40 a couple times playing all the SAME powerball, and one time I got the powerball correct. I thought then that one of the 40 lines had to be a jackpot winner, but still only got 2 plus 1 as the best. It sure was fun checking them all, and had some very close odds. But the powerball pay off was sweet. ($120) Have not tried it again since.

Reply #47

Chewie — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:59:35 GMT

I took Basic and Advanced Infantry Training with the 2nd at Fort Benning. I was already in Korea when they transferred there. Cool patch.

Reply #46

scorpio — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 18:23:18 GMT

when i was in 2d infrantry division,no powerball

Reply #45

anonymous77 — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 17:01:42 GMT

From what I figure out, here is what is meant by $46($42) strategy: numbers in the parentheses ( ) represents the case of Powerball.

1. ONCE one decides to spend $46($42) on buying MM(PB) tickets for whatever reason and if/when he covers all 46(42) Mega Balls(red Powerballs), he or she does not lose more than $44($39) out of the whole $46($42) spent on buying the MM(PB) tickets. Put it differently in percentage term, given such constraints, one can win at least 4.3%(7.1%) of every $46($42) sp... [ More ]

Reply #44

anonymous77 — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 16:54:58 GMT

.

Whether or not one is willing to spend $46 on MM tickets ($42 in Powerball) is a completely different issue.

Reply #43

scorpio — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 16:45:12 GMT

i just played one dollar this drawing to make up for the 84 dollars i spent and only won 12 bucks.lottery will be taking for awhile now,no winners

Reply #42

RJOh — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 15:53:36 GMT

Sounds like a good strategy for anyone planning to play all 46 megaballs. I hope you win big. Good luck.

RJOh

Reply #41

Bradly_60 — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 15:45:33 GMT

And Todd should know....he has consistantly beat the 1 in 13,000 odds of hitting the $150 prize. Going to use his strategy for the rest of the draws in this run.

Brad

Reply #40

Todd — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 15:38:43 GMT

I play all 46 Mega Balls, but not for a chance to win $2, as you say.

The wheel I play guarantees a 2-number hit on the first five numbers. Very often I get more than two numbers out of the first five on at least one ticket. I play all 46 numbers so that I have a 1-in-46 chance of matching those 2+ numbers with a matching Mega Ball.

Reply #39

RJOh — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 06:47:14 GMT

Not everyone who buy 46+ tickets have the same strategy. Some might buy all the megaballs hoping to match one or more of the other five numbers with the winning megaball. Others might buy only the hot megaballs several time and hope to get lucky and match the megaball with some of the other numbers several times, for them gambling $46 for a chance to win $4+ is a better deal than spending $46 for a guarantee $2. And then there are those who buy 46+ QP tickets just to improve their odds of win... [ More ]

Reply #38

GuessWhat! — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 22:19:49 GMT

Go read:

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/129273.htm

Reply #37

scorpio — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:54:26 GMT

not worth it,done that,84 dollars pb,whiteballs qp's,i only won 12 bucks outa 350 million,so save your money.

Reply #36

mylollipop — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:39:09 GMT

Yeah Brad, good advice. So if you only have +/- $1-5 to spend, odds get higher, right. LOL. But your method is a bit wiser

Reply #35

scorpio — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:09:42 GMT

ok i see it now,just on my 2d coffee.

Reply #34

fja — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:02:20 GMT

Iget it

Reply #33

scorpio — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:59:59 GMT

oh oh,i think it would be 3.9 million combinations for each mb,right.

Reply #32

scorpio — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:55:46 GMT

duckman,so you're saying there are 3.9 million combinations possible?if one owned 20 convenient lottery stores,could one have your employees play all the combinations,from drawing to drawing?if you had 3.9 million combinations filled out,divided by 5,how many tickets,and how long would that take

Reply #31

duckman — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:44:54 GMT

Quote: Originally posted by Bradly_60 on February 24, 2006This doesn't make sense. How if I buy 46 tickets each with a different mega ball does that not reduce my oods to 1 in 3.9 million. No matter what Mega Ball comes up...NO MATTER WHICH ONE...I have it. I am not playing against the mega ball anymore. No matter what outcome comes from the drawing it doesn't matter to me because I covered all possible outcomes. I have a 1 in 1 chance that I will match the Mega Ball. Now all I have to do... [ More ]

Reply #30

scorpio — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:51:38 GMT

one chance in 3.9 million,that doesn't gurantee a win,if 3.9 million tickets are sold,because everyone doesn't buy qp's,and the lottery quite often puts out a repeat number.it is really so mind boggling,if the lottery doesn't want your area to win you will not.

Reply #29

Bradly_60 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:44:19 GMT

This doesn't make sense. How if I buy 46 tickets each with a different mega ball does that not reduce my oods to 1 in 3.9 million. No matter what Mega Ball comes up...NO MATTER WHICH ONE...I have it. I am not playing against the mega ball anymore. No matter what outcome comes from the drawing it doesn't matter to me because I covered all possible outcomes. I have a 1 in 1 chance that I will match the Mega Ball. Now all I have to do is match the first 5 white numbers. Since one of my ticke... [ More ]

Reply #28

duckman — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:08:41 GMT

A simpler way to put it is this:

You have before you 46 tickets, each with one of the MB numbers 1 thru 46.

Look at the tickets: One of those 46 tickets has a 1 in 3.9 million chance of winning the jackpot 5 plus MB.

Which one will it be?

To gurantee a jackpot win and that you pick the right one out of the 46 you will have to bet 3.9 million on all 46 tickets.

With that we are back to the original odds.

Reply #27

duckman — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:03:50 GMT

The chance of the one correct MB ticket out of the 46 tickets winning 5 plus MB is 1 in 3.9 million...but which ticket out of the 46 will that be? That is the key - you do not know which of the 46 tickets that will be.

Since you don't know in advance which of the 46 tickets will have the correct MB, the odds of winning are still 1 in 175,000,000 on each ticket (or 46 out of 175,000,000 if you buy 46 tickets).

I think part of the confusion comes from the perspective that since you have boug... [ More ]

Reply #26

keta11 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:17:05 GMT

Look at it this way. One of the 46 different numbered tickets you bought has a 1 in 3.9 million chance of winning the jackpot. You WILL win the mega ball, that is all. The 5 of 5 AND the 1 of 46 are not independent, discrete events.

Take it from someone who took probability theory in graduate school at Yale.

Reply #25

Bradly_60 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:42:24 GMT

But people don't shell how that much for $15 million. Thats the thing with lotteries, they as just as pshcyological as they are montary. The huge jackpots is what gets peoples attention and that is when they buy more tickets. That is why it is always won after getting huge attention. And if people were spending $40+ when the jackpot was at $15 million the jackpot would never be that low. But people don't buy those amounts at that low level.

Please explain to me that if you buy all the... [ More ]

Reply #24

keta11 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:16:07 GMT

You say they are discrete games.

Did the winners of the recent $365 million jackpot present a different ticket for the 5 of 5 and a different ticket for the mega ball

Reply #23

keta11 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:59:44 GMT

If the odds could be lowered to 4 million, the millions of normal players who would ordinarily buy only 1-5 tickets would shell out $46 or $42 for a shot at $15 million and the jackpot would be won everytime

Reply #22

dvdiva — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:53:57 GMT

You're understanding of these games and odds are incorrect. Odds in Megamillions are roughly 1:175 million. This is made up of two discrete events. The white balls (5 numbers 1-56) with odds about 1:3.8 million multiplied by another independent event, the Mega ball (one nuimber 1-46). This is how the odds are calculated in this type of event. Eliminating one event (the megaballs) only leaves the 5/56 game. It's not that hard once you think about it awhile. In games with only one event (a 5/49 or... [ More ]

Reply #21

Bradly_60 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:49:59 GMT

No it wouldn't defeat the game. Because the normal player buys only 1 - 5 tickets. They don't spend $40+ on lottery tickets for a drawing. When they do, like in the lastest powerball drawing...they sell $160,000,000+ worth of tickets and it is won. That is what the lottery wants to happen. If people were spending $46+ per drawing that jackpot would be huge all of the time. But that isn't that way it works and the lottery knows that.

Brad

Reply #20

keta11 — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:33:33 GMT

I have not been on here in a while.

Your math is incorrect. MM and PB are not independent games. You are being clever by half and underestimate the intelligence of the lottery commisions and the millions of smart Americans who play these gaames in 32 or 12 states.

If you could reduce the odds down to 1 to 4 million (odds less than the average 6/49 state game) by buying 42 or 46 tickets with different power or mega balls, I guarantee you MM and PB will not experience one roll!! That woul... [ More ]

Reply #19

LckyLary — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:16:42 GMT

Playing all the bonus balls guarantees at LEAST a $2 or $3 win.. but if you only care about the JACKPOT then 46 tickets have the same odds for that and the same odds for match-5. If you want to go after the match-5 level also then don't play the same 5 numbers each line. Also known as the Archie Herring or Seattle system.

$42 per drawing is kind of high considering these roll-over more often than not.

I've played less tickets with a strong bonus ball algorithm and have gotten multipl... [ More ]

Reply #18

duckman — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:54:02 GMT

"How is that? Your odds are as high as the chart says for matching 5 of 5. If you bought one ticket and it happened to have the same bonus ball as the drawing....how is there more than 3.9 million possible ways to match the first 5 numbers? "

-------

(note: numbers below are rounded)

The odds are still the same. Take Mega Millions for example. In order to insure that you will have the winning mega ball you have to buy 46 tickets (1 for each MB number). Your odds of winning 5 plus MB are... [ More ]

Reply #17

Bradly_60 — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 23:16:20 GMT

The odds of winning the jackpot (5 plus MB) are still high as stated in the odds chart because the ticket that has 5 of 5 right still only has a 1 in 46 (or 42) chance of being on the same ticket as the one with the correct MB number.

How is that? Your odds are as high as the chart says for matching 5 of 5. If you bought one ticket and it happened to have the same bonus ball as the drawing....how is there more than 3.9 million possible ways to match the first 5 numbers?

ONCE YOU HAV... [ More ]

Reply #16

duckman — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 21:25:26 GMT

The odds are the same either way. If you buy all 46 (or 42) mega ball numbers then you are guaranteed of winning whatever the prize is for matching that one MB number. If you are looking at it as an independent game then it in no way affects the odds on the 5 of 5 combinations.

Your odds for winning 5 out of 5 are still the same as stated in the odds chart.

The odds of winning the jackpot (5 plus MB) are still high as stated in the odds chart because the ticket that has 5 of 5 right still

Reply #15

Prob988 — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:22:40 GMT

Here is how to think of this problem.

Suppose you are going to buy 100 tickets. You have two options. One is to buy 100 tickets that all have the same numbers: Let's say for example you buy 100 tickets that all have the same 5 white balls and the same mega ball: 5, 10, 20, 25, 30 MB: 35.

What are your odds of winning? What advantage have you accrued for $100 over spending just one dollar?

Granted, if the drawing comes up 5, 10, 20, 26, 31 MB: 36 you will have won $700, but if yo... [ More ]

Reply #14

Bradly_60 — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 14:54:48 GMT

You are pretty much right 46 tickets randomly selected and 46 tickets of all the mega balls will pretty much give you the same overall odds.

But if you buy quick picks chances are you will have a lot of repeat mega or power balls which will cut out the fact that you have every mega ball covered. If you make sure you have all the bonus balls you can count on just matching the first five numbers. If you use quick picks you have to count on having the bonus ball first which doesn't nessecarily... [ More ]

Reply #13

LotteryPlayer — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 04:58:20 GMT

Buying all of the Megaballs or Powerballs will obviously win you $2 or $3 dollars, respectively, but how does this improve your odds of winning the jackpot (if that is, indeed, what you're saying)?

If you get 46 autopicks for MegaMillions, your chances of winning, unless I'm mistaken, are 1 in 3,819,816 (175,711,536 divided by 46). Can you provide a mathematical calculation that shows how your method improves the odds of winning a jackpot?

Thanks in advance.

Reply #12

Dream — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 04:35:50 GMT

Here is the formula for producing the maximum number of combinations in Mega Millions with out the Mega ball (56*55*54*53*52 ) / (1*2*3*4*5) = 3,819,816

Reply #11

dvdiva — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 04:21:34 GMT

I'm glad to see others playing the same way. I only wait for large pots and then buy 1-3 tickets . Didn't play Euromillions that way though. I just covered the 9 extra number for all tickets. As I see it I'm going to loose. Odds of winning are already very low. If I do win it's an 11.25 million bonus for Megamillions plus I never have to think I almost hit it. It's not the way I would play smaller pots if I did.

Reply #10

scorpio — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:12:36 GMT

pb you can buy qps forwb or pb,but in mm you cannot break them up,at least in mass..

Reply #9

JimmySand9 — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:18:46 GMT

I don't know why it's so hard for people to understand either. If you play all of the Mega/Power balls, then the Mega/Power balls are factored out of the equation, because hitting said ball is already a given. I think it's just people being cynical.

Reply #8

Bradly_60 — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 20:43:07 GMT

Why is this so hard for people to understand. These games (Powerball and Mega Millions) are two games in one.

First you have to pick 5 numbers then you have to pick one number. If you pick all the one numbers you eliminate that part of the game. Then you are playing a 5 of 5 game with the lottery.

If you bought all 46 mega balls tickets for Mega Millions tell me how there is still over 170 million combos left?

You have each Mega Ball, all 46 of them, so you are a winner (well not real... [ More ]

Reply #7

Todd — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 20:20:52 GMT

You're absolutely correct, and that's the way I play.

I use the Lottery Post Abbreviated 2 if 5 of 56 wheel, and I use a different Mega Ball for each line.

Reply #6

Just6ntlc — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:27:26 GMT

It's very hard to play MM, so I just buy only a few dollars, not $46. If I lose, then I lose.

Reply #5

keta11 — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:17:24 GMT

5 out of 5 still has to come out in 42 different ways.

Reply #4

fja — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:45:15 GMT

So what your saying is that if the lottery commision told me that the MB number was going to be 13, I would have to pick one combination out of 3,904,701 choices.

What keta11 is saying is that because i do not know what the MB number is going to be, even if I buy 46 MB tickets I still have 175,711,536 ways to match them together.

Or does my math suck

Reply #3

Bradly_60 — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:43:17 GMT

No my math isn't wrong. If you had to have the numbers in the exact order that they came out then your math would be right. But luckily the numbers can be in any order. It's called combinatorics.

Even if you don't know much about math....just think about it. If you buy the 46 tickets for Mega Millions you have pinned the mega ball already. It doesn't matter what mega ball comes out you have it already. You are now playing a game of matching the 5 white balls on the same line as the me... [ More ]

Reply #2

keta11 — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:38:44 GMT

Its not that easy.

I think your math is wrong. For MM your odds go from 1 in 175,711,536 to 1 in (175,711,536-46) or 1 in 175,711,490. Do similar calcualtion for PB.

Reply #1

scorpio — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:20:28 GMT

i predicted the huge powerball win would be in iowa,i was in the area,isn't that where the headquarters is?also it was qp's so a lot of people will now purchase qp's.timing,if that person wasn't in that line at that time,someone else would have won.

If you are going to buy 46+ tickets.....

Bradly_60 — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:47:37 GMT

I have recently read about people that buy $50 of tickets on drawings and don't win a penny. I ask them why the heck don't they?

If you are going to play more tickets then there are powerballs or mega balls then buy all of the bonus numbers. For Powerball that would be 42 and for Mega Millions it would be 46. Not only do you gaurantee yourself a win but when you buy all the bonus numbers you cut your odds down drastically.

Example: Mega Millions you buy 46 tickets with each mega ball... [ More ]