Running an office Powerball pool is discouraging

Reply #33

ArtVandalay — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:52:25 GMT

The very first PowerBall play slip would look like this

Reply #32

dvdiva — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:01:33 GMT

Cover every Powerball for one combination and on the extras pick the same Powerball number. At least covering every Powerball will result in a win every time.

Reply #31

ArtVandalay — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:05:47 GMT

With 50 PowerBall tickets, I can guarrantee at least a $3.00 win everytime that you play. Have you considered doing this? Get 10 five-draw play slips; on each of the white ball sections, mark the Quick Pick box; on the Powerball sections, play each of the powerballs 1 to 42, and on the last 8 remaining Powerball sections, mark the Quick Pick box. You're going to get the Powerball at least once, guaranteeing at least a $3.00 win. And in fact you increase you're odds of winning the Powerball from... [ More ]

Reply #30

doctortalk — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:30:34 GMT

what's really discouraging, is:

when the odds are 250,000:1

and you win and they only pay you 1500dollars

even the winners are losers.

Reply #29

PrisonerSix — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:19:37 GMT

In my pool, we play both Powerball and Lotto and bought a $10 Millionaire Raffle ticket with our previous winnings. We buy Powerball for the big prizes, Lotto for the better odds.

As for our numbers, we play a combination of numbers we pick and quickpicks, again to balance things out a little.

We've won a few dollars here and there, but we keep trying.

Reply #28

Littleoldlady — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:43:52 GMT

If they are concerned about winning, then maybe they need to play a game with lower odds. As in the previous posts, 50.00 on PB is not much. I know there are some pools here where people buy literally hundreds of dollars worth of tickets and still they don't win. The main thing is is that you have to play to be IN IT! Maybe instead of quickpicks, come up with your own set of numbers to play. wheel them and play the same thing every draw. that way if they fall, you will win something..

Reply #27

mylollipop — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:21:46 GMT

We tried a pool once, but the moral got low when there were small winnings very far and in between. Now, if I decide on a pool, it will be for a jackpot of $200,000,000.00 with no more than 20 people in the pool. I think that would keep the excitement going and more people likely to hang in there for the big chance

Reply #26

PrisonerSix — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:14:55 GMT

I run a combination Lotto/Powerball pool in my office and we haven't won the big one yet, but we have won alot of small prizes like $3, $4, $7, etc. This does happen fairly often, so I guess we're doing OK.

I currently have 8 people in the pool, and we each put in $4 every payday(2 weeks). What I do is buy a mix of multidraw tickets for Powerball and Lotto for the next 4 drawings. When we win small prizes, we keep them until we make it to a multiple of $4, then we buy extra tickets.... [ More ]

Reply #25

Mike Frazier — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:58:27 GMT

The odds of winning in any of several ways with multiple tickets in a single drawing can't be calculated this way. If it could, then a 1/9 chance of winning with 1 ticket would mean all you had to do to guarantee a win would be buy 9 tickets; and that's not true. In the Ohio Rolling Cash5, there are 510136 different losing combinations in any drawing; so, in order to guarantee a win, you'd have to purchase 510137 tickets, each with a unique combination.

I'm sure there is an easier way to make... [ More ]

Reply #24

JackpotWanna — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:40:14 GMT

Hang in there. Make photo copies before each drawing and give them to each player. GL

Reply #23

RJOh — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:23:48 GMT

Some folk think other folk are just naturally lucky and being in a lottery pool with them increases their chances of getting lucky too.

Reply #22

lottocalgal — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:13:58 GMT

Here's something for folks to think about.

I always felt that winning the lottery is 25% luck and 75% fate/destiny (i'm still not sure of the system percentage yet). That being said, what does that mean in terms of office pools? I mean everyone wins together right? So does that mean that fate had to place all of the those people in the same company and had to have the right mix of participants for the exactl draw date, not to mention the exact set of numbers on the ticket for the exact dra... [ More ]

Reply #21

ThatScaryChick — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:38:06 GMT

I usually only buy 4 or 5 tickets. Not on every drawing, but when I can. The most I have spent on one drawing was 15 dollars and at the moment I won't be doing that again. The odds are just to high for me. So, I'll stick to buying a couple of tickets.

Reply #20

RJOh — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:07:19 GMT

Regardless of how you pick the numbers, 50 chances should do better than just one.

Winning $100 or less may be discouraging but it easy to split up and you don't have to file a W-2G with your tax returns.

Winning $200,000 or more make it worth the trouble to get a Form 5754 from the IRS and allows everyone in the pool to pay their own taxes on their share of the winnings.

It's those prizes that's over $600 but less than $1,000 per pool member once it's divided that's the headache beca... [ More ]

Reply #19

sirbrad — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:29:52 GMT

Hate pools, just not worth all the hassle. I will gladly pay $50 in tickets myself before splitting a jackpot 50 ways for $1.

Reply #18

grengrad — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:22:16 GMT

I should be, but I am not. Unfortunately, I am not playing just my numbers for the office pool.

Our signed agreement gives me control over how funds are dispursed. I am not too worried about $10,000. It is not much money. I would just claim the money, pay the taxes(I would figure out my real tax cost), and then give the group their percentage under the table .

$200,000 would be a much bigger pain in the butt, because it is a large enough sum that just handing them the cash under the table

Reply #17

Badger — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:37:41 GMT

Guru is correct in his reply about the odds. The odds of winning Powerball are so high that no one, even a group pool, can make a significant dent in them.

Having said that, always remember that someone does win the Powerball jackpot. Always.

Me, I buy one ticket and have the same chance as pretty much anyone else. In fact, there have been jp PB winners that won by buying only 1 ticket.

In the end, if you're meant to win it, you'll win it. If not, you won't. Nothing you can do about th... [ More ]

Reply #16

RJOh — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:43:27 GMT

Each state handle paying lottery prizes differently. This article is about the NY lottery from http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802220379

....the ubiquitous office pool has points that may take its members by surprise, including how the state Lottery commission pays out winnings on any size prize.

For one thing, no more than 10 names can be included on the payout checks. And for another, individuals who share in a lottery pool are expected to report their winnings a... [ More ]

Reply #15

Guru101 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:28:59 GMT

50 in 146,107,962 is the same as 1 in 2,922,159. We already had this discussion a few months back.

Reply #14

RJOh — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:22:52 GMT

Coin Toss,

In Ohio Rolling Cash5 (5/39), matching two numbers pays $1 and the overall odds of a win are 1:9 per ticket. Buying one ticket your odds of winning a prize are 1:9 or close to nothing and buying 50 tickets your odds of winning a prize are 50:9, not 50 x 0.

Reply #13

Coin Toss — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:06:11 GMT

RJOh

You should be doing 50 times better than when you were only buying 1 ticket.

In my state's Pick 5 game I usually hot 0 or 1 number on a set of numbers, on the Pick 6, 0, 1 or 2 - none of which pay anything at all.

If playing 50 times as much produced 50 times that result, ah, so what?

50 X's pays nothing still = pays nothing.

(Or is that what you were hinting at

Reply #12

RJOh — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:57:28 GMT

For lottery prizes other than the jackpots, some states will only make out the prize check to one person and send him the W-2G form for taxes. I've read there are ways to get around that but they probably require the advice of a tax lawyer which might cost more than the taxes on a prize that size.

Reply #11

tiggs95 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:19:17 GMT

I've said on another thread like this that I use to run a lottery pool where I use to work but if I had it to do over I would not do it again..

Reply #10

tntea — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:25:29 GMT

when collecting on a pool, the pool need to go to lottery office together with name for the group. Each member splits the check and the taxes are paid by each member.

Reply #9

Omniscient — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:56:05 GMT

It's all a game of chance. Someone has to win, so it could be you someday too. People do win, and you have to play to win it, so dont give up. If it doesn't happen, at least you got to be in it and had some fun trying. As long as you have fun and aren't betting the rent money or grocery money or something important that you need, then its ok to at least try. And dont think of it as 1:149,000,000 ..think of it as 50/50 ... you either win or you lose, and that's it.. plain and simple. Think positi... [ More ]

Reply #8

bobby623 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:28:04 GMT

Don't feel too bad!

I know of a local office pool that buys 100 QPs for each MegaMillions drawing. They have been doing this forever and have never won more than $150. This was one time event.

They have gone many drawings in a row without winning anything. They have big dropout problem!

IMHO, I think they need to call a meeting, take a close look at prior drawings and generate their own combinations.

WOW, if I could afford to play $200 a week, I'd definitely want to be in control... [ More ]

Reply #7

Coin Toss — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:25:32 GMT

grengrad

No matter how many ticklets you buy never lose sight of the fact that each one is supposed to lose.

That's how gambling works, that's why there are entities in existence to book everything from bets on horses and cards and dice to lottery drawings, otherwise they wouldn't be in business.

There is not a bet a player can make where the player is supposed to win. Odds bets on crap tables are the only even-money bet in existence- and at that, you have to have a flat bet to take o... [ More ]

Reply #6

RJOh — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:57:42 GMT

You should be doing 50 times better than when you were only buying 1 ticket.

Winning a $100 or less may be discouraging and matching 5/5 or better may be a dream. but if you ever match 4/4+1 for $10,000 it could be a nightmare. One person has to claim it and pay the taxes while the pool members may want to split the prize before taxes or after a minimum allowance for taxes. If the person claiming the win is in a higher tax bracket then he has to depend on the pool members kicking in some extr... [ More ]

Reply #5

ThatScaryChick — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:22:40 GMT

I know how you feel. But to be honest, even with buying 50 tickets the odds are still way against you. Just keep buying some tickets and maybe you will get lucky and hit big. That is what most of us hope for.

Reply #4

colo2004 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:04:36 GMT

I know how you feel Grengrad.

Even though statistically your chances are higher with the pool, what I call your 'real world odds' are not any better, it'll still take a miracle.

Good luck.

Reply #3

Captain Lotto — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:03:02 GMT

50 tickets is certainly better than 1 ticket, but it still doesn't make a dent in the odds of winning. You're odds are still 1 in 2,922,159. Good luck though.

I'd have to check my stat book, but I don't think the odds are even that good. Every ticket has the same odds of hitting the jackpot. So it would be 50 in 146,107,962.

Reply #2

LottoAce — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:53:42 GMT

Are you buying quickpics?...or do the people in your pool pick thier numbers?....and if so, do they study charts like you might or do they just randomly pick numbers or play birthdays

Reply #1

Guru101 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:29:39 GMT

50 tickets is certainly better than 1 ticket, but it still doesn't make a dent in the odds of winning. You're odds are still 1 in 2,922,159. Good luck though.

Running an office Powerball pool is discouraging

grengrad — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:36:10 GMT

I have bought my 1 Powerball ticket for each drawing for quite a while, and have even match 4 white balls a few time. Even though the odds are great, I always felt like someday I might get lucky and win it all, or at least match 5 white.

Now, I am running an office pool (don't worry we have signed legal contracts), and I am buying 50 tickets for every drawing above 50 million, and we have not won more than $7.

I knew the math of the odds before, but I never really felt the math until... [ More ]