How can I calculate odds?

Reply #5

Stack47 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:16:30 GMT

A full 10 number wheel has 210 combinations and only one can match the winning numbers. Since you're using 3 of the combos, your coverage of that wheel is 1.4% or a 1 in 70 chance of hitting the jackpot if 6 of your 10 numbers are drawn.

As Coin Toss pointed out, we've had many discussion on how actual odds are calculated but have not come to any consensus. But I think everyone will agree you have 3 chances out of 177,100 of winning the jackpot.

Reply #4

Dawn32 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:23:04 GMT

Thanks everyone. I played a 4if6of10 wheel yesterday and I got 3 out of 6 numbers correct. That wheel was abbreviated so I only spent $3. I was just wondering how much my odds increased by playing the wheel. Is it just instead of 1:177,100 chance in winning, I now had 3:177,100 chance of winning

Reply #3

Raven62 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:53:06 GMT

If the 10 numbers you choose does not include all 6 numbers drawn: Your Odds of Winning is 0!

Maddog10 ran a WV Cash 25 Challenge for a while here on LP: I don't think anyone ever Matched 6 of 6! (Not for the lack of trying!)

Best of Luck at Winning the WV Cash 25

Reply #2

Coin Toss — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:34:28 GMT

(Ut oh, I feel another cut-the-odds-in-half discussion coming on!)

Here's the flaw in this kind of calculation. It sounds good on paper, it sounds great!

But there's only one set of winning numbers, not 210.

If this approach worked, with a big enough bankroll you could cut the odds literally down to nothing. If it worked.

Buy, each of those 210 lines of numbers is individually up against the same exact odds of 177,099 to 1 (one has to be drawn).

The only way the odds would be 1:84... [ More ]

Reply #1

Stack47 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:06:20 GMT

That simply means there are 177,100 possible combinations and by playing a full 10 number wheel, you would have 210 of those combinations. Odds can be calculated by dividing the possible combos by the number of combos you play and those odds are 210:177,100 or 1:843.3. While it looks like you have greatly increased your odds of winning, you're actually playing only .1185% of all the combos.

How can I calculate odds?

Dawn32 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:17:39 GMT

If I'm playing the Cash 25 and I'm playing a wheel where I choose 10 numbers (instead of 6), how much does that increase my odds of winning?

The WV lottery site says that the odds of matching 6 are 1:177,100. But what if I choose 10 numbers and only have to match 6