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billbled

Winston Salem, NC
United States
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January 31, 2009
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Mar 28, 2009, 5:46 pm

Hi,
I'm trying to understand a math thing in the NC Cash 5 game.

They say the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 575,757

OK - so what if I buy more than one ticket?

What if I spend $20 and buy 20 tickets?

Are my odds then 1 in 28,788 (575,757 divided by 20)?

I've searched the Forums and haven't found the answer to this - just wondering if one of you all knows - I figured someone out there probably does!

Thanks,
Bill
JimmySand9

United States
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July 11, 2003
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Mar 28, 2009, 5:51 pm

Quote: Originally posted by billbled on Mar 28, 2009
Hi,
I'm trying to understand a math thing in the NC Cash 5 game.

They say the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 575,757

OK - so what if I buy more than one ticket?

What if I spend $20 and buy 20 tickets?

Are my odds then 1 in 28,788 (575,757 divided by 20)?

I've searched the Forums and haven't found the answer to this - just wondering if one of you all knows - I figured someone out there probably does!

Thanks,
Bill

Yes, those are your odds. Some people on this board don't get the law of ratios and will disagree with that, but ask any legitimate mathematician and they will tell you that buying 20 tickets for a 5/39 game will give you 1 in 28,787.85 odds for the jackpot.

(insert signature here)
billbled

Winston Salem, NC
United States
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January 31, 2009
7 Posts
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Mar 28, 2009, 6:23 pm

Thanks!
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
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March 24, 2001
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Mar 28, 2009, 6:33 pm

"What if I spend $20 and buy 20 tickets?

Are my odds then 1 in 28,788 (575,757 divided by 20)?"

Only if you buy 20 different combinations.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
billbled

Winston Salem, NC
United States
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January 31, 2009
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Mar 28, 2009, 6:37 pm

Right - I was planning too.

I'm trying to study on this concept of "wheeling" - so each of the 20 lines would be different and individual picks.
Elizabeth03

Nova Scotia
Canada
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December 27, 2004
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Mar 28, 2009, 6:41 pm

I have seen people buy up to 6 tickets at a time, frankly I can't afford to compete with these people, they have more money than I have..

They have a better chance of winning then I do, unless by the small chance that I have the right combination..

I get pretty discouraged with the lottery numbers alot!
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
United States
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March 24, 2001
20,272 Posts
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Mar 28, 2009, 6:53 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Elizabeth03 on Mar 28, 2009
I have seen people buy up to 6 tickets at a time, frankly I can't afford to compete with these people, they have more money than I have..

They have a better chance of winning then I do, unless by the small chance that I have the right combination..

I get pretty discouraged with the lottery numbers alot!

It isn't the player with the most money that wins, it the player with the winning numbers. You're not competing with players who buy more tickets, like them you're trying to guess the right combinations.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
Coin Toss

Zeta Reticuli Star System
United States
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January 17, 2006
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Mar 29, 2009, 1:48 am

Quote: Originally posted by JimmySand9 on Mar 28, 2009
Yes, those are your odds. Some people on this board don't get the law of ratios and will disagree with that, but ask any legitimate mathematician and they will tell you that buying 20 tickets for a 5/39 game will give you 1 in 28,787.85 odds for the jackpot.

Sure. Then why not take it to buying 200 tickets, which by your theory would make the odds only 2878 to 1 (odds are expressed as 2878:1), or better yet, 2,000 tickets would make them merely 287:1, Why not just keep going til you had a "lock"? What's $75,000 when it would take the odds to 7.5:1

NO MATTER HOEW MANY TICKETS YOU BUY EACH TICKET IS UP AGAINST ODDS OF 575,757:1. ONLY ONE SET OF WINNING NUMBERS IS DRAWN. ONE OF 575,757 COMBINATIONS WINS A JACKPOT (and that's if anyone has it). ALL THE OTHERS WIN LOWER (MUCH LOWER) PRIZES OR LOSE.

Only someone seeling tickets or yet another baloney system will try and sell you the hype about reducing the odds. If it worked, people would pool their money or even take out loans and hit a jackpot at will. But if that worked no lottery would offer the game to be played. Don't get sucked in by hype.

Those who run the lotteries love it when players look for consistency in something that's designed not to have any. So many systems, so many theories, so few jackpot winners.

There is one and only one 'proven' system, and that is to book the action. No matter the game, let the players pick their own losers.
time*treat

United States
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March 30, 2005
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Mar 29, 2009, 4:03 am

Quote: Originally posted by billbled on Mar 28, 2009
Hi,
I'm trying to understand a math thing in the NC Cash 5 game.

They say the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 575,757

OK - so what if I buy more than one ticket?

What if I spend $20 and buy 20 tickets?

Are my odds then 1 in 28,788 (575,757 divided by 20)?

I've searched the Forums and haven't found the answer to this - just wondering if one of you all knows - I figured someone out there probably does!

Thanks,
Bill

Each ticket increases your odds of winning, but by less than the amount of each previous ticket did.

2 tickets doubles your chances vs. 1 ticket, but 3 tickets only gives you a 50% boost over 2 tickets.

4 tickets raise your odds by 33% vs. 3 tickets. Diminishing returns, all the way up.

In neo-conned Amerika, bank robs you.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be the name of a convenience store, not a govnoment agency.
diamondpalace

United States
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April 12, 2008
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Mar 29, 2009, 5:09 am

Let's try to get the right numbers, even with 1 ticket you're good to go! :)
elmoo168

United States
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May 12, 2006
28 Posts
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Apr 1, 2009, 5:31 pm

Is there a way to calculate at which point it's no longer worth buying more tickets? What we do in the office is that when MA Megabucks (pick 6 of 42, jackpot odds 1 in 5,245,786) gets high, we pool our money for some tickets. So say we managed to get together $100 for a draw, and some more people want to join and we can possibly get up to $150, I never could figure out if the extra $50 would be worth putting in for that draw, or we should hold off and use the $50 for the next draw (assuming no one has hit the jackpot).

It might be easier to use Mass Cash as an example, it's a pick 5 of 35 game (jackpot odds 1 in 324,632) with the jackpot fixed at $100,000. I know it's ridiculous to buy 324,632 unique tickets to guarantee the jackpot, since it's only $100,000 so I'd always lose, and also not smart to buy 100,000 tickets since I'd win more or less only 1/3 of the time and I only win back my bet.

I definitely don't have enough money to ever get to such a high bet, but I've always wondered when the increase in odds of winning tapers off that it's no longer worth buying extra entries for the same drawing.

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