What The Chances Of Winning A Jackpot Actually Looks LikePrev TopicNext Topic

• grwurston

  

  100

  Same digits. Different games.

  United States
  Member #90,245
  April 24, 2010
  16,844 Posts
  Online
  Apr 6, 2026, 4:59 am

  ▲▼

  This link is for the longest word in the English language. 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English

  When wikipedia comes up click on the partial spelling to see the entire word. It's the first one. You might want to use a laptop instead of a phone. 

  It has 189,819 letters. Now imagine each letter being one jackpot combination. 

  MM is 290,472,336 to one. PB is 292,201,338 to one. 

  To have every MM combination you would have to play the entire list 1,530.25954198 times.

  To have every PB combination you would have to play the entire list 1,539.36822973 times.

  

  List Pick 3 singles by low sums, high sums. Separate each sum row by consecutive pair and non consecutive pair combos. These 3 pair groups. 14 17 47, 25 28 58, 36 39 69 are in 63 combos. 54 combos do not have them. Which sums do the 3 pair groups appear and not appear? Look at root sum groups 147, 258, 369. Play accordingly.
• grwurston

  

  100

  Same digits. Different games.

  United States
  Member #90,245
  April 24, 2010
  16,844 Posts
  Online
  Apr 6, 2026, 5:36 am

  ▲▼
  In response to grwurston

  Quote: Originally posted by grwurston on Apr 6, 2026

  This link is for the longest word in the English language. 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English

  When wikipedia comes up click on the partial spelling to see the entire word. It's the first one. You might want to use a laptop instead of a phone. 

  It has 189,819 letters. Now imagine each letter being one jackpot combination. 

  MM is 290,472,336 to one. PB is 292,201,338 to one. 

  To have every MM combination you would have to play the entire list 1,530.25954198 times.

  To have every PB combination you would have to play the entire list 1,539.36822973 times.

  It's quite the visual to see what you are actually up against with one ticket. Good Luck!!!

  

  List Pick 3 singles by low sums, high sums. Separate each sum row by consecutive pair and non consecutive pair combos. These 3 pair groups. 14 17 47, 25 28 58, 36 39 69 are in 63 combos. 54 combos do not have them. Which sums do the 3 pair groups appear and not appear? Look at root sum groups 147, 258, 369. Play accordingly.
• Elizabeth03

  

  Nova Scotia
  Canada
  Member #9,934
  December 27, 2004
  1,636 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 6, 2026, 7:34 am

  ▲▼

  I play the Atlantic 49 in Canada.
• hypersoniq

  

  Pennsylvania
  United States
  Member #1,340
  April 6, 2003
  2,939 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 6, 2026, 9:47 am

  ▲▼

  This is exactly why I would rather play 1 ticket for 2 draws rather than 2 tickets for 1 draw. Also why the powerball double draw is worth the extra $1. You get 2 draws for that one ticket.

  Have an EXCELlent day!
• JustMaybe

  

  us
  Member #228,334
  January 2, 2023
  1,493 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 6, 2026, 4:13 pm

  ▲▼

  Because of that, I always try to buy one ticket for a draw and I sometimes skip drawings all together.

  It's for the same reason that I would attribute a jackpot win purely to luck as opposed to any smart moves that my mind is telling me am making 🤣

  Good luck to my one QP PB ticket for tonight's draw 🙏

  I believe winning the lottery jackpot is a 💯 % factor of luck.

  May Fortuna, goddess of chance or lot vindicate me.
• grwurston

  

  100

  Same digits. Different games.

  United States
  Member #90,245
  April 24, 2010
  16,844 Posts
  Online
  Apr 6, 2026, 4:48 pm

  ▲▼
  In response to JustMaybe

  Quote: Originally posted by JustMaybe on Apr 6, 2026

  Because of that, I always try to buy one ticket for a draw and I sometimes skip drawings all together.

  It's for the same reason that I would attribute a jackpot win purely to luck as opposed to any smart moves that my mind is telling me am making 🤣

  Good luck to my one QP PB ticket for tonight's draw 🙏

  If every adult in the U.S. approx 276.8 million, each bought a different combination. That would still leave 72.5 times the entire list for MM, and 81.1 times the entire list for PB, of unsold combinations. 

  With those kinds of odds I rarely play.

  

  List Pick 3 singles by low sums, high sums. Separate each sum row by consecutive pair and non consecutive pair combos. These 3 pair groups. 14 17 47, 25 28 58, 36 39 69 are in 63 combos. 54 combos do not have them. Which sums do the 3 pair groups appear and not appear? Look at root sum groups 147, 258, 369. Play accordingly.
• JustMaybe

  

  us
  Member #228,334
  January 2, 2023
  1,493 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 6, 2026, 5:19 pm

  ▲▼
  In response to grwurston

  Quote: Originally posted by grwurston on Apr 6, 2026

  If every adult in the U.S. approx 276.8 million, each bought a different combination. That would still leave 72.5 times the entire list for MM, and 81.1 times the entire list for PB, of unsold combinations. 

  With those kinds of odds I rarely play.

  For every $100 that I spend on the lottery, I fund my retirement accounts with $2,000.

  The lottery is a hope and a dream.

  My retirement accounts, that's the proven investment that works, I don't gamble about that.

  I believe winning the lottery jackpot is a 💯 % factor of luck.

  May Fortuna, goddess of chance or lot vindicate me.
• Coin Toss

  

  Zeta Reticuli Star System
  United States
  Member #30,469
  January 17, 2006
  12,515 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 6, 2026, 11:01 pm

  ▲▼

  Good for you. Not everybody can do that, especially for that kind of amount but it's a good idea.
• KY Floyd

  

  NY
  United States
  Member #23,834
  October 16, 2005
  5,128 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 7, 2026, 1:20 am

  ▲▼

  Here's a visualization for you. Due to their shape, M&Ms in a box take up about 0.0574 cubic inches per M&M. 292,201,338 M&Ms would have a volume of 16,758,606.15 cubic inches. There are 1,788 cubic inches in a cubic foot, so that's 9,372.8 cubic feet of M&Ms. There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, so that's 347.14 cubic yards of M&Ms.

  Put them in eleven 30 cubic yard dumpsters and most of the rest in a 15 yard dumpster. Fill a 2 yard dumpster, and the rest will almost fill a 30 gallon garbage can.

  Now pick that one special M&M out of your collection.
• grwurston

  

  100

  Same digits. Different games.

  United States
  Member #90,245
  April 24, 2010
  16,844 Posts
  Online
  Apr 7, 2026, 5:37 am

  ▲▼
  In response to KY Floyd

  Quote: Originally posted by KY Floyd on Apr 7, 2026

  Here's a visualization for you. Due to their shape, M&Ms in a box take up about 0.0574 cubic inches per M&M. 292,201,338 M&Ms would have a volume of 16,758,606.15 cubic inches. There are 1,788 cubic inches in a cubic foot, so that's 9,372.8 cubic feet of M&Ms. There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, so that's 347.14 cubic yards of M&Ms.

  Put them in eleven 30 cubic yard dumpsters and most of the rest in a 15 yard dumpster. Fill a 2 yard dumpster, and the rest will almost fill a 30 gallon garbage can.

  Now pick that one special M&M out of your collection.

  Here's another comparison. 

  For MM, One grain of salt out of 41,498.048 pounds of table salt.

  For PB, One grain of salt out of 41,743.048286 pounds of table salt.

  Table Salt lb to gr converter for culinary teaching and diet. You may have to toggle.

  traditionaloven.com/culinary-arts/cooking/table-salt/convert-pound-lb-to-grain-gr.html

  No matter how you look at it the chances of winning are astronomical. But not impossible for around 4-6 or so players a year for each game. When it's your lucky it's your lucky day. 

  

  List Pick 3 singles by low sums, high sums. Separate each sum row by consecutive pair and non consecutive pair combos. These 3 pair groups. 14 17 47, 25 28 58, 36 39 69 are in 63 combos. 54 combos do not have them. Which sums do the 3 pair groups appear and not appear? Look at root sum groups 147, 258, 369. Play accordingly.
• LottoBux

  

  25

  Ontario
  Canada
  Member #109,236
  April 9, 2011
  61,309 Posts
  Offline
  Apr 7, 2026, 8:38 am

  ▲▼
  In response to grwurston

  Quote: Originally posted by grwurston on Apr 6, 2026

  This link is for the longest word in the English language. 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English

  When wikipedia comes up click on the partial spelling to see the entire word. It's the first one. You might want to use a laptop instead of a phone. 

  It has 189,819 letters. Now imagine each letter being one jackpot combination. 

  MM is 290,472,336 to one. PB is 292,201,338 to one. 

  To have every MM combination you would have to play the entire list 1,530.25954198 times.

  To have every PB combination you would have to play the entire list 1,539.36822973 times.

  I like the 9th longest word for some reason,

     Demi semi hemi demi semi quaver (26 letters)

  Then there's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters) at number 5 for any Mary Poppins fans out there.

                       
  
• IAmABadOne

  

  Cambridge, Ohio
  United States
  Member #232,684
  June 8, 2023
  98 Posts
  Online
  Apr 10, 2026, 7:54 am

  ▲▼

  Here is another interesting comparison using seconds for each unique jackpot combination...

  We will definitely need to check our calendars and watches very carefully in order to choose correctly.

  MM: 290,472,336 Combinations with one combination for each second will be: 9 Years, 2 Months, 16 Days, 5 Hours, 25 Minutes, 36 Seconds.

  PB: 292,201,338 Combinations with one combination for each second will be: 9 Years, 3 Months, 6 Days, 23 Hours, 2 Minutes, 18 Seconds.

  Will my $39.95 Timex help me pick the right second or do I need to upgrade to something like Steve McQueen's old Rolex for this task...?

  Good luck and best wishes finding that one particular second!

  I Am A Bad One, But I am not bad all of the time...
• grwurston

  

  100

  Same digits. Different games.

  United States
  Member #90,245
  April 24, 2010
  16,844 Posts
  Online
  Apr 10, 2026, 5:30 pm

  ▲▼
  In response to IAmABadOne

  Quote: Originally posted by IAmABadOne on Apr 10, 2026

  Here is another interesting comparison using seconds for each unique jackpot combination...

  We will definitely need to check our calendars and watches very carefully in order to choose correctly.

  MM: 290,472,336 Combinations with one combination for each second will be: 9 Years, 2 Months, 16 Days, 5 Hours, 25 Minutes, 36 Seconds.

  PB: 292,201,338 Combinations with one combination for each second will be: 9 Years, 3 Months, 6 Days, 23 Hours, 2 Minutes, 18 Seconds.

  Will my $39.95 Timex help me pick the right second or do I need to upgrade to something like Steve McQueen's old Rolex for this task...?

  Good luck and best wishes finding that one particular second!

  Don't fall asleep.  You might miss the second with the winning combo. 

  

  List Pick 3 singles by low sums, high sums. Separate each sum row by consecutive pair and non consecutive pair combos. These 3 pair groups. 14 17 47, 25 28 58, 36 39 69 are in 63 combos. 54 combos do not have them. Which sums do the 3 pair groups appear and not appear? Look at root sum groups 147, 258, 369. Play accordingly.