Until a few days ago I thought extra Lotto entries were a good idea.

[dontmissthese]

I thought that buying extra entries would improve the odds markedly.

When I realised the actual math it startled me. I guess you just assume

something and don't bother thinking too hard about it.

No more bone headed behaviour on my part.

Minimum autopick will be my maximum.

[4channel]

Yes, best not to spend too much on them. I've been there too. Now I just get 2 tickets a week using the same numbers. Nice to have the hope that you'll win a million though.

[dontmissthese]

I still feel the pull of buying more tickets when there is a bigger than normal prize

but it's much easier to ignore now.

Essentially, you have almost the same chance with one entry as 1000.

If the odds of winning first prize are 1 in 50,000,000 then:

1 ticket your odds would be 1 in 50,000,000

1000 tickets would improve your odds to 1 in 49,999,000

Not exactly a shoe in...lol

[davewil1964]

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@dontmissthese wrote:

I still feel the pull of buying more tickets when there is a bigger than normal prize

but it's much easier to ignore now.

Essentially, you have almost the same chance with one entry as 1000.

If the odds of winning first prize are 1 in 50,000,000 then:

1 ticket your odds would be 1 in 50,000,000

1000 tickets would improve your odds to 1 in 49,999,000

Not exactly a shoe in...lol

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I suggest you do a course in statistics. Or probability. Or mathematics. Your figures assume that there are 50,000,000 entries. There could be more. Or less. Lotto is not entry limited.

If 1 ticket gives you a 1 in 50,000,000 chance of winning, then 1000 would give you a 1 in 50,000 chance. Unless you are using the same numbers.

Either way, it's loaded in the bank's favour.

[imastawka]

The only statistic that rings true is...if you don't buy a ticket, you've got zero chance of winning.

[davewil1964]

That's the one I work on. The odd Powerball jackpot would make the odds better, except that the number of entries spike with mega-jackpots. Which is why they don't break the bank - the extra mugs buying tickets more than cover the additional cost of the jackpot.

[icyfroth]

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@dontmissthese wrote:

I thought that buying extra entries would improve the odds markedly.

When I realised the actual math it startled me. I guess you just assume

something and don't bother thinking too hard about it.

No more bone headed behaviour on my part.

Minimum autopick will be my maximum.

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Same!

[imastawka]

Good luck everybody.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/powerball-jackpots-to-20million-for-the-fourth-time-this-ye...

[davewil1964]

The odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 76,676,600, so until the jackpot goes over that, it's a mugs game.

Lotto is the best at around 1 in 8 million, but they rarely pay out that much.

[dontmissthese]

If 1 ticket gives you a 1 in 50,000,000 chance of winning, then 1000 would give you a 1 in 50,000 chance. Unless you are using the same numbers.

That's the goofy way I was looking at it.

Let's take Saturday Lotto as an example.

45 possible numbers and you need 6 to win.

The odds are 1 in 8,145,860 ( the number of possible permutations )

Your selected numbers in a single entry represent 1 of those permutations.

Right, you now have 1 possible permutation covered.

A second entry now has you covered for 1 chance in the remaining permutations

and that is 1 chance in the remaining 8,145,859 permutations.

A third entry.....1 chance in the remaining 8,145,858 permutations.

A fourth entry.....now do you see it ?