How Do You Know What You Want on the Powerball

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Want to buy a lottery ticket so you have a risk to win large in the next Powerball drawing? You can purchase Powerball tickets in-person in 45 states, and y'all can even buy tickets online in some areas. Though any 1 ticket'southward probability of winning the jackpot is depression, as the old saying goes, "Y'all've got to be in it to win it." Ready to test your luck? We'll teach you how to buy Powerball tickets (both in-person and online) and play the game.

1. 1

   Find Powerball tickets at a drugstore, gas station, or grocery store. You can buy tickets at a local shop as long as the shop is an authorized lottery retailer–only ask a cashier if they sell Powerball tickets. Notwithstanding, yous can only buy Powerball tickets in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.^[one] If you're not a resident of 1 of those states or territories, you can nevertheless play if you buy your ticket in a Powerball land. You don't even have to be a U.S. citizen to play and win the Powerball.

   • However, if you are not a U.Due south. denizen and you win a substantial jackpot, the IRS deducts a apartment rate of thirty% from your winnings. U.Southward. citizens are subject field to a 25% initial deduction, plus state revenue enhancement.^[2]
   • Powerball tickets are not sold in Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Alabama. These states prohibit lotteries by law.
   • Anyone over the age of 18 can play the game.
   • If you'd similar to play with the aforementioned numbers, you can purchase a multi-draw ticket (merely ask the cashier) and pay to employ the same numbers up to 26 times.^[3]

2. 2

   Await for drawings every Mon, Wed, and Saturday nighttime. Drawings happen at 10:59 PM Eastern Time, and yous can cheque the results online.^[4] Powerball ticket sales cut off at least 59 minutes before each drawing, though they may occur earlier. When you buy a Powerball ticket at the store, unless you pay for multiple drawings, information technology is simply valid for the side by side cartoon. In other words, if your Powerball ticket doesn't win, it'south not eligible to win in future drawings, unless you specifically pay for multiple drawings.

   • The more drawings that occur without a jackpot winner, the higher the jackpot gets. Jackpots get-go at a minimum of $20 1000000 and increase each time a drawing occurs without a jackpot winner.^[5]
   • Electric current drawing results are posted to the top of the USA Mega Millions and Powerball website.^[6] Most places where Powerball tickets are sold will also post the most recent draws.

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3. iii

   Purchase Powerball tickets online if it's legal in your region. Type in your country's proper name plus "Powerball" to find the official site for your specific state. At that place's merely one official site per state, and the site will either be run by the state lottery corporation (ex. Kentucky Lottery Corporation) or the government itself (ex. in North Dakota yous can buy tickets from a .gov website run by the state). Avoid buying from third-political party sites that resell official tickets! If you lot don't purchase from an official site, the lottery can refuse to pay out the money if you win.^[seven] As of October, 2021, these states allow you purchase Powerball tickets online:

   • Georgia
   • Illinois
   • Kentucky
   • Michigan
   • New Hampshire
   • North Carolina
   • North Dakota
   • Pennsylvania
   • You must be a resident of that land or territory to purchase a Powerball ticket online.

4. 4

   Understand the goal and winning combos behind Powerball. Powerball is played past selecting six numbers - v numbers between one-69 and ane "Powerball" number between 1-26. Each number is on a special brawl that is randomly selected by a machine during the cartoon. Your ultimate goal is to match every number selected perfectly, which will win y'all the jackpot. However, there are other winning combinations of numbers that will win smaller prizes (which can exist quite lucrative in their own right).

   • Your beginning five white brawl numbers don't have to be in the same order equally the balls that are drawn. Winning numbers win regardless of the lodge they're listed in–for all prizes! Still, the media typically reports numbers from smallest to largest to make it easier to read.
   • However, the final Powerball number must lucifer exactly, and none of the offset five numbers tin can count in place of that final number.^[8]
   • Powerball may intentionally alter the number of balls in play to tweak the odds. In the past, Powerball has reduced the white count from 69 to 59 and reduced the red count from 35 to 26.^[9]
   • Irresolute the number of balls decreased the odds of winning the jackpot, and this change probable created the $1.5 billion jackpot.

5. 5

   Add together on "Power Play" for $1 actress for a shot at multiplying your winnings. A regular Powerball ticket costs $two. All the same, in every state except California, y'all also have the option to play "Ability Play" for $1 more. Power Play increases your winnings for all non-jackpot prizes if you win. As of Oct 2021, prizes for winning tickets with the Power Play improver are subject to a 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x multiplier, selected at random before each drawing. For instance, a $4 prize would become either $8, $12, $sixteen, or $xx with Power Play.

   • The Power Play option is unavailable in California because land laws require that lottery prizes be paid on a pari-mutuel basis.^[10] This means that lottery prizes tin't be set at accented values, simply must fluctuate based on the number of tickets sold and the amount of winning tickets.

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1. 1

   Make full out your ticket. Though Powerball tickets will vary slightly from state to state, the basic method for filling a ticket out is the same everywhere. On your ticket, you'll demand to specify the numbers you desire to bet on, the number of drawings you desire, and whether or non you want the Power Play choice. Follow the guidelines below for filling out a basic ticket:^[11]

   • Make full in the spaces for five numbers from 1-69 and one number from i-26. Usually, Powerball tickets are divided into multiple sections called "boards" which accept rows of multiple-pick fashion bubbles to fill in to choose your numbers. Each lath substantially counts every bit one $2 ticket. In other words, for $2, you tin can fill out one lath on the ticket and bet on a single set of numbers. Each subsequent board filled out costs $two more but allows you to bet on an boosted set of numbers.
   • Indicate for each board whether you'd similar the "Power Play" choice. Each board (except in California) should have a infinite that allows yous to buy a Ability Play for your set of numbers.
   • For random numbers, fill up in the QP space instead of your numbers. "QP" stands for "Quick Pick" - this lets a calculator randomly cull numbers for you.
   • Cull how many drawings you desire. Most tickets take a "Multidraw" section that allows you to pay for multiple drawings. For instance, if you want to bet on your numbers for two back-to-back drawings, fill up in the "ii" space. Each subsequent cartoon costs as much equally an additional ticket.
   • If you make an error on whatsoever board, fill in the "VOID" infinite for that lath. Don't try to erase - instead, marker the board void and make full your numbers in on some other board.
   • When you're finished, pay for your ticket. The clerk will calculate the toll of your ticket based on how many boards and Ability Plays you've selected.
     • For case, if you play five draws on one board with a Power Play and 5 without, you would pay v × 3 + 5 × 2 = $25.

2. 2

   Alternatively, inquire the clerk for a Quick Selection ticket. If you don't want to make full out a lengthy Powerball ticket by hand or you don't care which numbers you bet on, you can usually ask for a Quick Selection ticket instead of the normal Powerball ticket. In this example, a computer will randomly choose your numbers for you as if y'all had filled in the "QP" infinite for a board on the normal ticket.

3. 3

   Check your numbers for Powerball's prize-winning combinations. If the numbers you picked match the numbers fatigued in whatsoever one of nine combinations, you can collect your winnings. Note that the prize amounts below represent base values - Power Play prizes are discipline to a 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x multiplier, selected at random (except for Jackpots, which aren't multiplied, and prizes for matching five white balls, which volition only double). The winning combinations are:

   • Matching simply the ruby brawl: $4 winnings
   • Matching the red ball and ane white ball: $four
   • Matching the ruby-red brawl and ii white balls: $7
   • Matching three white assurance: $7
   • Matching the ruby brawl and 3 white balls: $100
   • Matching iv white balls: $100
   • Matching the cherry brawl and four white balls: $50,000
   • Matching five white assurance: $one,000,000
   • Matching the carmine ball and five white assurance: Jackpot!
   • Notation: prizes differ in California because state law requires lottery prizes to be awarded on a pari-mutuel basis (where the payout depends on the pool of bets, instead of a fixed payout).^[12]

4. 4

   Collect your winnings if your numbers match up. Small prizes can be claimed directly from the vendor y'all bought the ticket from, while larger prizes require official verification. If your winnings are less than $600, simply go to the lottery retailer with your ticket to claim your winnings. If your winnings are over $600, go to a lottery district part to present your ticket. The precise procedures for claiming large prizes differ from state to state - you may need to fill out a claim form, etc.

   • Powerball tickets do expire. The time window you have to claim a prize differs from country to land - from ninety days to a full year.
   • If you tin't make it to the vendor or lottery office for some reason (for instance, if you've left the country you lot bought the ticket in), information technology's legal to mail your ticket to the land lottery office.
   • Powerball provides a map that links you to state lottery pages, which will have more specific information well-nigh claiming prizes in your state.
   • Powerball ready a world record jackpot of $ane.586 billion on January 13, 2016, and that record still holds in 2021.

5. five

   Choose a payout option for jackpot prizes. Congratulations, you lot won the jackpot! The only question remaining before you retire is this: how would y'all like your money? Powerball jackpot winners have ii options for receiving their cash–they can receive the entire prize at once in a lump sum, or they can receive it every bit an annuity–in other words, in yearly installments. Choosing which prize to take is a complicated conclusion that will differ based on your personal financial state of affairs. Taking the greenbacks equally a lump sum will give you lots of money upwards forepart, so it may be a good idea if yous have a dream purchase or investment you'd like to make immediately. The annuity option invests the cash winnings, gives you your first installment immediately, then gives subsequent payments each twelvemonth for 29 years (plus interest), which is a ameliorate situation for long-term stability.

   • Note that Powerball winnings are bailiwick to federal and/or state income taxes. Considering of this, the annuity choice volition net you more than money in the long term - non only volition yous receive interest on your winnings, simply each year you'll but have to pay taxes on about 1/30th of your full prize, meaning more of your prize volition be taxed at a lower bracket. On the other paw, with a large lump sum payment, you can expect to pay up to well-nigh half of your winnings in taxes, depending on your country's income tax rules.

6. half dozen

   Learn your Powerball odds. Similar any lottery, Powerball's jackpot odds are very slim. Many avid Powerball players consider the excitement of going against the odds to exist role of the fun. To brand an educated decision when buying Powerball tickets, consult the official odds listed below, which are for a unmarried random $ii ticket:^[13]

   • Matching simply the red ball: 1 in 38.32
   • Matching the red ball and one white ball: ane in 91.98
   • Matching the ruby ball and two white balls: ane in 701.33
   • Matching 3 white assurance: one in 579.76
   • Matching the red ball and three white balls: one in 14,494.xi
   • Matching four white balls: 1 in 36,525.17
   • Matching the red ball and four white balls: 1 in 913,129.18
   • Matching v white balls: 1 in 11,688,053.52
   • Matching the cherry ball and five white balls: 1 in 292,201,338.00
   • Overall odds of winning any prize at all: i in 24.87

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Add New Question

• Question

  Can not-US citizens play and win the lottery?

  

  Yes, non-United states citizens tin play and win. Nevertheless, the tax withheld will be slightly unlike depending on your country of origin.

• Question

  Later on I purchase a ticket, tin can it be changed from annuity to greenbacks option?

  

  Federal guidelines suggest that if you are a jackpot prize winner merely did not cull the cash pick at the time of buy, y'all will accept ane terminal chance to cull the cash option. However, not all states follow this guideline. Check with your state lottery officials.

• Question

  What happens if I have an annuity and dice before all of the installments accept been paid?

  

  If you dice before all the installments have been paid, your designated beneficiaries will go on to receive the annually-scheduled payments.

• Question

  Doe the numbers have to be drawn in the same gild equally I choice them?

  

  No, they do not.

• Question

  How many numbers do they depict from?

  

  The Powerball team draws five white assurance from a pulsate containing 69 white balls, and one red ball from a container of 26 cerise balls.

• Question

  Can I play a number more than once on a ticket?

  

  No.

• Question

  Is there a payoff for matching the Powerball number only?

  

  Yep. $iv payout, or $12 with Ability Play.

• Question

  What do I win if match i number plus the cerise ball?

  

  Y'all get $4 without the Power Play option. If you practise become the Power Play option, yous can become $8, $12, $16, or $twenty, depending on what multiplier was selected for that drawing.

• Question

  What time do I need to buy a powerball ticket past if I live in California?

  

  Powerball drawings occur every Midweek and Saturday night at x:59 PM Eastern fourth dimension. Powerball ticket sales cut off at least 59 minutes earlier each drawing, so you would need to buy it past 7:00 PM. You can purchase them whenever you lot want on other days.

• Question

  What if more than than one person wins?

  

  If more than one person wins the jackpot, the prize is as divided among the winners. All other prizes, from $1,000,000 down to $4, are fixed prize amounts, and are paid in full to each winner.

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Article Summary X

To play Powerball, y'all must be 18 years of age or older and live in i of the 43 eligible U.s.a. states, the District of Columbia, or the United states Virgin Islands. If you lot're eligible, you can purchase a ticket at whatever authorized lottery retailer, like a local drugstore, gas station, or grocery shop that sells lottery tickets, for $two. When you buy a ticket, you'll choose six numbers—5 numbers between 1 and 69 and 1 number between 1 and 26. The goal of the game is to accept your numbers friction match the numbers on the balls that are randomly selected during the Powerball cartoon. If all of your numbers match the drawn numbers, you win the jackpot! Your first 5 numbers don't need to be in the same order as the numbers that are drawn, but your sixth number (the Powerball number), must lucifer the number on the red ball. Even if all of your numbers aren't drawn, you still accept a chance to win smaller prizes. If you match just the red ball or the red ball and one white ball, you win $four. If y'all match the ruby-red ball and two white balls or merely iii white balls, you win $7. Matching the crimson brawl and 3 white balls or only four white balls wins you $100. Matching the carmine ball and 4 white assurance wins $50,000, and matching 5 white assurance wins $1,000,000. When you're filling out your ticket, in that location will be a "Power Play" option for $1 actress. With the Ability Play addition, whatsoever non-jackpot prize you win volition be multiplied by a 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x multiplier, selected at random before each drawing. You too have the selection to cull "Quick Selection," or "QP" on your ticket to have the computer randomly assign yous numbers instead of choosing your ain numbers if you'd like. Each ticket is adept for one drawing, although you can fill out the "Multidraw" section on your ticket if you want to pay for multiple drawings. In that case, your ticket is valid for the number of drawings you paid for. Once y'all take your ticket, tune in to the next Powerball drawing to come across if y'all won. Powerball drawings occur every Wed and Sabbatum night at 10:59 PM Eastern Time. To acquire how to tell if you won other prizes based on the numbers you chose, keep reading!

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