How to Play Powerball

How to play

Powerball is a lotto game which is a combined large jackpot game and a cash game. Every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, we draw five white balls out of a drum with 59 balls and one red ball out of a drum with 39 red balls.

Players win by matching one of the 9 Ways to Win. The jackpot (won by matching all five white balls in any order and the red PowerBall) is either an annuitized prize paid out over 29 years (30 payments) or a lump sum payment. Each ticket costs $1. If the winner chooses the annuity, the annual payment will be increased each year by the percentage set out in the Powerball game rules.

The second prize (won by matching five white balls in any order) is $200,000 paid in cash and any time you match the red PowerBall, you win. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are better than 1 in 37.

Power Play is a special feature that allows a winner to multiply the original prize amount. Powerball players can multiply their Powerball prizes by 2,3,4 or 5 times (does not include the jackpot). We pick the Power Play multiplier number, at random before each draw. A player must choose the Power Play option when they buy their Powerball ticket, and then the ticket must match one of the non-jackpot prizes before the multiplier takes effect.

How to win

Match	Prize	Odds
5+1	Grand Prize	1 in 146,107,962.00
5	$200,000	1 in 3,563,608.83
4+1	$10,000	1 in 584,431.85
4	$100	1 in 14,254.44
3+1	$100	1 in 11,927.18
3	$7	1 in 290.91
2+1	$7	1 in 745.45
1+1	$4	1 in 126.88
1 PowerBall	$3	1 in 68.96

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 36.61.

The odds presented here are based on a $1 play (rounded to two decimal places).