📖 How to play Powerball
Powerball is a multi-state lottery game run by the Multi-State Lottery Association. It is sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — not in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada or Utah.
Four steps to play
1Pick your numbers
Choose 5 different white balls from 1 to 69 and 1 red Powerball from 1 to 26 — or ask for a Quick Pick and let the terminal choose at random.
2Pay $2 per play
Each line costs $2. Add Power Play for $1 more to multiply non-jackpot prizes, and Double Play (where offered) for $1 more to enter a second drawing.
3Watch the drawing
Drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Sales usually close 1–2 hours earlier, depending on the state.
4Check and claim
Compare your ticket with the winning numbers. Small prizes can be cashed at a retailer; larger ones are claimed at a lottery office in the state where you bought the ticket.
The nine ways to win
| You match | Prize | With Power Play (max) | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 + 🔴 | Jackpot | — | 1 : 292,201,338 |
| 5 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | 1 : 11,688,054 |
| 4 + 🔴 | $50,000 | $500,000 | 1 : 913,129 |
| 4 | $100 | $1,000 | 1 : 36,525 |
| 3 + 🔴 | $100 | $1,000 | 1 : 14,494 |
| 3 | $7 | $70 | 1 : 580 |
| 2 + 🔴 | $7 | $70 | 1 : 701 |
| 1 + 🔴 | $4 | $40 | 1 : 92 |
| 0 + 🔴 | $4 | $40 | 1 : 38 |
Overall odds of winning any prize: 1 in 24.87.
광고
Power Play
For $1 extra per play, a multiplier of 2×, 3×, 4×, 5× or 10× is drawn before each main drawing and multiplies every prize except the jackpot. Match 5 with Power Play always pays $2 million, and the 10× multiplier is only in play when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less.
Double Play
Added in August 2021, Double Play gives your same numbers a second chance in a separate drawing held right after the main one, with a top prize of $10 million. It costs $1 extra and is offered only in some states.
How the jackpot is paid
Winners choose between the annuity — 30 graduated payments over 29 years, each 5% larger than the one before — and a one-time cash payment, which is smaller. The advertised jackpot is the annuity value. Prizes over $5,000 have 24% federal tax withheld, and state taxes vary.
Estimate your take-home amount →A short history
Powerball’s first drawing was in 1992. The ticket price rose to $2 in 2012, the current 5/69 + 1/26 number matrix started on October 7, 2015, and Monday drawings were added in August 2021. The largest jackpot ever, $2.04 billion, was won with a single ticket sold in California on November 7, 2022.
⚠️ Non-U.S. residents: tickets must be bought in person inside a participating jurisdiction. Buying through overseas resellers may be illegal in your country — in South Korea, for example.