Do you wait for the PowerBall to get to a certain amount?

Reply #24

TheGameGrl — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 01:00:14 GMT

My odds are the same whether its a high jackpot or not. My tickets are qp so I figure they already know which balls NOT to pull . I tell all my associates what numbers are on my $5 play ticket and advise them NOT to play those numbers!

Luckily I am also in a small group pool each week and we usually break even by the end of the weekly plays.

Its discerning when I hear that some folks are only in the game for the BIG jackpot amount and anything less is meager. Give me 10k, Give me 1 k..... [ More ]

Reply #23

scorpio — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:11:43 GMT

ok thanks,same here in tri states,qp waste of time.i'd like to see some western states qps though.

Reply #22

hypersoniq — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:35:56 GMT

Not really. I did better when I took the time to analyze the numbers... trying to get back into doing that now.

No point in posting a QP, PA's RNG's aren't exactly known for spitting out big winners.

Reply #21

scorpio — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:25:13 GMT

hyp,do you win quite often with a qp,and do you post it online,for everyone

Reply #20

hypersoniq — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 16:52:07 GMT

I have one ticket for every draw.

I used to play more, but now it's just one QP with the powerplay.

On the occasion that I have some system, I will replace the QP with that line, but for the past 8 months I'm between systems so it's just the QP and it doesn't matter what the jackpot value is.

I have one ticket for tonight's 20,000,000 I had one ticket for the 240,000,000. I'll have one ticket the next time it gets big...

I like this better, I know my entire lottery budget for the y... [ More ]

Reply #19

scorpio — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 15:53:50 GMT

i figure 50,000,000 people buy 1 dollar for several weeks after a big one goes,so the lottery just puts it up 5 million for awhile,and adds 45 million to their coffers

Reply #18

CASH Only — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 15:01:51 GMT

I wait until PB is over $100 million (usually.) If I buy below that, I add PowerPlay. If I lived in Connecticut I would play more often.

Reply #17

KY Floyd — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 02:09:00 GMT

Of course the odds of somebody winning are higher when more people play, but what does that do for me? It certainly doesn't increase my chances of winning, and I play the lottery because I hope I will win. There are two outcomes I want to see when I buy a ticket. Option 1 is for me to win the jackpot. Option 2 is for nobody to win so I can have a chance at a bigger jackpot. The most desirable scenario for option 1 is that it comes after a dozen or so draws resulting in option 2. Somebody else... [ More ]

Reply #16

guesser — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 05:13:43 GMT

Here are your odds:

If you don't play, you can't win... :)

You are correct: each persons' odds are no better the higher the amount gets, or by having more people play, but you cannot deny that it makes sense that the odds of SOMEBODY winning are slightly better when more people are playing, no ?

The only reason I would skip playing a few draws after a jackpot was won was because in the past, the chances of two jackpots hitting in a row was kinda rare - they would usually be at least... [ More ]

Reply #15

KY Floyd — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:11:30 GMT

Geez, how much will it take for you to retire on ? 7-8 mill isn't enough ??

Why spend $10 on a chance to win 7 or 8 million when I can have the same chance at 25 or 50 million for $10? We've had the discussion about your odds not being better when the jackpot is big, but they aren't any better when the jackpot is modest, either. If you're going to spend $n per year on lottery tickets you might as well concentrate your efforts on the bigger jackpots. The only reason I can see for playing e... [ More ]

Reply #14

Pick3forSC — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:57:54 GMT

I wait till PB gets above 80 mill. before i buy my tix. Yes, i can live off the smaller jackpots should i ever be so fortunate to hit one, but i prefer to save my money till it reaches a higher level. I play a fair amount of Bingo also with pretty good results i would rather spend some of my fun money against those much better odds at Bingo for a decent $$ prize than chasing the PB 2 times a week essentially losing more than i win on it.

Reply #13

RJOh — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:48:00 GMT

Since PowerBall is played in neighboring states, I wait until its jackpots is $200M before making a trip out of state to buy tickets, I can play to win a MegaMillions $15M jackpot locally.

Reply #12

mountainman — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:18:39 GMT

Either way, I usually wait for the jackpot to get up to about 25 million, but considering there are about 12 states with mega millions your odds are pretty long. Fun but long.

Reply #11

four4me — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 05:43:02 GMT

i wait for the 200 mil dollar range simply because i don't want to drive to DC every week or so.

when the pot gets big i get extra draws.

Reply #10

guesser — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 05:35:09 GMT

Geez, how much will it take for you to retire on ? 7-8 mill isn't enough ??

But also, if it's been so long since your state won one, don't you think you are coming due ? I remember a time when I didn't want to play because PA had like 4 winners in one year. This stuff all goes in cycles, what goes around, comes around.

Reply #9

JAG331 — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:42:32 GMT

I wait for the annuitized value to reach $70-$80 million before I'll consider playing. This allows for a break from the game, and time to focus on the rest of what life has to offer.

Reply #8

JimmySand9 — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 03:34:27 GMT

I do wait for the jackpot to get up in the 9-figure area simply as a method of budgeting my purchases. Playing every draw can be expensive. And if a better odds game, like Match 6, is up in the I can retire on that range, I won't play Powerball regardless of the jackpot.

That, and the fact that 4 out of the last 7 jackpots have been won in places I'm not even allowed to play Powerball (or as I have referred to them in the past, bigot states ) has really got me irked and thinking You've h... [ More ]

Reply #7

konane — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:08:52 GMT

Reply #6

guesser — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:06:09 GMT

Why wait ?

I can retire on 15 mill just as easily as I can 250 mill, and besides, the lesser the amount, the less number of people playing, the better my chances (not to be confused with 'odds').

Reply #5

rda76 — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:40:57 GMT

i voted no because i have one set of numbers of my own that i play each draw and also participate in an office pool. but i do begin to buy extra quickpick tickets when the jackpot reaches 200m or so.

Reply #4

ryanm — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:58:49 GMT

I play both PB and MM every draw no matter what.

Reply #3

noahproblem — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:30:47 GMT

Usually I wait until the cash value for MM hits $50 million (sometimes I'll play for less if I know I'm about to have a really bad day at work).

For PB I'd wait longer, since I have to take a train (basically adding a $9 round trip surcharge to the cost of playing) to get down to RI.

Reply #2

weshar75 — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 03:18:25 GMT

I do not wait because I like to be in the game for at least one line every drawing that I can. I have to wait for Mega Millions though because weather and gas money and time dictate whether I can go to Washington to play it.-weshar75

Reply #1

LckyLary — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 03:05:27 GMT

The poll question is missing something: does this apply only to people who live in Powerball states? It's a 45 min. trip from here to the PA state line. I have to factor in fuel cost and time cost and sometimes weather conditions. Sometimes I play a few draws ahead just in case there'll be a snowstorm or a projcet to finish. If I am passing through a PB state I'll usually play any jackpot level but mormally I only go play if the PB is much higher than MM or if both MM and PB are 100M plus I like... [ More ]

Do you wait for the PowerBall to get to a certain amount?

Guru101 — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 02:18:03 GMT

There are quite a bit of people who only play the PowerBall when it gets up to a certain amount. I was just curious as too how many of you do this? Also, what is the amount that you wait for it to get to? I myself don't do it. Whether it be $15 Million or $300 Million, either would be nice to me, even after taxes.