In order to Play Powerball in Australia you firstly need to Buy powerball tickets online in the weekly draw which occurs on Thursday nights and then check your Powerball numbers against the latest Powerball results in Australia and in the US.
The current Powerball game matrix was introduced in April 2018 and now consists of selecting seven numbers from 1 to 35 and one Powerball number from 1 to 20. In total eight numbers are drawn every game.
Prior to April 2018 the game matrix saw players select less numbers, six, from a larger pool of 1 to 40, and one Powerball number from 1 to 20.
If you want to play powerball then you need to make sure your entry is in prior to 6:30pm AEDT every Thursday.
Buy Powerball tickets online right here.
In order to win the Division 1 prize pool you have to match all of your seven numbers and one Powerball number with the winning combination drawn on a single game ticket.
Odds of Winning Powerball
Powerball has the highest odds of all of the Australian lottery draws. However, because of this it often has some of the largest jackpots in the country making it one of the most popular lottery games played.
The chances of winning the Powerball lottery are split into nine prize divisions:
| Division | Winning Numbers Required | Odds based on 1 standard game |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 winning numbers plus the Powerball | 1 : 134,490,400 |
| 2 | 7 winning numbers | 1 : 7,078,443 |
| 3 | 6 winning numbers plus the Powerball | 1 : 686,176 |
| 4 | 6 winning numbers | 1 : 36,115 |
| 5 | 5 winning numbers plus the Powerball | 1 : 16,943 |
| 6 | 4 winning numbers plus the Powerball | 1 : 1,173 |
| 7 | 5 winning numbers | 1 : 892 |
| 8 | 3 winning numbers plus the Powerball | 1 : 188 |
| 9 | 2 winning numbers plus the Powerball | 1 : 66 |
Other ways to Play Powerball
In addition to playing a standard ticket by selecting seven numbers plus one Powerball number, you have several other options to play Powerball:
Quickpick
The “quickpick” or “autopick” option (the name depends on the company handling the lottery) is the most straightforward way to play Powerball as the numbers are selected randomly for you. Quickpick entries are available in multiple sets of games.
Systems Entry
A systems entry lets you choose more numbers for each game than the standard six numbers plus one Powerball. With more numbers for the game, your chance of winning dramatically increase. For instance, a System 7 entry means you pick seven numbers instead of the usual six, plus the Powerball. A System 20 lets you select a whopping 20 numbers.
Mark a coupon
If you’d rather play using your own numbers, you can simply mark your numbers (i.e. six regular numbers plus Powerball) on your online coupon. You can play four to 18 game panels in all and up to 50 games when you play online.
PowerHit
To Play Powerball online in Australia using a PowerHit ticket basically guarantees you the winning Powerball, which means all you have to worry about are the six standard winning numbers. Here’s where it gets interesting, you can play a PowerHit system entry online where the Powerball is assured and you pick more numbers each game.
Pick entries
If PowerHit guarantees the winning Powerball, pick entries guarantee one or two of the regular winning numbers. A Pick 5 entry lets you match five numbers instead of the usual six. A Pick 4 entry lets you choose four numbers. Take note that you can also play pick entries on Quickpick tickets and marked coupons.
Top-up
When playing regular games, system entries, or pick entries, you can ask for a “top-up”, which lets you add games in your entry, with the remaining panels randomly generated as standard games.
Multi-week entries
If you want to play Powerball for several weeks, you can always buy a multi-week entry, which let you play the same numbers for up to 10 draws at a time.
Tips for Playing Powerball
To win a division, you need to lower the odds to something more manageable. You can do this in various ways:
- Buy several tickets and choose different combinations of numbers.
- Get a PowerHit system entry like PowerHit System 14 or 15, which assures you the winning Powerball and lets you choose the same amount of numbers (e.g. System 14 for 14 numbers) instead of the usual seven. This can be quite expensive, although your chances of winning a greatly increased.
- Don’t use the exact same seven numbers and Powerball that have been previously drawn as a winner. The chances of that combination winning again are very low.
- Choosing numbers in a particular pattern or shape won’t likely work. The odds of choosing any number combination is hard enough (as you see from the odds listed above), but the possibility of a winning pattern shaped like a cross or pentagon is even less likely.
- Don’t just pick birthday and anniversary dates for your Powerball game numbers. While these dates can be a good place to start when picking your numbers as they have significance to you and may even be “lucky”, if you only do this you will miss out on including any numbers from 32-40.
- If you can’t decide on your numbers, or have too many birthdays and anniversaries to consider, then the easiest option is to just randomly select your numbers and take all emotion out of your selection.
To Purchase your Powerball tickets for Australia click here.
To Purchase your US Powerball tickets and other overseas lotteries click here.