Can you really win Powerball every week? Absolutely. Can you win Powerball's First Prize every week? Absolutely not.
The First Step is an exercise in reality. There are 195,249,054 combinations in Powerball and the only way to guarantee First Prize is to play every single one of them. Assuming you can not afford to play 195,249,054 games, let's move on.
We therefore need to look at what we can achieve within a reasonable budget.
Looking at the five main Powerball numbers alone, there 5,006,386 combinations possible. So the question is, how many games are required to make sure that we at least three of those five winning Powerball numbers together. The answer is 1,650, so when you take into consideration the prize you would be paid for a three number win, this is a non-starter.
The next question is, how many games to ensure you get a 2-number Powerball prize? This is a much more satisfactory position, with just 90 games required.
However, there is another alternative.
To ensure you get several minor Powerball prizes, I suggest playing three sets of 20 numbers, each one with a two-from-two Guarantee. This is how it works. If you play all 59 numbers and one of them a second time - in three sets of 20 numbers - then least one of those sets must contain two winning Powerball numbers - because you have all five winning numbers split over just 3 groups.
If your split over the five winning Powerball numbers is 2-2-1, then you have two groups that will pay out at least two prizes - and it could be more.
If your split is 3-1-1, then you have one group that has multiple Powerball prizes.
These are the two worse splits - the best of course is 5-0-0, with other possibilities including 4-1-0 and 3-2-0.
With 72 games in total, you can mark all 39 Powerballs once, and most twice. This add at least a "Powerball Only" win to your guaranteed payout, better if you have some of the 5 main balls with the Powerball.
Most people play in a disorganised way that does not guarantee any return.
By playing in an organised way, you may not be able to guarantee first prize, but you can guarantee that you will have a win of some kind. These Powerball Systems guarantee several smaller prizes to offset the cost of playing, while you wait for the Powerball Jackpot.
By guaranteeing two winning Powerball numbers together, you are 40% of the way towards getting all five main numbers. This organised response also guarantees that you reduce the cost of playing by regular small wins.
Three sets of 24 games requires 72 games in total, so it is cheaper to play than the 90 game Powerball system that absolutely guarantees two from five over the whole 59 numbers. Which will give you the better return varies, according to which winning Powerball numbers come out, but my preference is for three sets of 24 games, each with a two-from-two guarantee. In addition, I would make sure I played all of the Powerballs and most of them twice.
A second advantage is that anyone who can afford to play only the 24-game Powerball System, can still choose 20 numbers and play those, knowing that if they get as few as two winning numbers they still have a guaranteed return. In addition, if they play 24 different Powerballs, they have a 24-in-39 chance of a prize from getting the correct Powerball.
In relation to playing within your means, it is strongly recommend that you get together with a group of friends and reduce the overall cost to an individual cost that everyone can afford. For some people, even a 24 game Powerball System will mean joining together with friends.
We cannot stress too much the importance of playing within your budget; please do not try to buy a Powerball win, it simply does not work.
