Brain Teasers
Lottery Odds
Probability
Probability puzzles require you to weigh all the possibilities and pick the most likely outcome.Probability
What are your odds of winning the lottery?
Answer
It depends on how many numbers are in your game.In Ireland, there are 42 numbers (I think!)
You have to pick the six winners as follows:
The first ball can be any of the six:
Your chance of getting the first ball is:
6/42
Next ball can be any of the 5 left, but the number of balls is gone down by one:
5/41
and so on. 4/40, 3/39, 2/38, 1/37
so its 6*5*4*3*2*1/42*41*40*39*38*37
=720/3776965920
That works out at 1/5,245,786
We pay 2euro for a chance to win maybe 2million euro (estimate) so you can see how the money is made.
If one person wins, then chances are there are about 5 million people playing (statistically) 10 million euro raised.
Although there are other prizes given out for match 5 numbers etc.
For your lottery you can follow the same pattern to work out your odds!
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Comments
It should be How do you go about figuring your odds in the lottery?
it all depends because if u pick all of the same numbers it would be less likly or if you never get a lottery ticket then ur odds are 0. so this is really a stupid teaser
I agree with all of you....
oh haha pink. I think it's good!
Aug 31, 2002
So what is the answer then? Yhe second line of your answer states "In Ireland, there are 42 numbers (I think!)" how can you possibly base a puzzle on the words "I THINK". Straight away the teaser is at fault, because you don't understand the subject you are talking about. over all the teaser does not tell you what your chances of winning the lottery, only how to work out the odds for yourself, so not so much as a teaser but more of a piece of shared information.
I'm not quite sure how you formulate a teaser out of "what are your odds of winning the lottery?" It seems like a very open subject.
I live in the nwod edispu part of the world. We call a lottery when you buy a ticket and it is drawn. There are 100 000 tickets and someone must win. P = 1/100 000.
The other thing is called Lotto/Powerball/Pools/Scratchies depending on who is ripping off the poor gamblers anonymous and they all have rules designed to obfuscate the fact that 99.9% (I made it up) of all people lose. Since I'm not a loser I don't play. Since I don't play, I don't know the rules. Can we please have teasers that you can attempt without looking up the answer first to try and figure out what it's about!
The other thing is called Lotto/Powerball/Pools/Scratchies depending on who is ripping off the poor gamblers anonymous and they all have rules designed to obfuscate the fact that 99.9% (I made it up) of all people lose. Since I'm not a loser I don't play. Since I don't play, I don't know the rules. Can we please have teasers that you can attempt without looking up the answer first to try and figure out what it's about!
A well regarded economist once said that buying a lottery ticket does not change your odds of winning the lottery.
i never buy a lottery, i'm under 17. how do i know the odds if you didn't give a complete question?!
Got it right, said "It depends..."
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