How many numbers to win money in powerball

With a $1.4 billion Powerball lottery up for grabs, even those who don't normally play the lottery are throwing their hats in the ring. 

For the uninitiated Powerball players who may have impulsively purchased a ticket, we decided to break down all the possible ways you can win. You know, just in case. 

First, the basics. The Powerball lotto is made up of 6 total numbers randomly selected twice per week. Every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST, a live drawing is held. All the numbers are printed on white or red balls, and placed into an automated machine which spits out the winning digits.

The first 5 numbers (white) are between 1 and 69. The final number (red) is called the Powerball. It can be anywhere between 1 and 26. 

When purchasing a ticket, players can select all 6 numbers themselves or do a "quick pick" and receive a randomly generated set of numbers. Tickets are $2 each, but you can pay an extra $1 at the time of purchase to upgrade your ticket to "Power Play."

The "Power Play" add-on means your cash prize will, at minimum, double if you have a winning ticket for anything other than the grand prize jackpot.

So, what exactly are the winning tickets (aside from the jackpot)? The possible winning tickets and their cash prizes are as follows:

• Match all 5 white numbers only — $1 million
• Match 4 out of 5 white numbers + Powerball — $50,000
• Match 4 white numbers only — $100
• Match 3 white numbers + Powerball — $100
• Match 3 white numbers only — $7
• Match 2 white numbers + Powerball — $7
• Match 1 white number + Powerball — $4
• Powerball only — $4

The "Power Play" bonus is announced at the drawing time, and does not apply to the jackpot winnings. If you've matched all 5 white numbers and selected "Power Play" at the time of your ticket purchase, you will win $2 million (instead of the standard $1 million). For all other prizes, the "Power Play" bonus with either be 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x your winnings. 

In the most recent drawing from January 9, Powerball announced there were 28 tickets sold with all 5 white numbers. The winners of the $1 million prize have not all claimed their cash yet, but most states give players at least 180 days to come forward. 

Overall odds of winning any of the prizes starting at $4 is 1 in 24.87. On the off-chance you do take home a lump sum, don't forget to hire a lawyer.

The next Powerball drawing takes place Wednesday, January 13 at 10:59 p.m. EST. 

UPDATE: The winning numbers drawn Wednesday were 8, 27, 34, 4, 19 — Powerball 10. Reports indicate three jackpot winners will split the grand prize of $1.5 billion. 

Kim is an entertainment correspondent for Insider. She's best known as Insider's resident "Game of Thrones" analyst, and is the author of "The Unofficial Guide to Game of Thrones." Kim has moderated panels for the annual Con of Thrones fan convention and has made guest appearances on podcasts including "Night's Cast," "Bald Move," and "Game of Owns." She is now the co-host of the "House of the Dragon" unofficial recap podcast "A Cast of Kings."Kim also covers other sci-fi and fantasy series, including "Stranger Things," "Westworld" and more. H Kim graduated from Hunter College with a degree in cultural anthropology.

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Powerball is a multi-state lottery in the United States that only does not operate in five states of the United States.

Since 1992, it replaced the Lotto America lottery and became the first lottery game to use two drums to draw winners.

One drum contains 69 white balls, while the other drum contains 26 red balls. Only one red ball is drawn, and that red ball is called Powerball.

Now, Powerball offers a jackpot or prize, which increases every time there is a drawing where no jackpot winning ticket was sold.

The key to win

To win the jackpot, whoever participates by buying a ticket must match all five white balls, plus the red Powerball.

When purchasing a ticket, a participant must select five numbers, which are drawn from the first drum with the white balls, and one Powerball number.

In this sense, the winning Powerball number will be drawn from the second drum with the red balls.

The order of the first five Powerball numbers does not affect your chances of winning. If you choose the Powerball numbers 1 3 9 13 17 and 6, and the winning numbers are 17 9 1 3 13 (6), you will still win the jackpot. However, you must match the Powerball to win the jackpot.

To win a Powerball prize, you only have to correctly pick a single number: the red Powerball.

Basic Powerball payouts

5 correct white balls and the Powerball: Jackpot (starts at $40 million, no upper limit).

5 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $1.000.000

4 correct white balls and the Powerball: $50,000,000

4 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $100,000,000

3 correct white balls and the Powerball: $100

3 correct white balls, but no Powerball: $7

2 correct white balls and the Powerball: $7

1 correct white ball and the Powerball: $4

No white balls, only the Powerball: $4

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