General Discussion

davekriss

(5,425 posts)

35. 10 tickets

Fri Mar 30, 2012, 03:16 PM

Mar 2012

The odds of winning the second level prize in powerball ($1 million) is about 5 million to 1. 10 tickets reduces those odds to around 500,000 to 1, which is better than the odds of being dealt a Royal Flush in poker (odds are something like 659,000:1).

I used to be a regular poker player. I've been dealt 2 Royal Flushes in my lifetime (and many straight flushes and 4 of a kind). It happens. So occasionally I take a $10 flyer out on a million buck payout, then dream of winning the hundred million+ payout for a few days.

The interim dreaming of what we'll do with the money if we win is highly therapeutic!

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

63 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Poor people spend 9% of income on lottery tickets; here's why [View all] Johnny Rico Mar 2012 OP

I've bought one Aerows Mar 2012 #1

They use another standard of probability/statistics. no_hypocrisy Mar 2012 #2

They're desperate and who could blame them? cynatnite Mar 2012 #3

Here's how I do the math: Duer 157099 Mar 2012 #4

That's exactly what I told my SO ecstatic Mar 2012 #6

And if you do play (buying 1 ticket), theres a 99.9999995% chance you won't win. Johnny Rico Mar 2012 #11

That's fine, at least it isn't 100% Duer 157099 Mar 2012 #12

This sums it up in video form... Johnny Rico Mar 2012 #15

Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly hooked up during this film thelordofhell Mar 2012 #48

On MSNBC, someone said it's easier to win the lottery than to get bitten by a shark ecstatic Mar 2012 #5

CNN reported that you have an 80x better chance of dying of mad cow disease... pinboy3niner Mar 2012 #13

The analogy I once read was: Blue_Tires Mar 2012 #18

I just did the math...that's *way* more unlikely. Johnny Rico Mar 2012 #30

10 tickets davekriss Mar 2012 #35

Exactly. laundry_queen Mar 2012 #47

Sometimes I think that the hope of winning a jackpot is more plausible LanternWaste Mar 2012 #7

It's a little thrill in a boring daily slog. wickerwoman Mar 2012 #8

I will be buying 5 after work Marrah_G Mar 2012 #9

When it gets up there nadinbrzezinski Mar 2012 #10

I'm buying one DefenseLawyer Mar 2012 #14

I bought a couple this time guitar man Mar 2012 #16

Some people have luck with the numbers. I don't play, but when my husband was alive he did notadmblnd Mar 2012 #27

I've never had much luck at anything guitar man Mar 2012 #39

you see that dark could up there? notadmblnd Mar 2012 #44

Yup guitar man Mar 2012 #45

9% ? HooptieWagon Mar 2012 #17

Perhaps $13000 is the maximum income to be considered "poor", Johnny Rico Mar 2012 #21

Well you know... ellisonz Mar 2012 #24

....and this is the entire point of this little exercise. Ikonoklast Mar 2012 #33

650.00 / 13000.00 = 0.05 = 5% ieoeja Mar 2012 #46

So eager to slam the OP you fail to read his post right above you that explains the math mathematic Mar 2012 #49

Post removed Post removed Mar 2012 #51

I DID say "eager" didn't I? mathematic Mar 2012 #53

lmao geardaddy Mar 2012 #52

net income dmallind Mar 2012 #29

The average income for all households with less than $13,000 will be well under $13,000 muriel_volestrangler Mar 2012 #31

I also just bought five lottery tickets, the first in several years, and wonder if anyone indepat Mar 2012 #19

i play b/c someone WILL win this pot of money and i want that person to be me although leftyohiolib Mar 2012 #20

They wouldn't have nearly as many people playing if that was the case. Johnny Rico Mar 2012 #22

yeah you might be correct didnt think of that b/c id crap myself if i won 1million leftyohiolib Mar 2012 #34

My pet peeve when the lottery gets a large jackpot DefenseLawyer Mar 2012 #23

It definitely isn't. (nt) Posteritatis Mar 2012 #41

Please don't punch him. It sounds like my brother. nt NoGOPZone Mar 2012 #43

Those with lots of money invest in the stock lottery; those with smaller resources play the numbers. HiPointDem Mar 2012 #25

Anyone know where the $645 statistic comes from? muriel_volestrangler Mar 2012 #26

I like to think of the lottery as a tax on people who can't do math. /nt Marr Mar 2012 #28

I personally won't play JonLP24 Mar 2012 #32

For many of them, it's the only chance of becoming wealthy they see Cirque du So-What Mar 2012 #36

+100 HughBeaumont Apr 2012 #56

I normally spend about 5 a year on ileus Mar 2012 #37

With those odds that's a ticket a week for four million years. Speck Tater Mar 2012 #38

You could guarantee a victory MrBig Mar 2012 #40

A small group of people did that with a lottery about ten years back, if I remember correctly. (nt) Posteritatis Mar 2012 #42

It would be a bad investment. Johnny Rico Mar 2012 #54

Math is hard. Codeine Mar 2012 #50

+1000000 stockholmer Apr 2012 #55

It was pointed out when these figures were first publciized that the reporting sucks... Viking12 Apr 2012 #57

I did ask about that in #26 muriel_volestrangler Apr 2012 #58

The "9%" an unwarranted extrapolation from a footnote in the study. Viking12 Apr 2012 #59

Remember the lottery in Orwell's 1984? Ron Obvious Apr 2012 #60

If you believe this story, slampoet Apr 2012 #61

I lol'd nt sudopod Apr 2012 #63

I probably spend $20 per year guardian Apr 2012 #62