Games and odds · free tool

Lottery formula calculator: what the maths says

Lottery formulas work on past draws: add the digits, find the gaps, count the numbers that have not appeared. A past draw does not change the next one, so every formula ends by choosing a set like any other. The arithmetic is on the page: a full match is 1 in 1,39,83,816, and it takes 96,92,843 tries before a win is likelier than not.

Tool · runs in your browserNothing is uploaded

Kind of game

Numbers in the pool

Numbers on a ticket

Ticket price (₹)

Tickets you will buy

Prizes your lottery pays, in ₹ (leave 0 where there is no prize)

Prize for matching all 6

Prize for matching 5

Prize for matching 4

Prize for matching 3

Prize for matching 2

The example prizes are built so that a ticket returns about half its price on average: the jackpot adds 25% of the price, the next three prizes 10%, 10% and 5%. It is an illustration, not any lottery’s table. Type the prizes your own lottery states, and note that a shared jackpot pays less than its headline figure.

Your numbers (for the practice draws)

1 in 1,39,83,816chance of the jackpot with one ticket (all 6 of 49 numbers)

1 in 54chance of winning any prize with one ticket

49.6%of the ticket price comes back on average

₹50average loss on one ticket

₹5,038expected loss over 100 tickets at ₹100

1 in 1,39,839chance of at least one jackpot in 100 tickets

96,92,843tickets before a jackpot is more likely than not

A ticket of 6 numbers from 49 faces 1,39,83,816 equally likely draws, so the jackpot is 1 in 1,39,83,816. At ₹100 a ticket and the prizes shown, about 49.6% of the price comes back on average: ₹50 lost per ticket, or ₹5,038 lost over 100 tickets. Every set of 6 numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 included, has exactly the same chance.

Every result for a ticket of 6 numbers from 49
Numbers matched	Ways	Chance	One in	Example prize	Adds to the average return
6	1	0.0000072%	1,39,83,816	₹35,00,00,000	₹25
5	258	0.0018%	54,201	₹5,40,000	₹10
4	13,545	0.097%	1,032	₹10,000	₹10
3	2,46,820	1.77%	57	₹280	₹5
2	18,51,150	13.2%	7.6	none	–
1	57,75,588	41.3%	2.4	none	–
0	60,96,454	43.6%	2.3	none	–

Practise with pretend money

Draws use your browser’s random numbers and the figures above. There is no money in it, and it is not any lottery’s draw: it shows how many tickets it takes before anything happens, and how rarely the big prizes come.

Pretend balance (₹)

The cost is fixed by the prizes and the ticket price, not by the method. With the example prizes about 49.6% of a ticket’s price comes back, so a ticket loses about ₹50, and 100 tickets lose about ₹5,038 whichever formula chose them.

The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere, so you can try any numbers you like.

Common questions

Can a formula or calculator pick the numbers that will come up?

No. It can only choose which numbers you play, and every choice has the same chance. For a three-digit number a clever guess and a random guess are both 1 in 1,000, and the calculator’s figures hold whichever method made the guess.

Why do formulas built on past draws not work?

A formula that adds digits, counts gaps or tracks missing numbers fits a pattern to a finished list. The next draw is made fresh, so it owes nothing to that list. The formula’s pick is one set among many equal ones, no better than a random pick.

Is one set of lottery numbers likelier than another?

No. Every set of the same size has exactly the same chance, 1 in 1,39,83,816 for 6 from 49, and 1-2-3-4-5-6 is no rarer than a set picked with care. What can differ is how many other people played the same numbers, which changes how a shared jackpot is split.

How many tickets until a jackpot is likelier than not?

For 6 from 49, 96,92,843 tickets, which is about 26,556 years of one ticket a day. A hundred tickets give a 1 in 1,39,839 chance of a jackpot and cost ₹10,000 at ₹100 each.

What does the average cost of a ticket mean?

It is what a ticket loses over very many tickets, not what the next one will do. Most tickets win nothing and a few win a lot, so the average is a summary of a very uneven spread.

More on the lottery odds

Kerala lottery ABC formula calculatorKerala lottery ABC formula calculator. No formula changes a random draw: a full match is 1 in 1,000 whatever method picks the numbers.Lottery ticket calculatorLottery ticket calculator: With the example prizes 49.6% of a ticket’s price comes back, so about ₹50 is lost on each ticket.Kerala lottery number calculatorKerala lottery number calculator. No calculator can guess the next numbers: a full match is 1 in 1,000 for every guess, however it is made.

The full tool

Lottery oddsThe full lottery odds, with every setting.