- Buying two tickets for every other drawing doubles your odds of winning the jackpot (1 in 156.5 million) versus buying one ticket for every drawing.
- Popular picking strategies (like not picking a previous winning set) have no statistical basis, but trying them also doesn’t hurt your chances!
- The odds of winning the jackpot are extraordinarily low (1 in 303 million), but Mega Millions offers other prizes with better odds as well.
Playing the Game
Buy a Mega Millions ticket and select your numbers. Each Mega Millions ticket costs $2 USD to play (or $3 USD if you add the “Megaplier”), and there is no limit on the number of tickets you can buy at one time. When you purchase your ticket, you will need to choose six numbers. The six numbers are split into two parts: the five main "white" numbers range between 1 and 70, while the gold "Mega Ball" number ranges between 1 and 25. You can select your own numbers or purchase an "Easy Pick" ticket that automatically selects random numbers for you. For an extra $1 USD, the “Megaplier” increases the non-jackpot winning amounts by up to five times, based on a separate drawn number. Mega Millions tickets can typically be purchased at gas stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores. You need to be 18 or older to play the Mega Millions, and you may have to show a valid photo ID.
Check the winning numbers on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Drawings for Mega Millions are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 PM EST. Your ticket will only be valid for the first drawing held after your purchase—e.g., Tuesday’s drawing if you buy a ticket on Monday. Check the numbers from an official Mega Millions source instead of accepting secondhand information. You can view the Mega Millions drawings on the official YouTube page or check the current winning numbers on the Mega Millions website.
Check your numbers for all the different ways to win. You win the jackpot only if your ticket matches all six numbers of the winning draw. But don’t throw your ticket out! Even if you don't win the jackpot, there are other ways you can win up to $1 million USD. The jackpot is the only amount that is not fixed. All other prize amounts remain the same regardless of the current value of the jackpot. Matching a set amount of numbers wins set amounts of money: Five main/white numbers: $1,000,000 Any four main/white numbers and the Mega Ball: $10,000 Any four main/white numbers: $500 Any three main/white numbers and the Mega Ball: $200 Any three main/white numbers: $10 Any two main/white numbers and the Mega Ball: $10 Any main/white number and the Mega Ball: $4 The Mega Ball only: $2
Take a winning ticket to an authorized ticket seller. If your ticket is a winner, congrats! Take it to any authorized lottery ticket seller (grocery store, etc.) in your state for validation. If you win a small amount, you’ll be paid on the spot; otherwise, you’ll end up dealing with the lottery authority in your state. Anyone authorized to sell Mega Millions lottery tickets is also authorized to accept winning tickets. You don’t have to go to the same outlet where you bought your ticket, but you do have to go somewhere in the same state as where you bought your ticket. When turning in your ticket, you’ll need to sign the back. If the prize exceeds $599, you will likely need to complete a claim form and send it into the state's lottery commission. Make sure that you claim the ticket winnings within the correct deadline. The exact deadline varies by state, but it can range anywhere from 90 days to one year.
Improving Your Odds
Buy more than one ticket. The only proven, mathematically valid way to increase your odds of winning is to buy more than one ticket each time you play. Your chances will still be low, but they do improve with each set of numbers you play. Make sure to pick a different set of numbers for each ticket, or you won’t improve your odds at all! Your odds of winning the jackpot (as of 2023) with one ticket are approximately 1 in 303 million. So, if you buy 2 tickets, your odds become 1 in 156.5 million. Meanwhile, your odds of winning $4 USD are 1 in 89. So buying two tickets (at a cost of $4 USD total) brings your odds of breaking even to 1 in 44.5.
Buy 2 tickets for 1 drawing, not 1 ticket each for 2 drawings. Playing the odds tells you that you’re better off buying more tickets for fewer drawings, rather than buying a smaller number of tickets for more drawings. Confused? Consider the following: If you buy 1 ticket for every drawing, your odds of winning the jackpot are always 1 in 303 million. But, if you buy 4 tickets for every fourth drawing (and no tickets in between), you’ve spent the same amount ($8 USD) but improved your odds of winning the jackpot for that one drawing to 1 in 76 million.
Opt for the lump sum payment if you win the jackpot. Okay, so this doesn’t have anything to do with improving your odds of winning. But taking the lump sum payment does improve your odds of maximizing the jackpot if you do win! While the full jackpot gets paid out annually over 30 years, the lump sum gives you half the jackpot amount all at once. But, if you invest most of that lump sum amount wisely, you’ll almost certainly end up with more than the jackpot amount at the end of 30 years. Say, for instance, the jackpot is $450 million USD, and you choose the lump sum amount ($225 million). If you invest $200 million and get a fairly conservative 5% annual rate of return over 30 years, that $200 million will grow to over $850 million USD.
Popular (Unscientific) Strategies
Mix even and odd numbers. Keep a relatively balanced mix of even and odd numbers. Ideally, you should aim for either three odd and two even numbers, or three even and two odd numbers. Go ahead and pick either even or odd for the Mega Ball. Even if you don't maintain an ideal ratio, avoid having all odd or all even numbers. Very few past winning combinations have been all odds or all evens. Please note that there’s no statistical basis for this method (or any other listed in this section) to actually improve your odds of winning. But playing the lottery is supposed to be fun, so have some fun trying out some “winning” strategies!
Combine high and low numbers. Of the five white balls, choose two or three between 1 and 38. Select the remainder between 39 and 75. Why? As with even and odd numbers, very few of the past winning combinations have consisted of either all high numbers or all low numbers.
Play “balanced” numbers. Before settling on your five main numbers, add them together and check the total. Ideally, the sum should be between 140 and 240. The lowest sum your numbers can equal is 5 (1+1+1+1+1), and the highest sum is 375 (75+75+75+75+75). When you have a sum between 140 and 240, you've hit the ideal median range and your game is said to be "balanced."
Select numbers from several “number groups” of ten. Since there are only five main numbers, you won’t be able to represent all eight number groups (0s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s). But you can make sure that at least three or four of the eight number groups are represented. For example, instead of picking 13, 17, 19, 30, 33 (only two number groups), try something like 13, 27, 29, 30, 43 (four number groups).
Select both “hot” and “cold” numbers. "Hot" numbers are those that have been part of the winning combination at some point in the past six games. "Cold" numbers are those that haven't been included in the past six winners. There's no fixed ratio of hot to cold numbers, but you should try to include at least one of each in your group of five. It's just as unlikely that all five numbers will be "cold" as it is that all five will be "hot." Also note that it is impossible to predict when a cold number will enter into circulation again. Two cold numbers can be inactive for equal amounts of time, and one might suddenly become hot while the other stays cold.
Avoid picking a combination that has already won. Number combinations that have won in the past are unlikely to win again (or at least it feels that way), so duplicating a winning combination from the past seems like it’s destined to end in failure. Statistically speaking, any specific string of numbers has a chance of being drawn only once in approximately 2,500,000 years. That doesn't mean it can't happen, of course. There has been one set of five numbers drawn twice since the start of Mega Millions (11-14-18-33-48).
Skip strings of consecutive numbers. For example, avoid choosing the combination 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for your Mega Millions ticket. Similarly, avoid choosing any set of five consecutive numbers. Consecutive strings are so poorly balanced that they are extremely rare and almost never occur. Note, however, that it is not uncommon for two numbers within a string of five to directly follow one another (e.g., 15 and 16, 43 and 44, 59 and 60, etc.). Consecutive pairs are okay, but consecutive strings of five are very rare.
Don't bet on patterns. A set of numbers that follows a predictable pattern can feel like a winning choice. But, in a random drawing like the Mega Millions, perfect patterns are quite rare and probably won't win. One pattern people mistakenly play involves creating a straight line vertically or diagonally across the number ticket. Number multiples (e.g., 4-8-12-16-20, 8-16-24-32-40, etc.) are another pattern people tend to gravitate toward erroneously. A final pattern you should avoid involves choosing numbers that all have the same last digit (e.g., 7-17-27-37-47).
Play random numbers to simplify things. If you haven't had any luck choosing your own numbers, purchase a randomized “Easy Pick” ticket instead. Let the computer do the hard work of selecting the perfect set of numbers for you! Using a randomized system to blindly choose the numbers you play can actually work to your favor. You'll be more likely to end up with a set of numbers that is truly random, rather than a set that has been subliminally influenced by your own biases and ideas. If you plan on purchasing more than one ticket, consider both strategies. Choose your numbers for one ticket and let the machine choose random numbers for your second ticket.
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