Powerball odds
Powerball is the Thursday night game with Australia's biggest jackpots. It uses two barrels, which is what makes its odds so long and its division ladder a little unusual.
How the Powerball draw works
Seven winning numbers are drawn from a barrel of 35, then one Powerball from a separate barrel of 20. You pick seven main numbers and one Powerball. There are no supplementary numbers. Six of the nine divisions need the Powerball.
Because the Powerball is a separate 1-in-20 draw, every main-number result splits into “with Powerball” (×1) and “without” (×19). That's why Division 2 (seven numbers, wrong Powerball) is exactly 19 times as likely as Division 1.
Powerball odds for every division
| Div | To win | Winning combinations | Combinations | Odds (1 game) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 winning numbers + Powerball | C(7,7) × C(28,0) × 1 | 1 | 1 in 134,490,400 |
| 2 | 7 winning numbers | C(7,7) × C(28,0) × 19 | 19 | 1 in 7,078,442 |
| 3 | 6 winning numbers + Powerball | C(7,6) × C(28,1) × 1 | 196 | 1 in 686,176 |
| 4 | 6 winning numbers | C(7,6) × C(28,1) × 19 | 3,724 | 1 in 36,115 |
| 5 | 5 winning numbers + Powerball | C(7,5) × C(28,2) × 1 | 7,938 | 1 in 16,943 |
| 6 | 4 winning numbers + Powerball | C(7,4) × C(28,3) × 1 | 114,660 | 1 in 1,173 |
| 7 | 5 winning numbers | C(7,5) × C(28,2) × 19 | 150,822 | 1 in 892 |
| 8 | 3 winning numbers + Powerball | C(7,3) × C(28,4) × 1 | 716,625 | 1 in 188 |
| 9 | 2 winning numbers + Powerball | C(7,2) × C(28,5) × 1 | 2,063,880 | 1 in 65.2 |
| Any prize | 3,057,865 | 1 in 44.0 |
Out of 134,490,400 equally likely outcomes for one standard game. C(n,k) is “n choose k”, the number of ways to choose k items from n. Each game line only wins its highest division.
Where these numbers come from
Division 1. Every set of 7 numbers from 35 is equally likely, so the odds are simply the number of possible sets: C(35,7) = 35! ÷ (7! × 28!) = 6,724,520. Multiply by the 20 possible Powerballs to get 134,490,400.
A supp division. For Division 3 (6 winning numbers + powerball) your game needs 6 of the 7 winning numbers, which can happen C(7,6) = 7 ways. The remaining 1 number must include at least one of the undefined supps. With one slot left that's just C(undefined,1) = undefined choices, giving 196 combinations, or 1 in 686,176.
The ladder quirk: Division 6 (four numbers + Powerball, 1 in 1,173) ranks above Division 7 (five numbers, no Powerball, 1 in 892). Divisions are ordered by how rare they are, not by how many main numbers you matched.
PowerHit plays your numbers with all 20 Powerballs, which is 20 games per line. It guarantees the Powerball, so Division 1 becomes 1 in 6,724,520 per line, but it costs 20 times as much. Tick “PowerHit” in the calculator to compare.
Powerball system entries
A system lets you mark more than 7 numbers and plays every standard game that can be made from them. A System 9 covers C(9,7) = 36 games, so its Division 1 odds are exactly 36 times better than a single game. It also costs 36 times as much.
| Entry | Games covered | Division 1 | Any prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard game | 1 | 1 in 134,490,400 | 1 in 44.0 |
| System 8 | 8 | 1 in 16,811,300 | 1 in 34.9 |
| System 9 | 36 | 1 in 3,735,844 | 1 in 27.9 |
| System 10 | 120 | 1 in 1,120,753 | 1 in 22.4 |
| System 11 | 330 | 1 in 407,547 | 1 in 17.8 |
| System 12 | 792 | 1 in 169,811 | 1 in 14.2 |
| System 15 | 6,435 | 1 in 20,900 | 1 in 7.1 |
| System 20 | 77,520 | 1 in 1,735 | 1 in 2.7 |
A system doesn't change the value you get per dollar. You win the same number of games on average as you would from the same number of separate entries. What changes is how the wins are spread: because the games overlap, wins arrive in clusters. When a system hits, it usually pays several divisions at once. Pick a system size in the calculator, then use What would this system pay? to see the winning games for any result.
Powerball questions
- What are the odds of winning Powerball in Australia?
- Division 1 is 1 in 134,490,400: C(35,7) × 20. Any prize is about 1 in 44.0.
- Is Australian Powerball the same as US Powerball?
- No. US Powerball is 5 from 69 plus 1 from 26. Australia's is 7 from 35 plus 1 from 20, so this calculator only applies to the Australian game.
- Do some numbers come up more often?
- Over a short run, yes, some numbers will have appeared more than others. That is ordinary randomness. The balls have no memory, and every combination is exactly as likely as any other in the next draw.
- Does playing the same numbers every week help?
- No. Your chance each draw is the same whether you keep your numbers or change them. Picking less popular numbers (avoid birthdays, patterns and 1-2-3-4-5-6) won't make you more likely to win, but it may mean sharing a jackpot with fewer people.
- Are the odds the same in every state?
- Yes. These are national draws, so the numbers, divisions and odds are the same whichever state you buy in. Prize amounts per division vary from draw to draw depending on sales and the number of winners.
Odds are calculated from the game rules (7 from 35, plus 1 Powerball from 20, drawn Thursday) and checked against the operator's published odds in November 2026. Published figures are rounded, so the last digit can differ by one. Always check the official rules before you play.