wikiHow Lotto Odds Calculator To calculate the odds of winning a lottery by hand, you can use the formula: Odds of winning = Number of winning combinations / Total number of possible combinations Here's how to do it step-by-step: Determine the number of balls in the lottery machine. For example, if there are 49 balls, you would use the number 49. Determine the number of balls that are drawn in each lottery. For example, if 6 balls are drawn, you would use the number 6. Determine the number of balls that you need to match to win the jackpot. For example, if you need to match all 6 balls to win the jackpot, you would use the number 6. Calculate the total number of possible combinations. This is calculated by using the formula: Total number of possible combinations = (number of balls in the machine)C(number of balls drawn) For example, if there are 49 balls and 6 balls are drawn, the total number of possible combinations would be: 49C6 = 13,983,816 Calculate the number of winning combinations. This depends on the number of balls you need to match to win the jackpot. For example, if you need to match all 6 balls to win the jackpot, the number of winning combinations would be 1. Calculate the odds of winning by using the formula: Odds of winning = Number of winning combinations / Total number of possible combinations For example, if the number of winning combinations is 1 and the total number of possible combinations is 13,983,816, the odds of winning the jackpot would be: 1/13,983,816 This means that the chances of winning the jackpot with one ticket are approximately 1 in 13.9 million. Page