How to Play Powerball

How to play Powerball, step by step

1. Get a ticket from a licensed lottery retailer in a state that sells Powerball, or through your state lottery's official app or website if it sells tickets online.
2. Pick 5 numbers from 1–69 plus a Powerball from 1–26, or ask for a Quick Pick and the terminal chooses at random. Our quick pick generator does the same thing if you'd rather bring a line with you.
3. Pay $2 per play. Power Play costs $1 more and multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X (10X is in play only when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less), and a Match 5 prize with Power Play is always $2 million. In Idaho and Montana, Powerball is sold only with Power Play, so a play costs $3. Double Play costs another $1 where it is offered (30 lotteries) and enters the same numbers in a separate drawing with a $10 million top cash prize.
4. Keep the ticket and check it after the drawing. Drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET, and each state sets its own cut-off for sales before the draw.

If you win

Sign the back of the ticket. Smaller prizes can usually be cashed at a lottery retailer in the state that sold the ticket; each state sets how much a retailer can pay out, and larger prizes are claimed through the state lottery itself. A jackpot winner chooses between the annuity (30 payments over 29 years) and a one-time cash payment, and the FAQ explains the difference. Claim deadlines run from 90 days to one year, depending on the state.

Checking results

Winning numbers usually appear on our Powerball results page within minutes of each drawing. Each drawing links to its prize breakdown, and the jackpot history tracks how the jackpot has grown and reset.