What were the odds of winning. I mean what were the odds AGAINST winning. 195 million to 1 or something close to that. The following is from the wiki.
The odds against Sunday are 6/1 = 6: it is 6 times as likely that a random day is not a Sunday. Hence 'odds' are an expression of relative probabilities. Generally 'odds' are not quoted in this format because of the natural confusion with the chance of an event occurring being expressed fractionally as a probability. E.g., the probability of a random day of the week is a Sunday is 'one-seventh' (1/7).
You got that? If you want to stuff some more math in your head you can go HERE.
But if you want the easy solution to 5 of 56 white balls and 1 of 46 red balls, just do 56x55x54x53x52x46 and come up with all the possible combinations. 21,085,384,320 That's right, 21 billion possible combinations. Somehow that breaks down to 195 million to 1 in odds. When you figure it out, keep it to yourself.
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8 comments:
It's said that lotteries are a tax on people who can't do math. It's true. If I had all the money back that I've spent on lottery tickets over the years, I'd probably be able to retire.
I'm an extremely lucky person in many ways but in my entire life, I've never won anything like a lucky draw or...a lottery. Or any type of gambling game, big or small. So, I don't both with them.
Did you see that the winning lotto numbers from the series LOST just paid off the other day?
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/01/hurleys_famous_lost_numbers_pa.html
All I know is that I didn't win. Cheers Mike!!
B - You have to consider the entertainment value to make it worthwhile to buy tickets. Like telling your friends you won't be able to associate with them anymore.
A - I'm right there BEHIND you in that line.
K - I can't believe 9000 people played those numbers..... Yes I can.
MM - So you're still associating with me, right?
I had a financial management prof in college who figured out at what point investing one dollar in the lottery gave him a better potential return than putting it in his retirement fun. That point came out to be a lottery winnings of $24 million.
Since I made a "D" in stats, I too his word for it.
I do not really get into the lottery, but my guy does. He is obsessed and he thinks he is gonna win every time. He starts searching for property and cars, etc. that he will spend it on. Then when he loses he always swears he was so close and seems so shocked. What a yahoo!
RW - You have to plan on NOT winning.
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