Powerball works on a simple structure with brutal odds. To play, you pick five numbers from 1 to 69, plus one separate "Powerball" number from 1 to 26 — or let the terminal pick a random combination for you with a Quick Pick. Each play costs $2. * To win the jackpot, every one of your five main numbers has to match the drawn numbers, plus your Powerball number has to match the drawn Powerball. The odds of hitting that exact combination are about 1 in 292.2 million. For context, that's roughly the odds of flipping a coin and getting heads 28 times in a row. * Not every prize requires the full match, though. The overall odds of winning any prize at all — down to just matching the Powerball number by itself — are a much friendlier 1 in 24.87, meaning most people who buy a ticket have a real, if modest, chance of winning something. * Jackpots start at $20 million and grow every drawing nobody wins the top prize, which is how they eventually reach the massive headline-making totals. Winners choose between a lump-sum cash payment or an annuity paid out in 30 graduated installments over 29 years. * For an extra $1 per play, Power Play multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or occasionally 10x (the 10x multiplier is only available when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less). Drawings happen every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday night at 9:59 p.m. Eastern, with ticket sales cutting off at 9:00 p.m. that day.