The US Powerball has two drums to draw numbered balls out of. The 1st drum has 69 balls from which the main five lucky numbers are selected. Then there is one ball drawn from the 2nd drum, of which there are 26 red balls. This ball is called the Powerball. One ball to rule them all! If the Powerball ticket you play has the same six numbers obtained from the two drums, then you my friend, have just entered a small group of millionaires or billionaires across the globe. Any three or more matching figures can see you winning between $1 to $4 million!

Related Article: Which Powerball Numbers Are Drawn Most Often?

Now that you know how the draw works, how do you choose your numbers? Here are some of the most common ways to increase your chances of winning big.

The top 10 “hot” or most common US Powerball numbers drawn are:

• 10
• 16
• 22
• 23
• 26
• 28
• 32
• 39
• 41
• 42

*These are the statistics from November 2017. 

These ten numbers are commonly drawn from the 1st drum (white balls) and they have all been drawn 250+ times.

That’s the bonus ball – the number you have to get to win the jackpot. In descending order, the ten most drawn US Powerball numbers are:

• 6
• 20
• 9
• 11
• 2
• 12
• 18
• 10
• 26
• 1

The computer generates Quick Pick lottery numbers randomly so that you don’t have to choose them yourself. Although this may not seem like fun, keep in mind that 70% of previous US Powerball winners were from Quick Picks.

When it comes to choosing your numbers, you should have fun, but don’t forget the distribution of the numbers. You have the option to select five numbers between 1 and 69 and one number between 1 and 26. Keep the range in mind, and make sure you do not limit your choices to birthdays and other special dates. Using only those important dates will not give you access to the higher end of the number options.

These numbers have not shown up in a long time, so they are bound to show up eventually (and hopefully soon)! Some of the numbers considered overdue are 46, 2, 5, 40, 33, 11, 47, 36, 9 and 60.

Some numbers are regarded as unpopular in some cultures, but somehow turns out to be lucky in the lottery. Here are a couple of examples:

• 13
• 32
• 34
• 40
• 46

The chance of winning the lottery increases as you buy more entries. If you really want to win, buying more entries is a sure-fire way to increase your odds.

Finally, make sure to check the Powerball results to see if you’re a winner! Try out one of these methods on US Powerball now and let us know how it went in the comments below.

This article forms part of our Powerball Resource Centre.