ThunderBall: Official Guide, Rules, Odds & How to Play
Thunderball is your best chance of winning up to £500,000 - the top prize is fixed and it never has to be shared. Simply select 5 main numbers from 1 to 39 and 1 Thunderball from 1 to 14.
The Thunderball draw takes place every Wednesday (BBC ONE from 22:35), Friday (BBC ONE from 22:35 - 23:40) and Saturday (BBC ONE from 19:30), and 5 main numbers are drawn, along with 1 Thunderball. Match the Thunderball to win the minimum prize. Match 5 numbers plus the Thunderball to win the top prize of £500,000. Increase your chances to win the jackpot and play these ThunderBall most often winning combinations. You can play Thunderball online on National Lottery website.
The first Thunderball draw was held on 12 June 1999 and the draw was originally only held on Saturdays. The rules of Thunderball changed substantially on 9 May 2010. Before this date, Thunderball matches were drawn from numbers 1 to 34; there was no prize for matching the Thunderball number alone, and the top prize (for matching 5 main numbers and the Thunderball) was half the current jackpot at £250,000. After this date, the Friday draw was introduced in addition to the Wednesday and Saturday draws. Following the change of rules, while the chance of winning anything on Thunderball has more than doubled, the chance of winning the top prizes has more than halved. On 30th January the new Tuesday draw was introduced.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Odds to win ThunderBall jackpot
Main Numbers | ThunderBall | Odds | Win |
---|---|---|---|
5 | 1 | 1 in 8,060,598 | £500,000 |
5 | 0 | 1 in 650,046 | £5,000 |
4 | 1 | 1 in 47,415 | £250 |
4 | 0 | 1 in 3,647 | £100 |
3 | 1 | 1 in 1,437 | £20 |
3 | 0 | 1 in 111 | £10 |
2 | 1 | 1 in 135 | £10 |
1 | 1 | 1 in 35 | £5 |
0 | 1 | 1 in 14 | £3 |
Winning VS Losing Combinations
Did you know that after each ThunderBall draw, there will be exactly:
Winning Combinations: 650,910 (8%)
Losing Combinations: 7,409,688 (92%)
Winning Probability Calculations
In the UK Thunderball lottery, you have to pick 5 numbers from 1 to 39 and 1 Thunderball number from 1 to 14. To win the lowest prize, you need to match only the Thunderball or certain combinations of main numbers. The number of combinations that will always win any prize after each draw is calculated as follows:
Total Number of Combinations
The total number of ways to choose 5 numbers from 39 and 1 Thunderball number from 14 is given by:
\( \binom{39}{5} \times \binom{14}{1} = 575,757 \times 14 = 8,060,598 \)
Non-Winning Combinations
To find out how many combinations do not win any prize, we calculate the number of ways to match fewer than 3 main numbers and not match the Thunderball:
Matching 0 Main Numbers
The number of ways to pick 5 main numbers from the remaining 34 and 1 Thunderball from the remaining 13 is:
\( \binom{34}{5} \times \binom{13}{1} = 278,256 \times 13 = 3,617,328 \)
Matching Exactly 1 Main Number
The number of ways to pick 1 correct main number and 4 numbers from the remaining 34, along with 1 Thunderball from the remaining 13, is:
\( \binom{5}{1} \times \binom{34}{4} \times \binom{13}{1} = 5 \times 46,376 \times 13 = 3,014,440 \)
Matching Exactly 2 Main Numbers
The number of ways to pick 2 correct main numbers and 3 numbers from the remaining 34, along with 1 Thunderball from the remaining 13, is:
\( \binom{5}{2} \times \binom{34}{3} \times \binom{13}{1} = 10 \times 5,984 \times 13 = 777,920 \)
Total Non-Winning Combinations
Adding the non-winning combinations:
\( 3,617,328 + 3,014,440 + 777,920 = 7,409,688 \)
Winning Combinations
Subtracting the non-winning combinations from the total number of combinations gives the number of combinations that will always win any prize:
\( 8,060,598 - 7,409,688 = 650,910 \)
Therefore, there are 650,910 combinations that will always win any prize after each draw in the UK Thunderball lottery.
So that means, 92% of all possible ThunderBall combinations will not win a prize after each draw and only 8% of combinations will always win a prize.
With our system, you will be able to play the winning 8% ThunderBall combinations frequently.