Quick answer: one ticket on PCSO Lotto 6/42 has a 1 in 5,245,786 chance of hitting the jackpot, and one ticket on Ultra Lotto 6/58 has a 1 in 40,475,358 chance. Pick a game below to see your odds for every prize tier and how many years of playing it would take to reach even a 50% chance of a jackpot.
Lotto odds calculator
How long would it take?
Legal note: PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) runs the Philippines' government lottery. Buy tickets only from authorised PCSO outlets or official PCSO channels; "lotto agents" on chat apps and social media are not official. This page is an independent maths tool, not affiliated with PCSO.
How the calculator works
A 6/42 lotto draws 6 numbers from 42. The number of different tickets you could buy is the number of ways to choose 6 items from 42, written C(42, 6). That works out to 5,245,786, and only one of those combinations matches all six drawn numbers. So one ticket has a 1 in 5,245,786 chance of the jackpot.
The smaller prizes use the same idea. To match exactly 5, your ticket must contain 5 of the 6 winning numbers and 1 of the 36 losing numbers: C(6, 5) × C(36, 1) = 216 winning tickets, which is about 1 in 24,286. Matching exactly 4 is about 1 in 555, and exactly 3 about 1 in 37.
| Game | Combinations | Jackpot odds (1 ticket) |
|---|---|---|
| Lotto 6/42 | 5,245,786 | 1 in 5,245,786 |
| Mega Lotto 6/45 | 8,145,060 | 1 in 8,145,060 |
| Super Lotto 6/49 | 13,983,816 | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| Grand Lotto 6/55 | 28,989,675 | 1 in 28,989,675 |
| Ultra Lotto 6/58 | 40,475,358 | 1 in 40,475,358 |
A worked example
Say you buy one 6/42 ticket for 3 draws a week. That is 156 tickets a year. Your chance of at least one jackpot in a year is about 156 ÷ 5,245,786, or roughly 1 in 33,600. At ₱20 a ticket you would spend ₱3,120 a year, and you would need to keep playing for about 23,000 years before your chance of a jackpot reached even 50%. Buying more tickets per draw raises the chance in a straight line, but so does the cost: 10 tickets a draw is 10 times the chance and 10 times the spend.
What this calculator does not know
It only does the maths of the draw. It does not know the prize amounts, how jackpots roll over, how prizes are shared between winners, ticket prices or the draw schedule. Those are set by PCSO and can change, so check them on the official site, pcso.gov.ph. It also assumes each of your tickets uses different numbers; buying the same combination twice does not raise your chance of winning, it only raises your share if you win.
For a longer explanation of every game, see our guide PCSO Lotto odds explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the odds of winning PCSO Lotto 6/42?
One ticket has a 1 in 5,245,786 chance of matching all six numbers. That makes 6/42 the easiest jackpot of the five 6-number PCSO lotto games.
Which PCSO lotto game has the best odds?
Lotto 6/42, because it has the smallest pool of numbers. Ultra Lotto 6/58 has the worst jackpot odds, about 7.7 times harder than 6/42, which is one reason its jackpots grow larger.
Does picking "lucky" or "due" numbers improve my odds?
No. Every combination, including 1-2-3-4-5-6, has exactly the same chance in every draw. Past draws do not affect future ones. Choosing less popular numbers can only affect how many people you would share a prize with, not your chance of winning.
Is it worth buying more tickets?
More tickets raise your chance in proportion to what you spend, but the chance stays tiny. Ten tickets on 6/42 is still about 1 in 524,579 per draw. Treat lotto as entertainment with a fixed budget, not as a plan to make money.
Is this calculator official?
No. It is an independent tool from Masaya365 PH Guide. The odds are pure maths and will match any official figures, but always check prizes and draw details with PCSO.
Final thoughts
Lotto odds are fixed by the size of the number pool, and no system or pattern changes them. Spend only what you would happily spend on a night out, never chase losses, and talk to someone if buying tickets stops being fun. 21+ only. Read our responsible gaming page for free help in the Philippines.