Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball?

Re:Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball? by mulmen on Friday January 08, 2016 @04:02PM (#10868219)

Is there reason to believe that a TRNG would somehow select numbers with a better chance of winning than any other method?

I can see the method impacting the number of dollars you win but surely any valid set of numbers has the same chance to win as any other.

It's not like your TRNG is actually emulating the behavior of the balls in the machine.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball? by kod on Friday January 08, 2016 @04:35PM (#10868479)

It would impact the likelihood of someone else winning as well, which does affect the amount of money you get.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball? by andrewaylett on Friday January 08, 2016 @05:03PM (#10868667)

What it might do is avoid the bias of selecting numbers that other people are also likely to choose. So you're no more likely to win, but you may be less likely to have to share the jackpot.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball? by worried_citizen on Friday January 08, 2016 @04:22PM (#10868379)

I can't say if a TRNG has a better chance, but I don't think I'm leaping too far to say a broken, predictable RNG has a _worse_ chance of winning.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball? by mbreese on Friday January 08, 2016 @04:40PM (#10868518)

Maybe worse over the long term, but wouldn't you have the same odds for any given draw.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball? by s73v3r on Friday January 08, 2016 @09:09PM (#10869728)

No, but I don't have to blame myself for having stupid numbers when I lose :p

[ Parent | on HN ]