Marking only numbers 1 through 31 doesn't hurt your odds, since every combination is equally likely. It does raise the risk of sharing a prize, because so many players use birthdays that the low third of the 49-number grid is heavily over-picked. When a low, pattern-heavy line comes up, the pari-mutuel prize classes get carved into far smaller pieces.
The game at a glance
6 of 49 + Superzahl
Wed · Sat
Germany
1 in 139,838,160
The same for every possible combination, including this one.
Superzahl
The Superzahl is a single digit from 0 to 9 drawn alongside the six main numbers. On a classic paper slip you don't choose it: it's the last digit of the ticket number already printed on your slip, and it has to match the digit drawn that night.
18+
Must be 18+ to play Lotto 6aus49.
Lotto 6aus49, in brief
Lotto 6aus49 is Germany's flagship lottery, run jointly by the 16 state lottery companies of the Deutscher Lotto- und Totoblock. The name is the format: a player marks six numbers from 1 to 49 on a grid, and six balls are drawn from a single drum.
The seventh element is the Superzahl, a digit from 0 to 9 drawn each night from its own set. Here 6aus49 differs from almost every other big lottery: on a paper ticket you don't pick the Superzahl at all. It's simply the last digit of your printed ticket number, so two slips with identical main numbers can win different prize classes.
Draws take place Wednesday and Saturday evenings, both using the same matrix and the same odds. The jackpot goes to anyone matching all six numbers plus the Superzahl, and when nobody does, it rolls over to the next draw and keeps climbing until it hits the game's cap.
Prize tiers
6 numbers + SuperzahlJackpot
The jackpot, capped at 50 million euros under current rules and split among all winning tickets
6 numbers, no Superzahl
Typically a seven-figure sum, depending on ticket sales and winner count
5 numbers + Superzahl
Usually tens of thousands of euros
5 numbers, no Superzahl
A few thousand euros
4 numbers + Superzahl
A few hundred euros
4 numbers, no Superzahl
Several tens of euros
3 numbers + Superzahl
A modest double-digit amount
3 numbers, no Superzahl
A small prize around the ten-euro mark
2 numbers + Superzahl
The minimum prize, and the only fixed amount in the game; every other class is shared from the prize pool
Where Lotto 6aus49 came from
Germany's oldest draw
The first 6aus49 drawing was held in Hamburg on 9 October 1955, making it one of the longest continuously running lottery formats anywhere. For its first decades it was a Saturday-only ritual, drawn live and followed on radio and later television across West Germany.
Wednesday draws and the Superzahl
A Wednesday draw joined the schedule in 1982, doubling the weekly chances without changing the game itself. The Superzahl arrived in 1991, layered on top of an older extra ball called the Zusatzzahl. A 2013 overhaul retired the Zusatzzahl, made the Superzahl the game's only extra number, and settled the structure into today's nine prize classes.
Capping the jackpot
Unlike Powerball or EuroMillions, 6aus49 doesn't let its top prize grow without limit. For decades the rules forced a payout after a fixed run of rollovers, and from 2020 the pot was capped at 45 million euros. Under the current rules the jackpot stops at 50 million euros: once it reaches the cap it stays there, draw after draw, until somebody wins it.
Picking numbers, honestly
A number that hasn't appeared in months is not due. The balls have no memory, and after seven decades of draws since 1955 the long-run frequencies of all 49 numbers have stayed as even as chance predicts. Yesterday's draw tells you nothing about tonight's.
You can't outsmart the Superzahl on a paper slip, because you never pick it. It's the last digit of the ticket number printed on your slip before you mark a single box. The only part of a 6aus49 ticket that decides between the jackpot and second prize is assigned to you at random.
Lotto 6aus49 — frequently asked
A single digit from 0 to 9 drawn each night alongside the six main numbers. On a paper ticket it's the last digit of your printed ticket number rather than something you choose, and matching it decides between prize classes, including the jackpot.
The lowest prize class is two main numbers plus the Superzahl. Two numbers on their own win nothing; from three main numbers upward every combination pays, with or without the Superzahl.
Yes. Under current rules it stops growing at 50 million euros and simply waits at the cap until someone wins it. Earlier eras used a forced payout instead, distributing the pot to the next class down after a set number of rollovers.
No. Both use the same 6-of-49 plus Superzahl matrix, the same odds, and the same nine prize classes. They are simply two draws of the same game each week.
Not on a classic paper slip, where it's fixed by your ticket number. Some official online channels let you set it yourself, but either way it changes nothing about the odds, since every digit from 0 to 9 is equally likely to be drawn.