Picking numbers above 31 doesn't change your odds of matching the draw. Every combination on the 50-ball wheel has exactly the same chance. What it does change is how many other tickets you'd split a jackpot with, since so many players stick to birthdays and calendar dates that top out at 31.
The game at a glance
5 of 50 + PowerBall
Tue · Fri
South Africa
1 in 42,375,200
The same for every possible combination, including this one.
1 of 20
PowerBall: you pick it yourself, drawn from a separate pool.
18+
Must be 18+ to play SA PowerBall.
SA PowerBall, in brief
SA PowerBall is South Africa's flagship national lottery draw, held every Tuesday and Friday night. A ticket costs a few rand and asks a player to choose five numbers from 1 to 50, plus one PowerBall number from 1 to 20 drawn separately.
The name and the five-plus-one format borrow from the American Powerball, but the resemblance stops there. SA PowerBall is a wholly South African game with its own number matrix, its own prize pool, and its own jackpot. It is not affiliated with the US game, and a win on one side of the Atlantic has zero bearing on the other.
Players can add PowerBall Plus for a small extra fee per ticket. The same five numbers and PowerBall entered into the main draw carry over into a second, separate drawing with its own jackpot, so one playslip buys two independent shots at winning.
Prize tiers
5 numbers + PowerBallJackpot
The jackpot, shared among all winning tickets and rolling over whenever nobody hits it
5 numbers
A substantial fixed prize, well below the jackpot but still one of the largest payouts on the ticket
4 numbers + PowerBall
A solid mid-tier prize
4 numbers
A modest fixed prize
3 numbers + PowerBall
A modest fixed prize
3 numbers
A small fixed prize, close to the ticket price
2 numbers + PowerBall
A small fixed prize, close to the ticket price
Where SA PowerBall came from
A South African game with an American name
SA PowerBall launched in October 2009, giving South African players a second national draw alongside SA Lotto: a slower-building game with a bigger jackpot ceiling. It took its name and its five-plus-one shape from the American original but has always run as a separate South African game. Since 2015 it has been operated by Ithuba, the licensed operator of the National Lottery.
PowerBall Plus
PowerBall Plus arrived later as an optional add-on. For a modest top-up per ticket, the same numbers ride in a second, fully separate draw with its own jackpot, so one playslip covers two drawings.
A wider matrix than at launch
The number matrix has been widened since launch, stretching the pool of main balls to lengthen the jackpot odds and grow the prizes on offer. The version sold today asks for five numbers from a field of 50 plus a PowerBall from 1 to 20.
Picking numbers, honestly
There's no such thing as a cold number that's overdue. Each PowerBall draw is independent of the last one, so a ball that hasn't come up in months carries the same odds next Friday as one that hit last Tuesday.
PowerBall Plus isn't a discount or a rebate — it's a second, fully separate draw with its own prize pool. Skipping it doesn't touch your odds in the main draw at all; it just means you're in one drawing instead of two.
SA PowerBall — frequently asked
Twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday nights.
No. Beyond a shared name and a similar five-plus-one format, the two games are entirely separate. SA PowerBall runs its own draw and its own prize pool through Ithuba, with no link to US jackpots or prizes.
An optional add-on, bought for a little extra per ticket, that enters the same numbers into a second draw with its own separate jackpot.
Ithuba, the current operator of South Africa's National Lottery.
No. A win pays the same regardless of which numbers you matched, only how many. Every number from 1 to 50, and 1 to 20 for the PowerBall, carries identical odds and identical prize value at each tier.