What you can do to increase your chances of winning Powerball

Tonight’s $100 million jackpot is the equal largest prize Powerball has offered in the game’s 23-year history – and with a huge jackpot comes a huge crowd chasing a win.

Last week’s $80 million draw sold an incredible 6000 tickets per minute at its peak time. So it can only be assumed tonight’s draw will muster a similar frenzy.

For those who haven’t yet purchased a ticket, there are several ways you can maximise your chances to win – and it all comes down to the numbers you choose, the type of ticket you buy, and even where you purchase your ticket.

Powerball’s most drawn numbers

Since April last year, the most frequently drawn number has been 32 which has been picked 13 times.

Twenty-nine has been picked 12 times, while 7, 9, 17, 24, 25 and 34 have been selected 10 times or more.

If you want to throw caution to the wind, 1, 3, 11, 12, 13 and 19 have only been drawn a miserly four times.

The special Powerball number has also favoured some digits over others.

Numbers 3, 13 and 19 have been drawn multiple times as the magic Powerball number, while 1, 2, 4 and 18 haven’t been drawn at all in the past eight months.

Australia’s luckiest suburbs

Powerball organisers The Lott identified the luckiest suburbs in each state that have previously sold winning tickets.

In Queensland, three areas have each had three division one winning entries – Burleigh Heads/Burleigh Waters, Elanora/Palm Beach and Southport/Labrador.

The three wins from Burleigh totalled $62 million.

In New South Wales and ACT, there was another three-way tie between Bondi/North Bondi, Tamworth and Cabramatta/Canely Heights. Each location sold three winning tickets.

In Victoria, four division one wins were purchased in Melbourne’s CBD totalling $2,922,007.

In Tasmania, the luckiest suburbs are Launceston, Hobart and Glenorchy. Each suburb has sold two winning tickets.

There’s another three-way tie in South Australia, between the suburbs of Smithfield, Adelaide CBD and Mount Barker. Each had three wins totalling between $2 million and $4 million.

The Northern Territory’s luckiest suburb is Katherine, which was home to the territory’s biggest win of $2,013,144.80 last year.

In Western Australia, the luckiest suburb has named itself. You’re most likely to score your winning ticket in Success – where five other division one winners purchased their tickets.

Maximise your chances with the right ticket

There are several different tickets available to purchase for tonight’s jackpot, and while many favour the PowerHit entries, you might be better off sticking to a standard QuickPick.

“The PowerHit is a type of entry that is unique to Powerball and guarantees you that all-important Powerball number,” The Lott spokesperson Bronwyn Spencer said.

Despite having the guaranteed Powerball number, PowerHit entries made up just one quarter of division one winning entries last year.

The most popular winning ticket is actually a QuickPick.

According to The Lott, two thirds of winners from last year were QuickPick entries.

The data shows there’s power in numbers too, with syndicate entries said to be increasingly popular.

By pooling your money, you can buy a share in a bigger entry that gives more chances to win. Any prizes you win are shared among the syndicate members.

The earlier the better

“My biggest tip for anyone planning on grabbing a chance to win the life-changing prize is to get in early,” Matt Hart, another spokesperson from The Lott, said.

“Don’t leave it until the last minute. Once you have that ticket in your hands you can relax and start dreaming about how you would play by your own rules if you won division one.”

The $100 million Powerball draw closes at 7pm in the Northern Territory, 7.30pm in Queensland, 8pm in South Australia and 8.30pm in New South Wales, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania.

If anyone takes out the $100 million prize alone then it would be the largest single winning entry in Australian lottery history.

Anyone wanting to watch the draw can catch it on 7TWO just before 10pm AEDT with results available online at The Lott afterwards.

Stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.