New York Take 5 Prizes
In NY Take 5, the prizes for each draw are determined based on that draw's ticket sales, so they are always different (except for the match-2 prize, but we'll get to that later). The average jackpot for Take 5 is $57,575.70, but this changes by a lot from one draw to the next.
New York Take 5 Prize Tiers
You never know exactly what you might win in NY Take 5, since the top 3 prize tiers are variable - and boy do they vary in practice! Here's how it works:
For every draw, 50% of the money taken in ticket sales is put aside, and this is the prize fund for that draw. 20% of this prize fund is used to pay the jackpot winners, 30% is used to pay the match-4 winners, and the remaining 50% is used to pay the match-3 winners. Players who have matched two numbers get a free Quick Pick ticket for the next Take 5 draw as their prize.
The prizes are pari-mutuel, which means that the funds for each prize tier are divided evenly by the number of winners in that tier.
If there are no jackpot winners for a draw, the 20% jackpot allowance is rolled down to the match-4 prize tier, giving these winners a much bigger payout! All very exciting.
NY Take 5 Winning Odds
Below, you can check out the chances of winning a prize in NY Take 5, along with the average prize for matching 3, 4, or 5 numbers. Although these prizes will be very different from one draw to the next, the odds always stay the same.
| Numbers Matched | Odds of winning (each line) | Odds for a US$1 play (2 lines) |
|---|---|---|
| Six | 1 in 45,057,474.00 | 1 in 22,528,737.00 |
| Five + Bonus | 1 in 7,509,579.00 | 1 in 3,754,789.50 |
| Five | 1 in 144,414.98 | 1 in 72,207.49 |
| Four | 1 in 2,179.85 | 1 in 1,089.92 |
| Three | 1 in 96.17 | 1 in 48.08 |
NY Take 5 Strategy
So, armed with your new Take 5 knowledge, will you develop a strategy to play with? Here are a few things you could try, using our Take 5 Results Database to work out which draws are most and least popular...
Playing less-popular draws (Thursday Midday drawings seem to get less attention) means that there aren't as many ticket sales, so the prizes are lower in every tier. BUT! If fewer tickets are sold, that makes a jackpot winner much less likely, and if nobody wins the jackpot, then the match-4 winners (which could include you!) all get bigger prizes.
Or, you could play the more popular draws, like Saturday and Sunday. With more tickets sold, the prizes in every tier will be high, even if someone does win the jackpot! However, more tickets means more winners, which is more people to divide the prize between...
At the end of the day, it probably doesn't make much difference - play whichever draws you like, and keep your fingers crossed!