how do I calculate probability of winning a raffle
 

I have 100 squares. what are the odds if I buy 1 ticket. what are the odds if
I buy 4 tickets.

How do I get excel to do this?

how do I calculate probability of winning a raffle
 

Do you mean: there are 100 numbered squares and you buy a ticket with a
number?
Clearly the chances of winning are 1/100
If I buy four tickets, the odds for the first is 1/100, the odds for the
second is 1/100, etc.
So the odds with four tickets is 1//100 + 1/100 + 1/100 + 1/100 = 4/100 or
1/25

Suggestion: forget Excel and read a simple book on probability (statistics).
It is foolish to try to use Excel to solve problems that you do not
understand.
best wishes

--
Bernard V Liengme
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme
remove caps from email

"RichM" wrote in message
...
I have 100 squares. what are the odds if I buy 1 ticket. what are the odds
if
I buy 4 tickets.

How do I get excel to do this?

how do I calculate probability of winning a raffle
 

f course, if you don't ask about things you don't understand, it's difficult
to learn about them.
As for the Excel side of it, there are many ways to tackle it but you could
do it this way:

In cell A1 put the total number of tickets you purchase (1 or 4)
in cell B1 put the total number of possible chances (number of squares)
in cell C1 put this formula: =A1/B1
you will get a decimal value such as .01 (1 in 100) or .04 (4 in 100) the
closer the number is to 1, the better chance you have of winning. But
generally your payoff becomes smaller. Buying 99 tickets will get you .99
but you're only going to make $1.00 (if tickets are $1 each) IF you win
(after all, there is that 1 in 100 chance that you'll lose).

For other games you have to look at payoff vs odds. Consider Roulette in
Las Vegas. Best payoff is 35 to 1, but the actual odds are 38 to 1 (numbers
1 thru 36 plus zero and double-zero). So the house has the advantage. Write
that down as Rule #1 in your "How to Gamble and Win" book.

"RichM" wrote:

I have 100 squares. what are the odds if I buy 1 ticket. what are the odds if
I buy 4 tickets.

How do I get excel to do this?