Maryland Bonus Match 5: The Bonus Ball Is Drawn for You

The name Bonus Match 5 can make the playslip sound more complicated than it is. You choose five numbers, and the lottery draws the bonus ball afterward. There is no extra number for you to select in a separate bonus field.

That distinction matters because the bonus changes the smaller prize categories without replacing the five original winning numbers. Treating all six drawn numbers as one interchangeable winning set can turn a real $600 result into an imaginary $50,000 win. Here is how to read the ticket correctly.

Choose five numbers and keep the bonus field empty

Each board uses five different numbers from 1 through 39. You can select them or ask for Quick Pick. For example, 6, 14, 23, 31 and 39 is a valid board. Order is irrelevant.

The lottery draws five main winning numbers, then draws the bonus ball from the 34 numbers remaining. Because the bonus comes from that remaining pool, it cannot be one of the five main numbers in the same drawing.

A generator for this game should therefore suggest five selections from 39. It should not ask you to choose a sixth number or a separate bonus number. If another game’s tool does that, those instructions do not belong on a Maryland Bonus Match 5 playslip.

Count main matches before checking the bonus

The standard chart awards $50,000 for five main matches. Four main matches pay $400 without the bonus or $600 with it. Three main matches pay $15 without the bonus or $30 with it. Two main matches plus the bonus pay $2.

The chart does not list a prize for two main matches alone or for the bonus alone. First count how many of your five selections appear in the main result. Then check whether one of your remaining selections is the bonus ball.

These categories are not cumulative. A board with four main matches and the bonus belongs in its $600 category; it does not also collect $400 and several smaller awards from the same board. Use official validation and the applicable payout provisions to establish an actual prize.

Why four plus the bonus is not five main matches

Suppose the main winning numbers are 6, 14, 23, 31 and 38, and the bonus is 39. The sample board 6, 14, 23, 31 and 39 contains five numbers visible in the published result, but only four are main matches. Its fifth selection matches the bonus.

The standard result is therefore $600. To reach the top category, the board would have needed 38 rather than 39. That single distinction is the reason the result display separates the bonus from the main set.

Now consider a second board: 6, 14, 20, 28 and 39. Against the same result, it has two main matches and the bonus, placing it in the $2 category. If its last number were 37 instead, it would have two main matches without the bonus and would not qualify under the published chart.

A reliable checking note would read “four main, bonus yes” or “two main, bonus no.” Writing only “five matches” loses the information needed to choose the correct row.

Three boards for two dollars changes the unit of purchase

Maryland offers one board for $1 or three boards for $2, with additional discounted board quantities listed on the playslip. A $2 purchase can therefore contain three separate five-number selections rather than one selection with a doubled stake.

Check each board independently. A pair of matches on one board cannot be combined with three on another to create a top-prize result. The discount changes the cost of the purchased boards, not the definition of a winning board.

Before paying, decide how many boards and which drawing dates you intend to buy. A few familiar numbers repeated across several boards can make them look alike, so verify the actual selections on the issued ticket. Keep the ticket itself; a marked playslip is not evidence that an entry was accepted.

Read the odds alongside the board count

Five numbers chosen from 39 produce 575,757 possible sets. A particular board has a five-main-match chance of 1 in 575,757. The operator also publishes a three-board, $2 ticket figure of 1 in 191,919.

Those figures describe different purchase units. Do not attach the three-board figure to a single board, and do not assume that printing identical selections three times gives three different combinations. Identical boards all depend on the same five-number outcome.

The top award is also subject to the game’s payout provisions, including a top-prize liability limit. A combination count tells you the chance of matching; it does not override the rules governing payment when many boards win.

Preserve every drawing still on the ticket

Bonus Match 5 runs nightly. Maryland offers consecutive-drawing and advance-play options, so confirm the dates actually printed on your purchase rather than assuming every ticket belongs to tonight’s result.

The official instructions explain that redeeming a win before the final drawing produces an exchange ticket for the remaining days. Check that you receive it and keep it with your outstanding entries. An early win should not cause a later paid entry to disappear from your records.

For a different Maryland format, see Multi-Match, whose three-line combined counting belongs to a separate game. The Maryland directory helps identify the right product; this guide’s bonus-ball method applies specifically to Bonus Match 5.