Plan a Random Draw: Practice Workbook
Check your participant count, calculate equal-entry chances, work through realistic examples and download a preparation checklist before opening a random picker.
Random Picker Tools · Editorial Policy · Updated
This workbook plans a draw; it does not select winners. Use it after checking eligibility and before freezing your final list. It assumes one eligible entry per person, equal chances and selection without replacement. Weighted tickets and repeat winners need different calculations.
Enter counts only, not participant names. Calculations and checklist changes stay in this browser tab. Nothing is saved automatically or sent to our server. Downloaded plans stay on your device; refreshing the page resets the workbook.
1. Set up the draw
Use whole numbers: 1–100,000 participants, at least 1 winner and 0 or more alternates. Winners plus alternates cannot exceed participants.
Your planning numbers
- Chance of a primary win per participant
- Chance of any primary or alternate position
- Participants not selected
For N distinct, equally likely entries and W primary winners, the primary-win probability is W ÷ N. With A distinct alternates it is (W + A) ÷ N for any selected position. An alternate position is not a prize and does not guarantee a later win. These probabilities describe the assumed process, not a certification of your event.
2. Practice with worked examples
Community draw
With 40 eligible people, 2 winners and 3 alternates, each person's primary-win chance is 5%. The chance of any selected position is 12.5%; 35 people remain unselected. Record alternates in order and contact the first eligible alternate only if the announced rules require it.
Limited capacity
With 8 people, 5 winners and 3 alternates, every person receives a selected position, but only 62.5% receive a primary position. Increasing alternates to 4 would be impossible without repeats. Reduce the requested positions rather than silently drawing the same person twice.
Duplicate-name trap
Suppose 12 rows include two people called Alex. A repeated display name does not prove a duplicate person. Verify identity with non-sensitive unique aliases before entering the eligible count. Removing one row without checking would change everyone's chances. The calculator cannot detect identity mistakes.
3. Prepare the record before drawing
These boxes record your own preparation, not an independent audit. Leave unresolved items unchecked. You can export an unfinished plan; it will retain the unchecked items.
Write who can enter and when the list closes. Resolve late entries before the random step.
Check duplicates by identity, not display name. Use unique aliases when names collide.
Save a dated copy of the cleaned list. The count here must match the list actually imported.
Announce the number of prizes, alternate order, response deadline and when a replacement is allowed.
Use only necessary data. Decide what may be displayed or exported, and avoid public share links for sensitive lists.
Test with fictional data, reset before the real draw, and save the original result. Do not rerun until a preferred name appears.
Preparation items checked:
4. Move from plan to tool
The links below open clean tools. This workbook does not transfer names, settings or results. Import your checked list separately and verify the counts again.
What this workbook cannot establish
A complete checklist is not proof that a draw is fair, lawful or independently witnessed. This page cannot verify entrants, consent, prize terms or a result from another tool. Keep a separate record of the actual list, announced rules and output. Follow applicable event requirements; do not treat this workbook as a certified lottery system.