'Pokémon Go' Update: Everything you ever wanted to know about PokéStop odds and chances

Ever wonder how long you should sit on the same PokéStop, spinning it refresh after refresh in an attempt to find a 10km egg?

A new Pokémon Go study, whose results were recently published on The Silph Road, measured 500 spins of the same PokéStop in an effort to figure out how item distribution works. Now, when you get a really good spin on a PokéStop, you'll know precisely how lucky you were.

Pokémon Go analysis: Sitting on top of a PokéStop helps

Fortuitous employment led to this intensive PokéStop study.

"So, I work on a PokéStop and it has been slow in the office," Silph Road community member ABKC wrote, which explains how they had enough time to constantly spin the nearby PokéStop.

"Then I had a better thought," ABKC wrote. "I should write this down to try to create some more data on what PokéStops are doing and potentially catch times Niantic adjusts PokéStop item frequencies."

Of course, not everyone can reach a PokéStop without getting up from their desk. But thanks to this study you'll have a better idea of how many spins it takes to get the item you need.

Pokémon Go analysis of 500 PokéStop spins: Don't be sparing with your PokéBalls

According to ABKC's Pokémon Go study, 47.9% of the time a PokéStop will spit out a regular old PokéBall. Great Balls and regular Potions are the next two most common items on the list.

What this tells you is that you can relax on using Great Balls, Ultra Balls and Razzberries. Use them liberally and just get lots of target practice catching Pokémon. With enough work you can master the Excellent and Great throws with a nice curveball, which makes it easier to catch even the toughest Pokémon.

Here's the full breakdown of PokéStop probability:

Pokémon Go analysis of 500 PokéStop spins: 

You are much more likely, 78.4% of the time, to gather three items from a PokéStop than any other number. If you get six items from a spin, be very pleased with your luck. Only 0.2% of spins produce that many items!

More Pokémon Go guides, tips, tricks and updates

Check out Mic's Pokémon Go tips and tricks. Here are guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach Level 40, the kind of Pokemon you get from 10km eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.