What Are the Odds? Read the FAQ

Tips

WATO lets you use the amounts of DNA you share with multiple matches to help figure out where you might fit into their tree

Before you start you'll need:

A research question (e.g. 'Who was my father?')
Shared cM amounts for a group of matches from your match list
Knowledge of how these matches are related to each other

How to use:

Enter your target name and year of birth. This is either you or the name or another person who you're trying to fit into the tree using their matches.
Build a simple tree by hovering on a node and clicking add child, or alternatively import a GEDCOM
Enter the amounts of DNA the target shares with people in the tree by hovering over each match and clicking Enter match cM
To find out whether a position in the tree is feasible based on the amounts of shared DNA, hover over any node and click Add hypothesis. Or click Suggest Hypotheses to have WATO do this for you.
The site will generate an odds ratio for each hypothesis. If the odds are above zero, the hypothesis is possible, and the higher a score is, the more likely it is. This does not mean a score has to be high in order for a hypothesis to be correct.

While the scores cannot give you a definitive answer, they can guide you in the right direction.

Watch a webinar

Read the FAQ
Or close this window and build a tree manually

Load GEDCOM

Upload a GEDCOM (family tree) file here. Please note: this will *replace* anything you may have already entered for this WATO tree.

Loading GEDCOM data. If you have a large file, this may take a little while

If you have any issues importing your family tree, I would be very grateful if you could email a copy to info@dnapainter.com for testing. Many thanks!

Sorry - there was a problem with your file. Either it wasn't a file the site can read, or there weren't any people in it.

Your file should be a GEDCOM file with the file extension '.ged' or '.gedcom'. Please check the file and try again, or if you think your file is fine, please feel free to email it to info@dnapainter.com

Type a name here and click on a result to select someone whose descendants you'd like to import

Import

All descendants

Privacy

Replace the names of living people with their initials Import the names and details of living people as is.

Target name: Enter the name of the person you're trying to place in the tree Birth year: YYYY

My research question is: Enter the question you are trying to answer here

The file you loaded was imported successfully

Tree deleted

This is an example tree. Create a new tree by clicking here

You are viewing this tree in read-only mode. If you would like to make edits, please click Save and make a copy in your DNA Painter account first.

You are investigating a match of 110cM

The tree below shows 39 hypotheses, identified by a green border. These represent different ways you and the match could connect.

Hypotheses are mathematically possible but may not be genealogically likely.
To narrow down the possibilities, type your birth year above and estimate a birth year for the match by hovering over 'Person' and clicking 'Edit details'
If you have pedigree collapse or endogamy in your family, these hypotheses may not be accurate.
Shared cM project view for 110 cM
More information on this feature

You have one or more hypotheses that are possible

Click on any score to show match relationships

View score calculation View ranking of hypotheses

Hover over a person for options. Scroll to the right to see children.

Suggesting Hypotheses

Most recent common ancestor or couple

Unknown

Score = 2 Hypothesis 1

Unknown

Person 110cM

Unknown child

Score = 2 Hypothesis 2

Unknown half-sib

Unknown child

Score = 2 Hypothesis 3

Unknown sibling

Unknown child

Score = 2 Hypothesis 4

Score = 10 Hypothesis 5

Score = 7 Hypothesis 6

Score = 4 Hypothesis 7

Unknown half-sib

Unknown child

Score = 2 Hypothesis 8

Score = 10 Hypothesis 9

Score = 7 Hypothesis 10

Score = 4 Hypothesis 11

Score = 1 Hypothesis 12

Unknown sibling

Unknown child

Score = 2 Hypothesis 13

Score = 10 Hypothesis 14

Score = 7 Hypothesis 15

Score = 4 Hypothesis 16

Score = 1 Hypothesis 17

Unknown half-sib

Score = 2 Hypothesis 18

Score = 10 Hypothesis 19

Score = 7 Hypothesis 20

Score = 4 Hypothesis 21

Score = 1 Hypothesis 22

Unknown sibling

Score = 2 Hypothesis 23

Score = 10 Hypothesis 24

Score = 7 Hypothesis 25

Score = 4 Hypothesis 26

Score = 1 Hypothesis 27

Score = 2 Unknown half-sib Hypothesis 28

Score = 10 Hypothesis 29

Score = 7 Hypothesis 30

Score = 4 Hypothesis 31

Score = 1 Hypothesis 32

Unknown sibling

Score = 10 Hypothesis 33

Score = 7 Hypothesis 34

Score = 4 Hypothesis 35

Score = 1 Hypothesis 36

Unknown half-sib

Score = 7 Hypothesis 37

Score = 4 Hypothesis 38

Score = 1 Hypothesis 39

Click to add notes

Ranking of Hypotheses

Here are the calculated probabilities, with the most likely hypothesis first.
A higher score means a higher likelihood that this hypothesis is correct. Read the FAQ for more about scores

View score calculation Back to top