Pick 3 Lottery | How to Play (2024)

Pick 3 is a fast-paced game with draws four times a day, so a chance to win the $500 top prize is always just around the corner. Players have a shot at the top prize on a $1 Straight play. There are a range of play styles to suit everyone, plus a choice of wager amounts and you can also add the Fireball option for extra ways to win a payout.

Read on for details of the draw days and times, how to play, plus prizes and odds of winning.

How to Play

Choose three numbers from 0 through 9, or select the QP (Quick Pick) box to have the lottery terminal randomly choose from for you. Each base play costs $0.50, $1, or $5; how much you bet determines how much you could win.>

Be strategic by picking one of the four play styles to choose how your numbers can make a winning match with the numbers drawn. Here’s how to win with each one - try them all and find your favorite:

• Exact Order – Your numbers match the winning numbers in the exact order they are drawn.
• Any Order – Your numbers match the winning numbers in any order.
• Exact/Any Order – Play both Exact and Any order on the same ticket. A $0.50 base play costs $1.
• Combo – All possible Exact Order combinations in one play. A $0.50 base play costs $1.50 to $6; a $1 base play costs $3 to $12 depending on the numbers you choose.

Multi-Draw is the simplest way to play your favorite numbers again, for up to 24 draws in a row. Simply mark the number of draws you wish to enter on your playslip.

Draw Schedule

The Pick 3 lottery has four drawings per day, Monday through Saturday. Tickets are not sold during the draw breaks. All times are listed in Central Time.

• Morning: 10:00 a.m. - Draw break from 9:50 to 10:03 a.m.
• Day: 12:27 p.m. - Draw break from 12:17 to 12:30 p.m.
• Evening: 6:00 p.m. - Draw break from 5:50 to 6:03 p.m.
• Night: 10:12 p.m. - Draw break from 10:02 to 10:15 p.m.

Fireball

Try the Fireball add-on to your play for more ways to win. Following every Pick 3 drawing the Texas Lottery draws one Fireball number from 0 to 9. You can use the Fireball number to replace any of the Pick 3 numbers that has been drawn to create more winning selections. Fireball doubles the cost of your Pick 3 play. Go to the Fireball page for more information.

Prizes and Odds

Check the table below to see what you could win according to your play style, wager, and your chosen numbers, plus the chances of snagging a prize. Scroll down to view Fireball prizes and odds.

Exact Order Plays

The odds and payouts for an Exact Order play stay the same in the base game, regardless of which numbers you pick, as every three-digit combination has the same chance of being drawn. Fireball odds and prize amounts differ, however, depending on whether your combination includes any repeated numbers.

Any Order Plays

In the base game, a 3-way Any Order play is harder to hit than a 6-way so it pays out more. With a 3-way play you also have the chance to win three Fireball prizes with the same combination.

Exact Order/Any Order Plays

An Exact Order/Any Order play costs more as it combines two types of play, but it offers big returns and many different ways to win. The prize amounts in the table below are based on a $0.50 play.

Combo Plays

A Combo play offers the biggest potential prizes of any Pick 3 play type, particularly if you opt in to Fireball. In the base game, the prizes are the same as those for an Exact Order play but the odds of hitting one of them are much better.

For Combo plays, you pay for each Exact Order combination within your chosen numbers. A 3-way, $0.50 Combo play, for example, would cost $1.50 as you would play three different combinations. Similarly, a 6-way, $1 Combo play would cost $6, as you would play six different combinations.