How to Play Pick 3 in the US – Straight, Box, Combo & Fireball Explained for NC, FL, VA, NJ, SC & More

Pick 3 is a daily lottery game in which players pick 3 digits from 0 to 9 and win if they match the digits drawn, in the order or combination their bet type requires. Each state lottery runs its own Pick 3 game.

Pick 3 has 1,000 possible numbers, from 000 to 999. The odds of a Pick 3 straight win are 1 in 1,000. A play costs $0.50 or $1 in most states, and states draw Pick 3 one to four times a day. Prizes are fixed in most states: a $1 straight play pays $500.

The game has a different name in many states. Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi call it Cash 3. California, Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia call it Daily 3. Delaware sells Play 3, Connecticut Play3, New York Numbers, Washington, D.C. DC-3 and Puerto Rico Pega 3. North Carolina names it Carolina Pick 3, and New Jersey writes Pick-3.

Pick 3 is not a multi-state game. Each lottery sets its own draws, prices and prize rules. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are the exception: they share one Tri-State Pick 3 draw. The game grew out of the numbers game, an illegal three-digit daily lottery run in US cities long before states sold it. New Jersey started the first legal state version, Pick-It, on May 22, 1975, and renamed it Pick-3 in 1987.

Pick 3 has five common bet types: straight, box, straight/box, combo and pair bets. Each one sets whether your digits must match in exact order, in any order or only in part. Some states rename them.

A Pick 3 ticket wins when its digits match the draw the way its bet type requires. A few states add 1-Off, which also pays when digits are one away from the drawn digits.

Straight (Exact)

A straight bet on 1-2-3 wins only if the draw is 1-2-3. North Carolina calls it Exact, and Virginia and Texas call it Exact Order. A $1 straight play pays $500 in most states; Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska pay $600.

Box (Any Order): 6-Way and 3-Way

A box bet on 1-2-3 wins on any of its six orders, such as 3-2-1. A box bet on 1-1-2 has only three orders, so it is called a 3-way box and pays more than a 6-way box – $160 against $80 on a $1 play in most states. A triple such as 7-7-7 has one order only, so it is played straight, never box.

Straight/Box (50/50)

A straight/box bet splits one $1 play into a 50¢ straight and a 50¢ box. Both halves win when 1-2-3 is drawn exactly; only the box half wins when 2-3-1 is drawn. North Carolina and Virginia call it 50/50, and Texas calls it Exact/Any Order.

Combo

A combo bet buys every straight order of your digits on one ticket. The cost is the base amount times the number of orders: $6 for a $1 combo on 1-2-3 (6 orders) and $3 for a $1 combo on 1-1-2 (3 orders). The combo pays the straight prize for the order that is drawn – $500 on a $1 combo in Florida and Georgia. New Jersey calls the same bet a Wheel.

Front Pair, Back Pair and Split Pair

A front pair bet on 1-2 wins when the first two digits drawn are 1-2 in that order, and a back pair bet on 2-3 needs the last two digits. Florida pays $50 on a $1 pair play, the same as most states that sell pairs, as the Florida Pick 3 payouts table shows. North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia also sell pair bets. Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Connecticut add a split pair, which matches the first and last digits.

1-Off

A 1-Off bet wins when each digit is the drawn digit or one above or below it, in the same position. The prize falls as more digits are off. Georgia's Cash 3 1-Off odds run from 1 in 125 to 1 in 1,000, and every Georgia draw is listed on the Georgia Cash 3 results page. Kentucky added 1-OFF on July 30, 2018, with 27 chances to win on a Pick 3 play. Michigan and Indiana sell 1-Off on Daily 3.

Pick 3 rules differ by state in the game's name, the number of daily draws, the prices, the add-on and the bet-type names. The straight odds stay 1 in 1,000 everywhere, and the table lists each state's version.

The common rules are the same in every state: three digits from 0 to 9, one result per draw, and a claim deadline set by the state lottery. Two states pay pari-mutuel prizes that change with sales: California Daily 3 and New Mexico Pick 3 Plus. North Carolina stops taking wagers on a number for a draw once its prize liability reaches the lottery's limit, and Delaware and Rhode Island also reserve the right to limit sales on a number. Minimum ages differ: 18 in most states, 21 in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and Mississippi, and 19 in Nebraska.

You check a Pick 3 ticket against the published result, sign it, and claim the prize from your state lottery before its deadline, which runs from 90 days to one year depending on the state. Retailers pay small prizes.

Checking a Pick 3 Ticket

A Pick 3 ticket is checked against the result for its own draw date and draw. Players can check your Pick 3 numbers against every draw in a date range, from the latest draw to the past year, for exact-order, any-order and pair matches, with Fireball matches listed separately. A multi-draw ticket is checked against each draw it covers.

Claiming a Pick 3 Prize and Paying Tax

1. Sign the back of the ticket.
2. Claim smaller prizes at a lottery retailer and larger ones from the state lottery. The retailer limit is $599 or $600 in most states, $500 in South Carolina and $2,500 in Pennsylvania.
3. Claim before your state's deadline: 180 days in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky, and one year in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Pick 3 winnings are taxable income. A $500 Pick 3 win is below the 2026 federal W-2G reporting threshold of $2,000, but it still belongs on your federal tax return, and state rules differ. The lottery tax calculator estimates the tax on a prize in each state.