You can play Pick 3 in several different ways in Texas. The play style you choose dictates the prizes that are available to you. Learn more about each method below, whether you want to go in search of the biggest potential payouts or the best odds.
Go to the Prizes page to find out how much you can win for each play style.
With an ‘Exact Order’ play, you are predicting that the three winning numbers will be drawn in the same positions as the three numbers you have selected. For example, if you pick the numbers 1-2-3, the winning numbers need to be drawn as 1-2-3. If they are selected in a different order, for example 1-3-2, you lose.
‘Any Order’ plays have a better chance of winning, as you are just predicting that your three selected numbers will all be drawn. The order is irrelevant. For example, if you pick the numbers 4-5-6, you would still win if those numbers were drawn in another order, such as 6-4-5. As the odds are better, the potential prizes are lower.
An ‘Exact/Any Order’ play costs $1. Half of your money goes on matching the winning numbers exactly, and half on matching the numbers in any order. For example, if you select 3-6-9 and the numbers are drawn as 9-3-6, you win a prize for the ‘Any Order’ part of your play, but not for the ‘Exact Order’ part. If the winning numbers are exactly in the same order, you win both parts.
A ‘Combo’ play is essentially a series of ‘Exact Order’ predictions, as you are combining all the possible ways that your numbers could appear. For example, if you pick the numbers 9-9-0, you are really placing an Exact Order prediction on 9-9-0, another one on 9-0-9, and another on 0-9-9. The advantage is that you win the ‘Exact Order’ prize if your numbers come up – which is more than the ‘Any Order’ prize for the same numbers. However, you do have to pay for each combination of numbers you play.
For an ‘Exact Order’ play, you can select any combination of numbers and the potential prize is the same. It does not matter if you have three different numbers (1-2-3), two the same and one different (1-1-2), or three identical numbers (1-1-1).
For the other play styles, the different options are 3-way or 6-way. A 3-way prediction is one where two of your numbers are the same (such as 5-7-7), as there are only three different combinations of those numbers (5-7-7, 7-5-7 and 7-7-5). If you choose three different numbers (such as 1-2-3), this is known as a 6-way prediction as there are six possible combinations (1-2-3, 1-3-2, 2-1-3, 2-3-1, 3-1-2 and 3-2-1).
Your odds are better for a 6-way play as you have more chances to win. However, the 3-way options for Any Order or Exact/Any Order have larger potential prizes, while it is also cheaper to play a 3-way combo than a 6-way combo.