If you want to win Pick-3 you need to know what the game is
really about. On the surface the game appears to be a matter
of picking one number out of a thousand. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
Let's look beneath the surface of Pick-3.
There are one thousand numbers consisting of three individual
digits from 0-0-0 through 9-9-9 from digits 0123456789.
We call numbers with three unique digits "Unmatched" 1-2-3.
We call numbers with two unique digits "Doubles" 1-2-2.
We call numbers with one unique digit "Triples" 2-2-2.
The game pays for numbers correctly predicted and played as
"Straight" which means the digits are drawn in the exact order
as played. And "Box" which means the same digits as drawn, but
in any order. If 2-1-2 were drawn you would have had to play
2-1-2 to win Straight or one of 1-2-2, 2-1-2, 2-2-1 to win
Box.
Box pays a third to a sixth of Straight because Unmatched
numbers have six ways of positioning the digits, Doubles have
three. Triples, there is only Straight.
Unlike the larger Pick-5 and Pick-6 games, the Box prize is
not a consolation for having the correct digits in the wrong
order. It is a totally separate play independent of the
Straight play. Some states allow the front or back Pair to be
played "Straight" these are also totally independent plays.
Breaking down the One Thousand Pick-3 numbers we find . . .
Because the Pick-3 digits are pictured as "numbers" 0123456789
we can treat these identifiers as if numbers for the purpose
of a further breakdown into "Odd" and "Even" configurations.
Odd = 1 3 5 7 9
Even = 0 2 4 6 8
All the numbers fall into four groups based on Odd/Even.
All Odd 0-2-4 = O-O-O = 125 numbers = 12.5% = 35 Box = A group
All Even 1-3-5 = E-E-E = 125 numbers = 12.5% = 35 Box = B group
More Odd 1-3-4 = O-O-E = 375 numbers = 37.5% = 75 Box = C group
More Even 0-2-3 = E-E-O = 375 numbers = 37.5% = 75 Box = D group
There are 35 pure Odd Box numbers. The A group.
There are 5 Triples.
111, 333, 555, 777, 999
There are 10 Unmatched Odd Box numbers.
135, 137, 139, 157, 159, 179
357, 359, 379, 579
There are 20 Double Odd Box numbers.
113, 115, 117, 119
133, 155, 177, 199
335, 337, 339
355, 377, 399
557, 559
577, 599
779, 799
There are 35 pure Even Box numbers. The B group.
There are 5 Triples.
000, 222, 444, 666, 888
There are 10 Unmatched Even Box numbers.
024, 026, 028, 046, 048, 068
246, 248, 268, 468
There are 20 Double Even Box numbers.
002, 004, 006, 008
022, 044, 066, 088
224, 226, 228
244, 266, 288
446, 448
466, 488
668, 688
Pick-3 is a negative expectation game. This means you can buy
a win, but you can't make a profit doing so.
Buying all one thousand combinations Straight for a dollar per
play would cost $1000.00 and returns $500.00.
Buying all 210 Boxed combinations for a dollar per play would
cost $210.00 and return either $80.00 for Unmatched or $160.00
for a Double.
Buying all 120 Unmatched Box combinations for a dollar per
play would cost $120.00 and return $80.00 two times in three.
Buying all 90 Doubles Boxed combinations for a dollar per play
would cost $90.00 and return $160.00, but you can only expect
Doubles to be drawn one time in three to four draws.
To make a Pick-3 system work, the system author has to setup
conditions where a series of correct choices by the user will
result in a win. In other words, the choices you make will
determine whether you win or lose.
In this system there is one to four choices to be made
correctly in order to profit at Pick-3.
The first is whether to play today at all. I know it sounds
weird to make not playing a part of any winning system, but it
is the only way to deal with days when there is no clear path.
It is always better not to play then to lose as the difference
doesn't have to be made up out of future wins. It's hard to
recover when losing negates the value of future wins, so don't
play when the signs don't point to a group: A, B, C, D.
The second decision is whether unmatched or doubles will be
drawn. As you can see, we can quickly eliminate a lot of
numbers when we decide to play only unmatched or only doubles.
The third choice allows for ignoring the second decision if
choice isn't clear and requires one of the four groups be
chosen for play, the: A, B, C, or D group.
The forth choice can be skipped if groups A or B were chosen,
but should be applied if either C or D is expected to contain
the winning number and the second decision was skipped.
The forth choice is to eliminate one or two digits out of the
ten. This means you don't play any number containing those
digit(s), thus 15 - 30 numbers are eliminated out of the 75.
The usual charting methods should be applied tracking the four
groups' skips and hits in the hopes of determining which is
due in the next draw. We don't have to pick between unmatched
and doubles, but the profits improve when we do so correctly.
The digits should be tracked so the dead numbers can be
eliminated when necessary.
Tracking should demonstrate you shouldn't play the same group
back to back. I know they will occasionally come in that way,
but we want to play what happens most often, not rarely.
Doubles tend to come in clusters, watch for a series of 3-5
Unmatched draws to end with several Doubles.
All Odd or all Even are due an average of 1 in 8 to 10 draws.
Two digits repeating are due an average of 1 in 8 to 10 draws.
A Double repeating its two digits averages 1 in 20-25 draws.
Triples are expected once every 99 draws, see if they either
hit more often in your game or return with a second hit within
a third of the time they were out since their last draw. Sort
of a leap frog effect to watch for.
If positive about doubles being due, play all three of their
variations Straight at a dollar each for a $500.00 win.
Ignore "expert" advice about playing sums, it's totally bogus.
A game you can win will have a natural rhythm with digits
raising, cresting and falling away only to begin the process
again. The hot numbers will tend to remain hot, the average
will remain average and the cold will remain cold for a time
and then reorder themselves. If this appears disjointed in
your game, your lottery may be attempting to disrupt the flow
by aggressively switching ballsets and machines or uses a
computer draw.
If you find you can't seem to win often enough to be useful,
either you aren't trying hard enough or it's a game you
shouldn't be playing.
