Straight and Boxed Lottery Wheeling Straight and Boxed Lottery WheelingDo you play a Pick-3 or Pick-4 game? Here is an explanation of the two kinds of wheels for these games.
How Straight Lottery Wheels Work
How Boxed Lottery Wheels Work
How You Can Use Each Kind of Lottery Wheel
Pick-3 and Pick-4 Odds
Effects on Filtering Your Combinations
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Here are the complete listings of all the Pick-3 and Pick-4 Boxed lottery combinations.
Pick-3 Boxed CombinationsPick-4 Boxed Combinations
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How Straight Lottery Wheels Work Straight wheels make every possible combination of the numbers you play. Here is a Straight wheel example for a Pick-3 game -- the principle is the same for Pick-4. Suppose you have 3 numbers to play in the first digit position, and 4 numbers in the second digit position, and 5 numbers in the third digit position. A Straight wheel gives you a total of 60 combinations (3 x 4 x 5 = 60). When you play a set of numbers into a Straight wheel, your numbers will appear in your combinations in the same digit positions as you originally played them. For example, the combinations 729 and 972 are completely different and separate combinations. 
How Boxed Lottery Wheels Work Boxed wheels make a reduced set of combinations, by rearranging the numbers you play. A Boxed wheel does this by moving the numbers around inside each combination. It places the numbers into an 'ascending' sequence -- from lowest to highest -- and then it eliminates any duplicate combinations that it finds. The result is a smaller and more economical set of combinations. For example, in a Boxed wheel the combinations 729 and 972 contain the same numbers. Both of them will be rearranged into an ascending sequence, and will become 279. The wheel now has two combinations that are duplicated with the numbers 279. Only one is needed for playing in your Pick-3 game. The Boxed wheel eliminates the duplicate, giving you fewer final combinations.
How You Can Use Each Kind of Wheel Generally you use Straight wheeling to make an exact match with your game's winning numbers -- the same numbers, in the same digit positions. You use Boxed wheeling to make any match with the winning numbers, in any digit positions. Usually, the game's prize is lower for a Boxed match than for a Straight match,because the odds of making the Boxed match are lower.
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Your Winning Chances The table below shows your chances of winning in Pick-3 and Pick-4 games, in both Straight and Boxed play. For example, your chances for matching a 3-digit Straight winner are 1 in 1,000. Your chances of matching a 4-digit Straight winner are 1 in 10,000. You can win a Straight prize only by matching the game's winning numbers in the same digit positions. Therefore there is only one way to win a Straight prize. Some games pay prizes if you 'Box' the winning numbers in any digit positions. Your winning chances depend upon how many different numbers you play. For example, your chances of matching a 3-digit Boxed winner, using two numbers that are alike and one number that is different, are 1 in 333. There are three possible ways in which your three numbers can win if you play them that way. This is shown in the '3-Way Box' line in the table. Your chances of matching a 4-digit Boxed winner, using four different numbers, are 1 in 416. There are 24 possible ways in which your four numbers can win, as shown in the '24-Way Box' line. |
2113 2131 2311 3112 3121 3211 |
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2134 2143 2314 2341 2413 2431 3124 3142 3214 3241 3412 3421 4123 4132 4213 4231 4312 4321 |
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Because your chances are better for winning with the various Boxed combinations (compared
to winning with the Straight combinations), most games pay a lower prize amount for the
Boxed combinations.
In addition to the combinations shown above, some games pay prizes if you match a single digit, or a pair of digits. Check your game's prizes for all types of combinations.
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About Pick-3 and Pick-4 Filtering When you filter your combinations in the Lottery Director Pick-3 and Pick-4 software, your program filters them automatically according to the wheel you are playing. If you are using a Straight wheel, filtering is applied to digits in exact order. Filtering for a Boxed wheel is applied to digits in any order. It's done automatically -- all you have to do is to select your wheel, select your numbers, and (if you want to use filtering) select your filtering. Examples of Straight and Boxed Filtering For example, suppose you have wheeled a set of Pick-3 numbers into a Straight wheel. Now you have a set of combinations that you can play. You can choose to keep all of your combinations, or you can filter them for economy. Suppose you want to filter your combinations to eliminate any unwanted, 'excessive' amounts of Repeat numbers. You can reject combinations that have one, two, or all three numbers that already won in the last draw. A "Straight Repeat" number is one that is repeated in the same digit position. Therefore, if the number 5 won in the first digit position in the last draw, and one of your new combinations has a 5 the first digit, then that combination can be eliminated. If you are wheeling your numbers into a Boxed wheel, the filtering will be applied differently. A "Boxed Repeat" number is one that is repeated in any digit position. Therefore, if the number 5 won in any digit in the last draw, and one of your new combinations has a 5 any digit, then that combination can be eliminated. The same principles apply for your other Pick-3 and Pick-4 filters, when used in Straight or Boxed wheeling. For example, the numbers 234 are three Consecutive numbers in both Straight and Boxed wheeling. They're Consecutive in a Straight wheel because they're Consecutive in exact order. That makes them, of course, Consecutive in any order as well. On the other hand, the numbers 324 are not three Consecutives in a Straight wheel. When played in a Boxed wheel, however, they'll be rearranged into 234 -- an ascending sequence -- and thus will become Consecutives in that wheel. Fortunately, your Lottery Director software takes care of all these details when filtering your combinations either way, Straight or Boxed. You simply select your wheel, numbers, and filters. You'll get the set of combinations that fits your playing style and budget.
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