How to play
Three Digit Draw copies the format of the evening “pick three” lottery draw. There are three ball machines side by side, one for each position, and each holds ten balls numbered 0 to 9. Each machine releases one ball, and the three balls read left to right make the winning number, anywhere from 000 to 999.
Choose a number. Under “Your number” there are three digits, each with an up and a down arrow. Click them to dial in any number you like, leading zeros included. Quick pick fills all three digits at random if you have no favourite.
Bet. Pick a chip (10, 50, 100 or 500) and tap one or more of the four bet boxes: Straight, Box, Front pair and Back pair. Each box takes its own stake, from 10 up to 500, and shows what it pays. You can cover just one or all four on the same number. Clear removes the chips and Rebet puts back last round’s bets.
Draw. Press Draw. The machines spin one after another, a ball drops from each, and the message reads, for instance, “The number is 418; yours was 481.” Winning bets are paid at once. Recent results stay in a history row, up to the last sixteen draws.
The four bets
| Bet | You win when | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | the draw matches your number exactly, digit for digit | 900 to 1 |
| Box | the draw uses your three digits in any order | 149 to 1 or 299 to 1 |
| Front pair | the first two digits match, in place | 89 to 1 |
| Back pair | the last two digits match, in place | 89 to 1 |
The Box price depends on the shape of your number. Three different digits, like 581, can be arranged six ways (158, 185, 518, 581, 815, 851), so Box pays 149 to 1. A number with one repeated digit, like 447, has only three arrangements (447, 474, 744), so it pays 299 to 1. A triple like 666 has a single arrangement, which is just the Straight, so the Box spot reads “not with three same digits” and can’t be used.
“To 1” means your stake comes back on top of the win. A 10-credit Straight that hits returns 9,010.
The odds, counted exactly
The three machines are independent and each digit is equally likely, so all 1,000 numbers have the same 1-in-1,000 chance. That makes every bet easy to price:
| Bet | Winning draws out of 1,000 | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | 1 | 901 ÷ 1,000 = 90.1% |
| Box, three different digits | 6 | 6 × 150 ÷ 1,000 = 90% |
| Box, one repeated digit | 3 | 3 × 300 ÷ 1,000 = 90% |
| Front pair | 10 | 10 × 90 ÷ 1,000 = 90% |
| Back pair | 10 | 10 × 90 ÷ 1,000 = 90% |
The house keeps roughly a tenth of every bet type, and the Straight is a shade kinder than the rest.
How the bets overlap
Because each bet is checked on its own, a single draw can pay more than one. If the draw matches your number exactly, the Straight wins, the Box wins too (the exact order is one of the allowed orders), and both pairs win as well. With 10 credits on each of the four boxes and number 123, an exact hit returns 9,010 + 1,500 + 900 + 900 = 12,310.
Smaller overlaps happen too. Draw 127 against your 123 and the Front pair pays, nothing else does. Draw 321 and only the Box pays.
Strategy
Every bet returns about 90% in the long run, and no number is luckier than another, so the choices here are about how you want the session to feel.
- Pairs for a steady game. A pair hits once per hundred draws on average. Front and Back on the same number can’t both hit unless the whole number matches, so together they cover 19 draws out of 1,000.
- Box over Straight for more frequent wins. Pick three different digits and the Box wins six times as often as the Straight, at a sixth of the price.
- Straight for the big swing. It’s the rarest win and the biggest single payout, and its 90.1% return is the best on the board by a whisker.
- Ignore “hot” and “cold” numbers. The history row is there to look at. Each draw starts fresh with ten balls in every machine.
For draws with many more balls, see Number Draw 6/49 or Keno, where you choose how many numbers to mark.
If you enjoy Three Digit Draw, try Three Street Stud or Tiger Six Baccarat next.
