subject: Pick 3 Lottery Games - Combinations and Probabilities of Winning [print this page] Pick 3 Lottery Games - Combinations and Probabilities of Winning
There is a possibility of picking up one thousand 3-digit numbers ranging from 000 to 999 in Pick 3 lottery games. The order of the numbers may be straight or jumbled, but if exact order is considered, the chances are winning are 1 in a 1000. But when boxes are used in these games, then the order of the three chosen numbers does not matter as the total number of possible combinations is only 220. These are the lower odds as they lead to higher chances of winning.
This also implies that the chances of winning with boxes are 1 in 220 which is much secure. The boxes may or may not contain repeated digits. It is understood that the combinations with three different digits have greater chances of winning with boxes. For instance, if 194 is chosen, the possible six permutations are 194, 149, 491, 419, 914 and 941, so the chances of winning are 6 in 220. But if a number such as 199 which has two same digits is chosen, then there are only 3 possible permutations as 199, 919 and 991. The chances of winning in this case are only 3 in 220. The player's choice is even more improbable if a number such as 444 is chosen, as it has only one possible permutation thereby reducing its chances of winning to 1 in 220.
That explains the reason why the winning prize money for a number with repeated digits is comparatively greater than the prize money for a number with three unique digits. The more difficult it is for a combination to occur, the greater is the prize money as the choice of the particular number involves greater risk.
