When playing Pick 4, it makes a big difference what Play Type you select, as well as whether your four chosen numbers contain any duplicates. On this page, we'll explain how all the different play types work, and how the number of "Ways" you play affects your chances of winning.
To win the Straight Play Type, you need to match all the winning numbers in drawn order. This is the Play Type with the lowest odds, but the biggest prize!
The Box Play Type isn't as strict - you win the Box by matching the winning numbers in any order. Depending on the numbers you've chosen though, your odds and prizes can vary! More detail to follow.
If you can't decide, just bet on both! With the Straight/Box Play Type, half of your bet goes towards a Box Play, and half goes towards a Straight Play. If you end up winning the Straight, you've technically also won the Box, so you get both prizes.
If you're making a Box or Straight/Box play, it actually makes a difference whether you pick four unique numbers, or if your numbers contain duplicates. When you make a Box play, you're betting on any possible combination of your chosen numbers being drawn - but there are twenty-four combinations you can make with 1234, twelve with 1233, six with 1122, and just four different combinations for 1222. Put simply, your chances of winning are six times higher if you play 1234 compared to 1222!
The number of combinations you can make with your numbers is also known as the number of "Ways" you play. To make things fairer, picking a Way with worse odds will earn you much greater prizes should you win! We've listed the different Way prizes below to illustrate this - if you want to check the payouts for all possible plays, head over to our Odds and Prizes page.
Use our generator to see what combinations could make you a winner. Simply enter your numbers here and see how many ways you could win.
| Number of Ways | Description | Winning Combinations | Odds of Winning | Box Prizes |
| 4-Way | Three identical digits and one unique digit - e.g. 1112 | 1112, 1121, 1211, 2111 | 1 in 2,500 | $600 or $1,200 |
| 6-Way | Two sets of pairs - e.g. 3344 | 3344, 3434, 3443, 4334, 4343, 4433 | 1 in 1,667 | $400 or $800 |
| 12-Way | One pair and two unique digits - e.g. 5677 | 5677, 5767, 5766, 6577, 6757, 6775, 7567, 7576, 7657, 7675, 7756, 7765 | 1 in 833 | $200 or $400 |
| 24-Way | Four different numbers - e.g. 1234 | 1234, 1243, 1324, 1342, 1423, 1432, 2134, 2143, 2314, 2341, 2413, 2431, 3124, 3142, 3214, 3241, 3412, 3421, 4123, 4132, 4213, 4231, 4312, 4321 | 1 in 416 | $100 or $200 |