General Rules That Apply to All Draw Games

1. It is the player's responsibility to check their ticket to make sure it represents the correct game, draw date, numbers requested and has a visible bar code or serial number.
2. Winning tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the last winning draw date on the ticket.
3. Purchased tickets are only valid for the dates shown on the ticket.
4. The ticket, not the playslip, is the only valid proof of your number selection, and it is the only valid receipt to claim a prize.
5. All tickets, transactions and winners are subject to the directives of the executive director of the Missouri Lottery, the rules and regulations of the Missouri Lottery and the Missouri Statutes, and tickets are only offered for sale in accordance with the same.
6. Upon purchasing a ticket, the player agrees to abide by the Missouri Statutes and all rules and regulations of the Missouri Lottery.
7. A ticket is a bearer instrument. It is recommended that the ticket be signed at the time of purchase.
8. The Missouri Lottery is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets. Tickets are void and will not be paid if determined stolen, unissued, illegible, mutilated, altered in whole or part, misregistered, defective, incomplete, printed or produced in error, multiply-printed, or if the ticket fails any of the Missouri Lottery's confidential validation tests. Liability for void tickets is limited to replacement of the ticket or refund of sales price.
9. Tickets may not be sold to or redeemed by minors under the age of 18.
10. The holder of a winning ticket may win in only one prize category per play board and shall be paid the prize in the highest category won.

Pick 4 Game Rules

A player must first choose four numbers between 0 and 9,then choose the type of play. They may select each set in one of four ways: by verbally communicating the numbers to the retailer; by completing a paper playslip, by completing a digital playslip or by requesting a "Quick Pick." A Quick Pick is a computerized randomly-selected set of numbers available through the Draw Games terminal. Plays can be made for 50 cents or $1 and up to 14 consecutive draws on a single playslip. Pick 4 is drawn twice daily, seven days a week, at approximately 12:45 p.m. and 8:59 p.m. each day. Depending on the wager type chosen (wager types specified below), a player must match all four numbers in the Exact Order drawn or in Any Order drawn to win.

How to play Pick 4 using a playslip

1. The playslip has five play boards ("Board A" through "Board E"), each containing four columns of numbers from 0 through 9. You may play from one to five boards. Based on the play type, select one number from each of the appropriate columns, or mark the "Quick Pick" box.
2. Select the wager amount ($.50 cents or $1).
3. Select one option for the the play type. Play types include the following options:
   • Straight (Exact Order)
   • Box (Any Order)
   • Straight/Box (Exact Order or Any Order – must be $1 wager)
   • Front Three
   • Back Three
   • Front Pair
   • Middle Pair
   • Back Pair
4. Combo (Gives all possible four-number combinations of the chosen numbers for an Exact-Order win)
5. 1-Off (Win if your numbers are 1-Off the winning numbers drawn)
6. If you make a mistake, mark the "Void" box on that board and select your numbers on the next board.
7. To play your numbers for more than one drawing at a time, mark the appropriate box on the left side of the playslip next to "MULTI DRAW." This will play only your selections "Board A" through "Board E" for that number of drawings. Pick 4 can be played for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 14 consecutive drawings.
8. Pick 4 can be played for the Midday drawing, Evening drawing or Both by selecting the appropriate box on the left side of the playslip. If no selection is made, your selections will be played for the next available Pick 4 drawing.
9. Prize payouts for 50-cent plays will be half of the amount of a $1 play.
10. The Straight/Box play requires a $1 wager.
11. The cost for a Combo wager can be from $2 to $24 depending on the wager amount and numbers played.
12. Use only a blue or black pen or use a pencil for marking selections; red ink will not be accepted by the terminal.

How to play Pick 4 using a digital playslip with the mobile app

1. Using the Missouri Lottery mobile app, choose how you would like to play your numbers.
   1. Select Your Own Numbers
      1. Select Play Type (Straight, Box, Straight/Box, Combo, Front Pair, Middle Pair, Back Pair, Front Three, Back Three, 1-Off)
      2. Select Draw Time (Midday, Evening, Both)
      3. Select three numbers, 1-9
   2. Let Quick Pick select the numbers for you
      1. Select Play Type (Straight, Box, Straight/Box, Combo, Front Pair, Middle Pair, Back Pair, Front Three, Back Three, 1-Off)
      2. Select Draw Time (Midday, Evening, Both)
2. After you’ve determined your play type, draw time and numbers, you can add more Plays, or continue to select Draw Options.
3. Select the Amount per Play. Prize payouts for $0.50 wagers will be half of the amount of a $1.00 play.
4. Select the number of drawings you’d like to play. This selection will apply to all Plays on this playslip.
5. Add EZ Match, if desired, by selecting "Yes." EZ Match is an instant-win feature that gives players a chance to win from $2 to $500 in addition to their regular Pick 4 winnings. EZ Match costs an additional $1 per Pick 4 play.
6. Select "Save & Go to My Playslips" to save the playslip to use at retail. Show the QR code to the clerk and they will scan your playslip from your phone.

How to play Pick 4 verbally

At the discretion of the retailer, Pick 4 may be played by making a verbal request for a ticket. The player must provide the clerk with all of the following information:

1. The numbers to be played – either player-selected or "Quick Pick"
2. The dollar amount to be played - either 50 cents or $1
3. The wager type - Straight, Box, Straight/Box, Front Three, Back Three, Front Pair, Middle Pair, Back Pair, Combo or 1-Off
4. The number of draws to be played
5. The drawing to be played: Midday, Evening or Both

EZ Match

1. EZ Match is an instant-win feature that is an add-on game for Cash4Life, Show Me Cash, Lotto, Pick 3 and Pick 4 that costs $1 per play, in addition to the cost of the Cash4Life ticket. A player selecting EZ Match for Pick 4 will receive four (4) EZ Match numbers printed below the Pick 4 numbers on the ticket.
2. All EZ Match winners are randomly generated. If any Pick 4 number(s) on the ticket matches any EZ Match number(s), the player instantly wins the prize amount printed next to the matched EZ Match number(s). If two (2) or more of the same Pick 4 game numbers match an EZ Match number, the player wins the EZ Match prize amount printed next to the matched EZ Match number one (1) time.
3. Players may play EZ Match by marking the applicable EZ Match box on the Pick 4 playslip or by requesting the add-on from the retailer.
4. Each board played with EZ Match will be printed on a separate ticket. Pick 4 tickets with the added EZ Match option will print with the Pick 4/EZ Match logo at the top of the ticket; the EZ Match logo will also be within the body of the ticket with the EZ Match numbers, and the amount of the prizes will be printed below the EZ Match logo. Draw Games tickets printed without these elements are not EZ Match tickets and are not eligible to win EZ Match prizes.
5. Pick 4 tickets with EZ Match cannot be canceled.
6. A winning EZ Match play can be cashed at any Missouri Lottery retail location either before or after the host game drawing. If the EZ Match play is cashed prior to the host game drawing, an exchange ticket will print for the upcoming drawing, just like when a multi-draw winning ticket is cashed before all the drawings have occurred. If a winning EZ Match play is cashed after the host game drawing has occurred, and wins on both the EZ Match wager and the host game drawing, the prizes will be added together and paid in one lump sum.
7. The EZ Match prize structure will be replenished either automatically when all top-tier prizes have been won or at the end of the day, during nightly processing.
8. EZ Match prizes can be claimed up to 180 days from the host game draw date on which the EZ Match wager was originally purchased.

Pick 4 tickets with EZ Match cannot be canceled.

Pick 4 Liability Limit

Two Missouri Lottery games - Pick 3 and Pick 4 - have liability limits, meaning players may be denied the purchase of numbers when a certain number of tickets with a particular combination have been sold. Liability limits have been placed on these games to keep the Lottery from selling more winning tickets than it can pay. The liability limit is $1.5 million for Pick 3 and $1.5 million for Pick 4. Setting liability limits is standard in the Lottery industry on games with fixed payouts.

On rare occasions, popular Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers may "sell out" and cannot be purchased. Liability limits are reached when a large number of people have chosen a certain number combination, such as the Pick 4 combination 2-0-0-0, which was popular on Jan. 1, 2000, to mark the new millennium.

There is no need for liability limits on Lotto and Powerball numbers, since jackpots are pari-mutuel, meaning the jackpot prize is divided equally among all its winners.

The Missouri Lottery has an obligation to raise as much money as possible for public education programs, while also ensuring that we have funds available to pay winners. To accomplish this, we must be able to limit our potential payout to an amount that we expect to reasonably pay based on the sales we generate for this game. 

Selling Hours

All Draw Games are available for purchase from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. (Club Keno until 1:52 a.m.) seven days a week at any Draw Games retailer, except during Draw Breaks.

Draw Breaks

The process of selecting winning numbers for each game is referred to as a "Drawing" or "Draw." A "Draw Break" is when sales are suspended for a particular game so that the wagers for that "Drawing" may be balanced and the winning numbers drawn. The draw breaks for each game are listed below: