Ohio Pick 4 FAQs

Pick 4 is a popular lottery played in many states, but it's not a multi-state game like Powerball or Mega Millions. Each state has its own drawings and there are often differences in the rules, add-ons, and terminology used, but the premise is always the same.

The player must select four numbers from 0 to 9 and decide whether they want to win by matching their numbers in drawn-order, or in any order. Duplicate numbers are allowed, and they make a big difference to your play! You can find out more on our How to Play page.

There are three main play types: Straight Bet, Boxed Bet, and Back-up Bet. Which one you pick determines whether you win by matching the numbers in drawn-order, any order, or both! We go into lots of detail on our Ways to Play page, which we'd recommend checking out.

For Straight Bets and Boxed Bets, the player can get a ticket for either $0.50 or $1. For Back-up bets, tickets cost either $1 or $2. It's up to the player which price they pay – the only difference is that the prizes are doubled for the higher bet.

Ohio Pick 4 drawings take place twice daily, at 12:29 PM for the Midday draw, and 7:29 PM for the Evening draw. However, on Saturdays, the Evening draw takes place a bit later between 7:30 and 8:00 PM. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

You can buy Pick 4 tickets 24 hours a day, but if you want to play in the upcoming draw, you should get your ticket at least 30 minutes before the drawing takes place. Tickets purchased right before a drawing are automatically entered into the following draw.

The top prize in Pick 4 is $6,198, which you can win with a $2 Back-up Bet by successfully matching all four numbers in the exact order. Because there are so many ways to play, there are lots of other prizes on offer. To see them all, head over to our Odds and Prizes page.

The odds of winning a prize playing Ohio Pick 4 range from 1 in 417 to win $200, to 1 in 10,000 to win up to $6,198. For a full list of play types and their odds, visit our Odds and Prizes page.

It's only possible to play lottery games in Ohio if you're 18 or over – this applies to all state lotteries, not just Pick 4.

Prizes up to $599 can be claimed at any authorized Ohio Lottery retailer, although no store is guaranteed to have that much cash on-site.

Prizes up to $5,000 can be claimed at designated "Super Retailers". You can check these locations on the official OH Lottery website.

If you're not currently in Ohio, you'll need to mail your winning ticket to the OH Lottery offices to redeem the prize. You can find the claim form online by Google searching "Ohio Lottery Prize Claim Form", and the mailing address is: The Ohio Lottery Commission, The Lausche Building – Room 452, 615 West Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113

Winners have 180 days following the date of the draw to claim their prize. Otherwise, the ticket will expire, and the associated prize cannot be recovered.