A pari-mutuel prize page is a tempting thing to read as a pattern. It is not one. A high straight prize means few tickets held that number; it carries nothing about which number comes next.
The game at a glance
4 digits, 0–9 each
10,000 possible results, repeats allowed, order counts.
1 a day
Every day. Evening, entries close 6:30 p.m. PT — 7 draws a week.
1 in 10,000
The same for every one of the possible results, including the one you picked.
Pari-mutuel
A share of each playstyle's pool, so the amount moves every draw. A share of the straight pool — recent straight prizes have run above $5,000.
$1 a play
Operated by the California Lottery.
18+
Must be 18+ to buy a California Lottery ticket.
Daily 4, in brief
Daily 4 is the California Lottery's four-digit game: four numbers, each 0 to 9, 10,000 possible results, one draw a night. Entries close at 6:30 p.m. Pacific and the draw settles shortly after.
Like its three-digit sibling, Daily 4 is pari-mutuel. There is no printed prize amount. The stakes on each playstyle pool together and the winners divide the pool, so the payout moves from draw to draw. A recent night listed a straight prize of $5,600 with no straight winners at all, and a banner on the game page reporting the last straight winner took $5,510.
Playstyles are straight, box and straight/box, at $1 a play. The box is graded the way every four-digit game grades it — 24-way, 12-way, 6-way and 4-way — because a four-digit number has four possible repeat patterns. There are no pair plays and no combo.
Every bet type, with the odds
| Bet type | Winning arrangements | Odds | Share of draws | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StraightAll four digits in the order drawn. | 1 | 1 in 10,000 | A share of the straight pool. Recent draws have listed figures above $5,000 on a $1 play | |
| Box (4 different digits)Any order, four unique digits. The most arrangements a four-digit number can have. | 24 | 1 in 417 | A share of the box pool. Recent draws have paid in the low hundreds | |
| Box (2 like digits)Any order, one digit repeated and two others different. Twelve arrangements. | 12 | 1 in 833 | A share of the box pool, roughly double the 24-arrangement grade | |
| Box (2 sets of like digits)Any order, two repeated pairs. Six arrangements. | 6 | 1 in 1,667 | A share of the box pool, larger again as the arrangements fall | |
| Box (3 like digits)Any order, three of a kind and one odd digit. Only four arrangements, so the longest odds and the biggest box share. | 4 | 1 in 2,500 | The largest share of the box pool of the four grades | |
| Straight/Box (4 different digits)The $1 stake split evenly between straight and box. Exact order collects half of each prize; any other order collects half the box prize. | 24 | 1 in 417 | Half the straight share plus half the box share in exact order (1 in 10,000); half the box share otherwise | |
| Straight/Box (2 like digits)The same half-and-half wager on a number with one repeated digit. | 12 | 1 in 833 | Half the straight share plus half the box share in exact order (1 in 10,000); half the box share otherwise | |
| Straight/Box (2 sets of like digits)The half-and-half wager on two repeated pairs. | 6 | 1 in 1,667 | Half the straight share plus half the box share in exact order (1 in 10,000); half the box share otherwise | |
| Straight/Box (3 like digits)The half-and-half wager on three of a kind. | 4 | 1 in 2,500 | Half the straight share plus half the box share in exact order (1 in 10,000); half the box share otherwise |
Where Daily 4 came from
One draw, not two
California runs Daily 3 twice a day and Daily 4 once. The four-digit game closes at 6:30 p.m. and settles that evening, so a Daily 4 ticket is a single daily bet rather than a running one. Most states run their four-digit game on the same twice-daily schedule as the three-digit one; California does not.
Pools rather than charts
The pari-mutuel decision is the interesting one. Fixed-prize states carry a real liability when a popular number lands and manage it with caps and sales cut-offs. California carries none: the pool is whatever was staked, so the number of winners changes the prize instead of the state's exposure.
The four box grades
Adding a digit turns two box patterns into four. Four different digits give 24 arrangements, one repeated digit gives 12, two repeated pairs give 6, and three of a kind gives 4. California publishes all four with worked examples, and each grade draws from the box pool at its own rate.
Split tickets pay in halves
Straight/box here is a genuine half-and-half wager rather than a separate prize line. An exact hit collects half the straight prize plus half the box prize; any other arrangement collects half the box prize. The Lottery's own worked example uses a $1,500 straight and a $600 box, returning $1,050 on an exact hit.
Playing digits, honestly
One draw a night rather than two is not a difficulty setting. Every Daily 4 draw is 1 in 10,000 for a straight, exactly as it would be in a state that draws four times a day.
The box grades exist because of arithmetic, not marketing. 24, 12, 6 and 4 are 4! divided by the repeats in your number, and they are the same four figures in every four-digit game in the country.
Playing a number nobody else plays does raise what you would collect in a pool game, since the pool splits fewer ways. It leaves your chance of collecting anything exactly where it was.
Daily 4 — frequently asked
A straight is 1 in 10,000. Box odds follow your number's pattern: four different digits is 1 in 417, one repeated digit 1 in 833, two repeated pairs 1 in 1,667, and three of a kind 1 in 2,500.
It varies by draw, because the game is pari-mutuel. Recent results have listed a straight prize above $5,000 and box prizes in the low hundreds, but the amount depends entirely on how much was staked on that playstyle and how many tickets won it.
Once a day, every day. Entries close at 6:30 p.m. PT and the draw settles shortly after. Unlike Daily 3, there is no midday Daily 4 drawing.
Because it wins six times less often. Three of a kind has only four arrangements out of 10,000, against 24 for four different digits, so far fewer tickets qualify and the pool splits fewer ways.
No. The playstyles are straight, box and straight/box, each at $1. There is no combination bet, no front, mid or back pair, and no extra drawn digit. Florida, Texas and New York all offer more play types on their four-digit games.