Iowa Pick 4 FAQs

Pick 4 is a lottery that is widely played across the U.S., although each version has its own rules and prize structure. To play, you just have to select four numbers from 0 to 9, but you also have the power to choose between several play types and you can even choose how much to wager.

Drawings take place twice a day. The Midday draw is at 12:20 PM CT, and the Evening draw is at 10:00 PM CT.

Tickets for the Midday draw close at noon each day, while the cut-off time for the Evening draw is 9:40 PM CT.

The minimum age to play any lottery in Iowa is 21.

The main two play types are Straight and Box. A Straight is a wager on the numbers appearing in exact order, while a Box is wagering that they will be drawn in any order. You can also play a Straight/Box, which splits your wager between the two. Alternatively, pick just two numbers and try to match them in their correct positions. You can choose a Front Pair or a Back Pair.

You can wager as little as $0.50 per play, or in $1 increments up to a maximum of $5.

Go to the Odds and Prizes page to see all the possible payouts. The amount you can win depends on three factors. The first two are your play type and wager amount. For Box and Straight/Box wagers, the number of ways you play also makes a difference.

You can play a 4-Way, 6-Way, 12-Way or 24-Way wager in Pick 4. It is based on how many of your numbers are the same as each other, and tells you how many different winning combinations there could be. See the Ways to Play page for definitions and examples.

Yes, you can play up to 16 consecutive drawings at a time (or eight Midday draws or eight Evening draws).

The odds of winning are different for each play type. The chances of matching any four-digit combination between 0000 and 9999 exactly are 1 in 10,000.

You can claim Pick 4 prizes of any value by mail. For prizes of up to $600 you can visit an Iowa Lottery retailer, but for larger amounts you need to go to an Iowa Lottery office. These offices are located in Clive, Cedar Rapids, Mason City and Storm Lake.

You have just 90 days to claim prizes won on Pick 4 in Iowa.

There’s no tax on prizes of $600 or below. If you win more than $600, state tax of 3.8 percent will be withheld. An additional 24 percent of federal tax will be withheld if you win more than $5,000.