Pick-6 is one of the jackpot games offered by the New Jersey Lottery. Based on a 6/49 game format, it is an easy game to play. The initial jackpot amount is of $2 million, and it increases with at least $100,000 with every draw that does not have a top prize winner. The XTRA feature offers even more excitement, boosting the value of secondary prizes.
With a record jackpot of $48.9 million won by a lucky couple in February 2001, Pick-6 XTRA is certainly one of the New Jersey lottery games worth playing.
Pick-6 XTRA: Rules of the Game
Playing Pick-6 XTRA is easy: all you have to do is to pick 6 numbers out of 49. You need to match all 6 winning numbers of the draw in order to win the jackpot, but you can win a prize with only 3 numbers.
XTRA Multiplier
Since January 15, 2015, the XTRA option is available to all New Jersey Pick-6 players. XTRA is a multiplier, functioning in a similar way to Powerball PowerPlay and the Mega Millions Megaplier. This means that the XTRA number of the draw will be used to multiply Match 3, Match 4, and Match 5 prizes. Additionally, XTRA provides Match 2 winners with a special $2 prize.
| X2 | X3 | X4 | X5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Match 5 Prizes | $5,400 | $8,100 | $10,800 | $13,500 |
| Average Match 4 Prizes | $112 | $168 | $224 | $280 |
| Average Match 3 Prizes | $6 | $9 | $12 | $15 |
| Average Match 2 Prizes | $2 | $2 | $2 | $2 |
Special notes about XTRA multiplier:
- The XTRA feature is optional and comes at a supplementary cost of $1 per wager;
- All Pick-6 XTRA prizes may be reduced in case the claims exceed the available fund for these prizes.
- The XTRA range is 2-5, but it can be increased for marketing purposes for limited times, and at the New Jersey Lottery’s discretion.
Play Pick 6 Online in New Jersey
Did you know you can play NJ Pick-6 online? Yes, you can get your Pick 6 wagers online and escape the hassle of physically getting to an official retailer to get them. It’s a faster and more convenient way to participate in the game.
Time needed: 7 minutes
Here’s how to get your Pick 6 wagers on theLotter US:
- Choose NJ Pick 6
Get on theLotter’s platform and select the New Jersey Pick 6 lottery.
- Fill out your Pick 6 play slip with your numbers
As its name mentions, you need to pick 6 numbers (between 1 and 49).
- Log in or create your account (free)
If you already used theLotter US platform, you will need to log in. However, if you are a first time user, you will have to create your account. Creating an account is completely free and only takes a couple of minutes.
- Complete the purchase
Once you will have accessed your account, you will only need to finalize the purchase and wait for the results to come in.
When Does the Pick-6 XTRA Draw Take Place?
The Pick-6 XTRA draws are held twice a week (every Monday and Thursday), in New Jersey at 7:58pm local time, except when Christmas Day falls on a Monday or Thursday, at which time the drawing will take place on the preceding or following day.
How much does the Pick-6 ticket cost?
The price for a regular Pick-6 line is $1. If you want to add XTRA on your ticket, you will have to pay an extra $1/line.
NJ Pick 6 Average Prizes
The prize pool for each draw consists of 50% of the gross tickets sales revenues. This amount is divided among all winners of the draw, and calculations are made based on a pari-mutuel formula. Jackpot winner(s) take 68% of the prize pool. Match 5 prizes have a total value of 10% of the prize pool, Match 4 winners share 11% of the amount, while Match 3 prize holders are paid a fixed prize of $3.00 (which makes up to about 11% of the total prize pool).
| Match | Average Prize |
|---|---|
| Match 6 | Jackpot |
| Match 5 | $2,700 |
| Match 4 | $56 |
| Match 3 | $2 |
Odds of Winning and Average Prizes of the NJ Pick 6 Lottery
Pick-6 offers amazing overall winning odds of 1:54. The odds of hitting the jackpot are also very good (1: 13,983,816), compared to other American lotteries like Powerball (1:292,201,338) and Mega Millions (1:258,890,850).
| Match | Odds | Average Prize |
|---|---|---|
| Match 6 | 1 : 13,983,816 | Jackpot |
| Match 5 | 1 : 13,983,816 | $2,700 |
| Match 4 | 1 : 1,032 | $56 |
| Match 3 | 1 : 57 | $2 |
If you choose to add the XTRA option, here are your odds of getting each multiplier value:
| X2 | X3 | X4 | X5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odds of Winning | 4 in 10 | 3 in 10 | 2 in 10 | 1 in 10 |
New Jersey Pick-6 History
The Pick Six game was founded back in 1980, the primary goal being to raise money through ticket sales in order to fund educational programs for the New Jersey state. The first draw of the game took place on May 9, 1980, using a 6 out of 39 numbers range format. At that time, there was only one weekly draw, but only 6 years later (in 1986), the New Jersey Lottery officials decided to add a second draw every week and to change the numbers range to 6/42.
The matrix has changed several times along the history of the game, to 6/42 in 1986, to 6/46 in 1989 and eventually to 6/49 in the year 2000. A new $3 prize was added at the same time, for all those matching 3 of the winning numbers.