If you remember getting a small pair prize from New Mexico’s older Pick 3 format, stop before applying that memory to a Pick 3 Plus ticket. Front Pair and Back Pair are now purchases in their own right. Two matching digits do not automatically rescue a losing Straight.
An asterisk on the ticket can actually be reassuring: it may show a position you deliberately did not wager on. The trick is distinguishing an unselected position from a missing number or an actual zero.
Read the selection together with the wager name
Pick 3 Plus draws three digits from 0 through 9. A $1 Straight on 604 needs 604 in that exact order. A result of 609 agrees in the first two positions but does not satisfy that three-position purchase.
Front Pair on 60 is a different wager. It tests the first two positions and ignores the third, so 609 satisfies it. Back Pair on 60 instead needs a result ending in 60, such as 960. The digits are familiar, but the positions are different.
Keep those three requests separate when speaking to a retailer. “604 Straight” and “60 Front Pair” do not buy the same condition, even though both involve a six followed by a zero.
An asterisk is not a wild digit you can move
The Lottery explains that a standalone Front Pair can appear as 60*, while a Back Pair can appear as *60. The star means that particular position does not affect the purchased pair match. It does not let you ignore whichever position turns out wrong after the drawing.
For example, 60* covers results from 600 through 609. It does not cover 160 just because that result contains 60 at the other end. Nor should the star be entered as a zero when checking the ticket: 600 is one particular result, while 60* describes ten possible final digits.
Before leaving the counter, point to the printed wager label and the positions it covers. That is more dependable than assuming a three-character printout must represent an ordinary three-digit Straight.
Add the extra dollars before adding expected prizes
Front Pair and Back Pair each cost $1 and each has a listed $50 prize, subject to the game’s pari-mutuel provisions. They can be bought alone or added to another play type.
A $1 Straight on 604 with Front Pair and Back Pair added therefore costs $3 for one drawing: $1 + $1 + $1. If you repeat that complete purchase over four drawings, the commitment is $12, not $4. The calculation is about the purchase you make, not a recommendation to buy all three.
Suppose the result is 609. The Straight fails, the purchased Front Pair qualifies, and the Back Pair does not. It would be wrong either to discard the entire purchase because 604 lost or to award every component because one pair matched. Evaluate each paid condition separately.
Box and Combo are another decision entirely
A Box accepts rearrangements of the complete digit collection. A Combo buys every distinct exact-order arrangement. For 604, there are six arrangements; New Mexico’s six-way Combo costs $6 and lists a $500 prize for a qualifying result, before any applicable reduction.
A six-way Box instead costs $1 and lists $80. These cover the same collection of arrangements at different prices and payouts. Neither makes 609 a match to the original 604 collection.
The official FAQ says Quick Pick cannot be used for Combo, because random digits could change the number of arrangements and the intended price. Do not import a different state’s Quick Pick Combo instructions into this game.
The printed prize chart has a payout condition
All Pick 3 Plus prizes are subject to pari-mutuel payouts. The current how-to-play page posts a $125,000 maximum per prize tier per drawing. If the amount due for a tier exceeds its threshold, that tier’s available amount is divided among its winning plays.
Do not confuse that with a $125,000 personal top prize or a pool that your losing ticket can share. It is a limitation relevant to qualifying winning plays. A calculation based on the chart is therefore a provisional expectation until the ticket is validated and the actual award is established.
Check the session and keep the remaining entries
The game has day and evening sessions daily. The current game page gives purchase deadlines of 1 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Mountain Time. Read the ticket’s session rather than checking both results and keeping whichever looks better.
Multi Draw is available for up to fourteen drawings. New Mexico’s online-game rules say that cashing an early win while future plays remain produces an exchange ticket. Retain that replacement and compare its remaining entries with your original purchase.
Pick 3 Plus tickets cannot be canceled under the published rules. Decide which wagers you want before purchase, then verify the issued ticket immediately. For a different selection format, consult the New Mexico game directory instead of carrying these pair rules into another game.
Official sources
Rules checked 2026-10-20. Use the operator for current prizes, deadlines and ticket validation.