Number 3

In Montana Cash under the 5/45 · since May 2014 rules — 1,296 draws, 5 from 1–45.

153times drawn · chance expected 144 +0.80σ

5draws waiting · a wait this long: 62% for any number

8.3average wait between appearances · chance says 9.0

58longest completed wait · 17% chance of one at least that long

3 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 153 times in 1,296 draws against 144.0 expected, +0.80σ. Each draw is independent: after 5 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 3, draw by draw

Drawn 153 times in 1,296 draws · average wait 8.3 draws · longest completed wait 58 · waiting 5 draws now

a completed wait — darker is longer the wait still running — a lower bound, not a finished gap

Where it lands in a sorted draw

Sort a draw and 3 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest129 · chance 126.2
2nd smallest23 · chance 25.9
3rd smallest1 · chance 1.0
4th smallest0 · chance 0.0
5th smallest0 · chance 0.0

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 13.9 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

8 25 10 17 24 40

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 44 numbers; chance expected about 0.0 still unmet by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 3 is picked about 1.48× as often as an indifferent choice — 2nd most popular of 45. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.

Numbers 1–31 — the birthday zone ×1.22
Numbers 1–12 — day and month overlap ×1.10
Culturally lucky numbers 3, 8, 9 ×1.10

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 3 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2026-09-23	6	1st	3 15 21 27 40
2026-09-02	4	1st	3 18 27 32 42
2026-08-19	16	1st	3 27 35 40 41
2026-06-24	6	1st	3 6 33

What this cannot tell you

Nothing here predicts the next draw. A number’s history is a record of a fair machine’s past, and the machine keeps none of it: 3 is drawn with probability 5/45 tonight whatever it did last week.

2025-02-22	15	1st	3 10 20 38 39
2025-01-01	3	1st	3 8 24 27 40
2024-12-21	2	1st	3 23 26 33 34
2024-12-14	9	1st	3 8 30 41 43
2024-11-13	1	1st	3 12 25 36 42
2024-11-09	2	1st	3 15 27 28 33
2024-11-02	3	1st	3 18 25 37 44
2024-10-23	8	1st	3 12 13 32 36
2024-09-25	1	1st	3 18 20 24 40
2024-09-21	9	1st	3 8 15 19 23
2024-08-21	14	1st	3 7 10 28 45
2024-07-03	5	1st	3 4 5 16 39
2024-06-15	5	1st	3 6 25 29 41
2024-05-29	34	1st	3 6 23 40 41
2024-01-31	13	2nd	2 3 25 40 43
2023-12-16	2	1st	3 16 17 37 42
2023-12-09	3	1st	3 9 18 33 39
2023-11-29	7	1st	3 20 23 26 38
2023-11-04	16	1st	3 27 31 36 44
2023-09-09	12	1st	3 24 27 35 45
2023-07-29	3	1st	3 10 18 22 38
2023-07-19	4	1st	3 7 17 21 26
2023-07-05	6	1st	3 4 13 25 38
2023-06-14	11	1st	3 10 20 29 43
2023-05-06	13	1st	3 13 31 32 38
2023-03-22	1	1st	3 7 17 35 45
2023-03-18	5	1st	3 20 34 38 43
2023-03-01	9	1st	3 7 18 22 39
2023-01-28	6	1st	3 10 21 28 38
2023-01-07	6	1st	3 24 38 42 43
2022-12-17	1	1st	3 4 27 31 43
2022-12-14	1	1st	3 21 25 37 44
2022-12-10	1	1st	3 4 31 43 44
2022-12-07	15	1st	3 6 34 39 40
2022-10-15	1	1st	3 13 14 24 35
2022-10-12	11	1st	3 4 12 33 41
2022-09-03	17	2nd	1 3 8 21 32
2022-07-06	6	1st	3 7 18 27 34
2022-06-15	4	2nd	1 3 11 34 39
2022-06-01	7	2nd	1 3 13 40 44
2022-05-07	3	1st	3 22 29 33 37
2022-04-27	23	1st	3 7 8 13 19
2022-02-05	12	1st	3 19 24 28 40
2021-12-25	15	2nd	2 3 7 12 25
2021-11-03	1	1st	3 20 23 24 30
2021-10-30	10	1st	3 15 21 30 44
2021-09-25	7	2nd	2 3 15 23 24
2021-09-01	5	1st	3 10 17 39 41
2021-08-14	53	1st	3 10 25 31 38
2021-02-10	3	1st	3 19 34 39 42
2021-01-30	29	1st	3 12 17 23 33
2020-10-21	8	1st	3 31 43 44 45
2020-09-23	2	1st	3 10 21 23 27
2020-09-16	3	1st	3 12 17 29 43
2020-09-05	12	1st	3 4 11 44 45
2020-07-25	1	3rd	1 2 3 17 45
2020-07-22	2	1st	3 5 10 17 25
2020-07-15	4	2nd	2 3 6 9 33
2020-07-01	4	1st	3 24 32 34 43
2020-06-17	4	1st	3 6 23 41 42
2020-06-03	15	1st	3 10 22 34 40
2020-04-11	9	1st	3 8 23 32 39
2020-03-11	6	1st	3 13 24 28 44
2020-02-19	6	1st	3 21 24 40 42
2020-01-29	10	1st	3 10 21 29 40
2019-12-25	5	1st	3 4 8 24 25
2019-12-07	20	1st	3 8 10 11 30
2019-09-28	4	1st	3 8 11 17 24
2019-09-14	6	2nd	1 3 6 27 30
2019-08-24	5	2nd	1 3 4 13 44
2019-08-07	10	1st	3 7 14 21 45
2019-07-03	6	1st	3 9 22 28 29
2019-06-12	7	1st	3 9 13 18 36
2019-05-18	8	1st	3 9 12 14 36
2019-04-20	3	2nd	1 3 15 22 41
2019-04-10	5	1st	3 18 22 25 43
2019-03-23	3	1st	3 5 8 15 26
2019-03-13	8	1st	3 11 19 32 41
2019-02-13	14	1st	3 8 24 26 35
2018-12-26	16	1st	3 12 15 17 40
2018-10-31	6	1st	3 15 17 25 29
2018-10-10	8	2nd	2 3 10 16 24
2018-09-12	4	2nd	1 3 8 10 17
2018-08-29	3	1st	3 5 12 27 31
2018-08-18	3	1st	3 12 23 27 43
2018-08-08	5	2nd	2 3 8 28 41
2018-07-21	15	1st	3 7 8 11 15
2018-05-30	14	1st	3 5 9 15 45
2018-04-11	9	1st	3 10 13 24 31
2018-03-10	2	1st	3 14 21 25 31
2018-03-03	6	1st	3 13 17 27 35
2018-02-10	22	1st	3 12 15 20 33
2017-11-25	9	1st	3 20 21 30 39
2017-10-25	1	2nd	2 3 6 16 21
2017-10-21	4	2nd	2 3 28 33 44
2017-10-07	5	2nd	2 3 7 19 25
2017-09-20	4	1st	3 19 23 32 34
2017-09-06	1	1st	3 14 26 34 41
2017-09-02	17	1st	3 8 16 28 31
2017-07-05	5	1st	3 17 28 31 33
2017-06-17	4	1st	3 21 28 37 39
2017-06-03	2	1st	3 15 20 36 38
2017-05-27	8	1st	3 7 20 28 33
2017-04-29	7	1st	3 5 29 31 35
2017-04-05	6	2nd	1 3 5 23 31
2017-03-15	14	1st	3 7 11 24 39
2017-01-25	12	1st	3 6 10 13 35
2016-12-14	7	1st	3 12 36 44 45
2016-11-19	4	1st	3 4 11 26 30
2016-11-05	3	1st	3 10 19 36 44
2016-10-26	9	1st	3 15 28 38 40
2016-09-24	1	2nd	2 3 10 23 40
2016-09-21	5	1st	3 14 17 25 45
2016-09-03	58	1st	3 10 17 20 45
2016-02-13	30	1st	3 13 16 25 44
2015-10-31	17	1st	3 19 22 31 44
2015-09-02	9	1st	3 18 25 33 42
2015-08-01	11	1st	3 9 18 27 44
2015-06-24	5	1st	3 27 29 37 42
2015-06-06	9	1st	3 33 36 38 44
2015-05-06	3	1st	3 6 11 25 27
2015-04-25	1	2nd	1 3 8 18 37
2015-04-22	46	1st	3 23 31 34 43
2014-11-12	4	1st	3 8 20 27 41
2014-10-29	1	1st	3 29 31 37 43
2014-10-25	2	2nd	1 3 8 17 40
2014-10-18	12	1st	3 24 26 31 41
2014-09-06	5	1st	3 4 16 29 43
2014-08-20	—	2nd	1 3 24 29 33