$1.00 Pull Tabs. $1.00 1,300-1,500 Short Count Nugget, Chip or One Window 'Qwickie' $1.00 4,000 Ticket One Window; $1.00 6,000 Ticket One Window. $1.00 6,000 Ticket One Window $100 X 38; $1.00 6,000 Ticket One Window $250 X 2; $1.00 6,000 Ticket One Window $300; $1.00 6,000 Ticket One Window $400 X 4; $1.00 6,000 Ticket.

• Gambling Pull Tabs For Sale
• Pull Tabs Gambling Tickets
• Pull Tabs Gambling Tickets

1. A pull-tab is a gambling ticket that is sold as a means to play a pull-tab game. The object of the ticket is to open the perforated windows on the back of the ticket and match the symbols inside the ticket to the winning combinations on the front of the ticket. The winning Pull-Tab ticket is turned in for a monetary prize.
2. Pull tab tickets (also known as break opens) are similar to traditional lottery tickets, but are made from two layers of heavy paper, glued together, with die cut 'tabs' that pull open to reveal symbols or numbers. The main object of the game is to match the symbols on the inside of the ticket (s) to the winning combination (s) that are identified on the front of the ticket face or flare card.

Introduction

The following information on pull-tabs is based on pull-tabs purchased and information gathered at a pull-tab store near the airport in Anchorage, Alaska.

A pull-tab could loosely be compared to a scratch-off lottery ticket, in that both usually cost $1, are instantly resolved by the player, and a portion of the purchase price goes towards state-run projects or charities. I was told that 30% of net profits (gross receipts less cashout from winning pull-tabs and taxes) is supposed to go towards Alaska charities.

There are two primary differences between lottery tickets and pull-tabs. First, on a lottery ticket you scratch the card to see what you won, whereas on a pull-tab you pull up flaps on the card. Second, pull-tabs are printed in batches of about 3,000 to 10,000, with a specified number of each possible prize per batch.

In Alaska, pull-tab stores can be found in some small strip malls. The store will have lots of bins from which to choose. A bin does not have to run empty before a new batch of pull-tabs is added to it. So the only information you are likely to get about the number of winners from a batch left in a bin would be based on your own purchases.

The way it works is the customer will tell the agent which kind he wishes to buy and how many. There is a counter and stools for the convenience of players. At the location by the Anchorage airport (on Spenard Rd. and Wisconsin St.) a bulletin board showed small posters of the various games, including the number of pull-tabs in each batch.

Most pull-tabs show the possible prizes, and the number of each prize per batch. Armed with that information, and the number per batch from the posters, it was very easy to calculate the return of each kind of game. The rest of this page shows the return for ten different games. There were some pull-tabs (namely Players Choice and Alaska State Wide) that I tried that did not indicate the possible prizes, nor the number printed per batch and they are omitted from this page.

Alaskan Oasis

Alaskan Oasis Return Table

Big Ass Game

Big Ass Game Return Table

Cash Dash

Cash Dash Return Table

Happy Hog

The cost of Happy Hog tickets is 25¢ each. The return column is the product of the win, probability, and 4, to show the expected return is 71.43% of money bet.

Happy Hog Return Table

Kings & Silvers

Kings & Silvers Return Table

Loon a Tick

Loon a Tick Return Table

Moose on the Loose

Moose on the Loose Return Table

Royal Stud

Royal Stud Return Table

Gambling Pull Tabs For Sale

Slottery

The cost of Slottery tickets is 50¢ each. The return column is the product of the win, probability, and 2, to show the expected return is 72.09% of money bet.

Slottery Return Table

War Chest

Pull Tabs Gambling Tickets

War Chest Return Table

Pull Tabs Gambling Tickets

Zig Zag

Zig Zag Return Table

Summary

The good news about Alaska pull-tabs is that most of them are a significantly better bet than the lottery tickets in the lower 48 states. The bad news is they are still a lousy bet compared to most forms of casino gambling. The following table shows the return of each game tested, in alphabetical order.

Alaska Pull-Tab Summary

If you must play, my advice is to seek out the pull-tabs with the highest return. Of the ten I tested the best is Zig Zag at 77.89%. Note how most of them pay between 72% and 78%. The exceptions are Cash Dash and War Chest, which are significantly less at 58.13% each. Why these two games return significantly less, I have no idea. I note another thing they have in common, which the other cards don't: they were made by Specialty Mfg.

There is also an effect of non-replacement with pull-tabs. If you buy some pull-tabs of the same kind, and your results are less than expectations, then it would be likely that the pull-tabs in the rest of the bin should exceed expectations. To very marginally increase your expected return, buy tickets of a given kind one at a time until your actual results exceed expectations, and then stop. However, you could end up buying hundreds, or thousands of tickets, employing this strategy. More practical advice would be to buy as few as you need to have some fun, and then leave.

I questioned someone named Barbara by phone with the Alaska Department of Revenue who said on average pull-tabs return 78%, but there is no minimum or maximum required, in favor of letting the free market determine the odds.