Do Certain Pairs Actually Lead to Other Pairs?

For years, Pick 3 players have talked about “pairs that follow other pairs.”

You hear it all the time:

“When this pair hits… watch for these next.”

But the real question is…

Does the data actually support that idea?

So I decided to test it.

Using a full Ohio Pick 3 file from 2011 to the present, I ran a structured backtest using Cursor to remove bias and guesswork—and what came back was very interesting.

Before we even look at results, here’s the important part—how this was tested:

• All Ohio draws were treated as one continuous timeline
  (Midday + Evening combined)

• Pairs were normalized

  • 21 = 12

  • 30 = 03

  • This gave a clean set of 55 unique pairs

• For each pair, the test looked ahead up to 6 draws

• The goal:

  After a pair shows… do specific “follower pairs” show up often enough to matter?

Here’s the truth…

Yes — some pairs do show follow behavior.
But it is NOT universal.

This is where most systems go wrong.

They try to make everything mean something.

But the Ohio data says:

Only certain pairs are worth paying attention to.

Out of all 55 pairs tested:

• 9 pairs graded out as A (strong)

• 28 pairs graded as B (usable)

• 6 pairs graded as C (weak)

• 12 pairs = not worth playing

So right away, we learn something important:

This is not a “use it everywhere” system.
It’s a “use it selectively” tool.

Here are some of the best-performing setups from the test:

• 13 → 07, 15 (59.0%)

• 99 → 78, 16 (57.0%)

• 44 → 59, 47 (56.6%)

• 00 → 08, 15 (55.3%)

• 15 → 08, 25 (55.2%)

• 25 → 48, 28 (55.0%)

• 56 → 09, 14 (54.8%)

• 37 → 36, 03 (54.6%)

• 46 → 37, 27 (53.2%)

These were measured as:

• “Either follower hits within 6 draws”

• With average hit timing around 3 draws

That’s a very playable window. Below is the chart I prepared for myself for future reference on the top performing pairs with consistent followers.

Let’s break this down in plain English.

When a pair like 13 shows up…

You now have a statistical reason to watch:

07 and 15

over the next few draws.

Not because of belief…

Not because of a system someone told you…

Because Ohio history actually showed it happening more often than average.

This part matters just as much.

Earlier versions of pair systems often used:

❌ 4 followers
❌ mirrored pairs mixed together
❌ loose “anything could happen” logic

The test showed clearly:

That approach is too diluted to be useful.

The strongest results came from:

✅ Only 2 follower pairs
✅ Clean, normalized data
✅ Measured time window (6 draws)

f you’re looking for a simple, honest conclusion, here it is:

Ohio Pick 3 does show pair-follow behavior…
but only in specific situations—not across the board.

The edge comes from:

• Identifying the right starting pairs

• Focusing on 2 strong followers

• Playing within a tight time window

This was just one of two tests I ran.

The next one dives into the well-known:

“Old Walking Joe” 0–3–6 system

And I’ll tell you right now…

That one had very different results—including one direction that stood out way more than the others.

We’ll break that down in the next post.

This is the direction Bet the Stars is going.

Not hype.
Not guessing.

Test it. Measure it. Then decide if it’s worth using.

And this test proved something important:

There are patterns in the game…
but only if you’re willing to filter out the noise.