I think I can tell you that.
In Colorado you get four "choices" when you fill out the draw form. Your chance of getting a tag is a balance of the draw chance for that tag against which slot you put it in. For instance, a tag that takes a point to draw isn't going to you no matter what slot you put it in, unless you have a point. But for a tag that doesn't need points (and there are LOTS of them), a person who listed it as their first choice gets a higher chance than a person who listed it fourth. Makes sense so far, right?
Well there's a trick. If you list the SPECIES-P-999-99-P code as your FIRST slot you are guaranteed a preference point... but you still have a chance to draw a tag via your second/third/fourth! (Make sure you check the "leftover draw" box!) Basically, this guarantees you get a point, but you still have a chance at a tag. It's a lower chance, because it'll be your 2nd/3rd/4th choice slots. If you have a target zone you REALLY want, this isn't a great strategy. But if you don't care where you hunt that year - if you just want to build points and "hunt anywhere until I get my primo spot" you can pick high-chance options as your 2/3/4 options.
Consider GMU 38, for which a Rifle 2 Buck tag would be DM038O2R. Now, this zone is a wild patchwork of private and public land and it's not something you'd probably want to take a 5-day "dream hunt" trip to. But still, there are good deer here and it's a convenient day trip from those who live in Denver, an easy "weekend hunt" for fun.
Here's the 2018 Draw Recap summary for it. There was a quota of 300 head, but they didn't all draw - 114 were leftover.
If you had filed for that tag you would basically have had a 100% chance of getting it, and no preference points spent. Is it a premium zone? No. Is it a fun day/weekend trip, maybe a great place to introduce your son or daughter to hunting or just get out of the house? Heck yes, and you can stop for lunch in Ned on the way home!
NOTE: Quotas change year to year so last year's report isn't a 100% guarantee, just a high likelihood.
If you're the type of hunter who just wants to build points for premium zones, or just wants to hunt a familiar spot every year, this strategy is not for you. But if you can say "I want to hunt every year SOMEWHERE, and every few years I'd like a more premium tag" what you can do is list:
D-P-999-99-P
whatTheHeckMaybeIllGetLuckyCode
highChanceCode1
highChanceCode2
This will A. Guarantee you a preference point. B. Give you a "I might get lucky" chance at a decent zone. C. If that fails, nearly guarantee you a tag at something at least to get you out of the house.
NOTE: Make sure you do not list codes that take points to draw as your backups unless you are OK spending yours. Like, don't list a 1-pointer as a backup-plan if you're saving for some 4-6 point zone down the road. It WILL use up your points even if you list the PP first.
Note that if you're clever and pay attention to the "lists" you can get TWO tags PLUS a preference point every year. Colorado has "A" and "B" list tags. You can get one A and one B, or two B tags (the book calls this "A+B or B+B"). B tags are usually easier to get so if you want to do this it's best to try to draw the A and go OTC for the B. Also although this isn't a hard pattern, it seems to me that more of the A tags are for good buck/bull areas and more of the B tags are cows/does. But not always.
