Lucky Bets Explained: What Are They And How Do They Work? With Examples

What is a lucky bet?

A lucky bet is a multiple-line bet covering all the different possible outcomes. This means it will cover all the selections, including singles, doubles, trebles, fourfolds, and accumulators. There are other options to cover all the multiples but not the singles, but these are not known as lucky bets.

Lucky 15 bet explained

The Lucky 15 is offered if you have four selections in your bet slip. It is 15 bet lines in total:

• 4 x singles
• 6 x doubles
• 4 x trebles
• 1 x fourfold accumulator

To get any return, you need at least one selection to win, but this will usually result in a loss unless the odds on that particular selection are significantly longer.

If you don’t want to take the singles and just back the multiples, then this lucky bet becomes a Yankee (11 lines). Check out the image below for a demonstration. At lower odds, we think the Yankee is a better option.

A bet calculator app can calculate your potential returns and bets. Add all the options, and you’ll see how the returns are affected by how many legs win.

Lucky 15 football betting example

For this example, we’ll be selecting 4 Premier League results at different odds. Football betting has fewer options as you don’t get each way like horse racing (See below for racing). We’ve selected a range of odds to show the differences made depending on which teams win.

1. Manchester United win 1/2
2. Liverpool win 4/6
3. Southampton win 4/1
4. Fulham win 10/1

Once these are in your bet slip, add your stake to the lucky 15 option. Remember that your stake is multiplied by 15, so if you put £1 in, your total stake is £15 – £1 per line.

Here’s how it will look if all four win.

There is a great return of £464 if all four bets land. This is due to the 2 wins at bigger odds really boosting the returns.

Here’s how it looks if 2 of the four win.

As the two longest odds lost, the two shortest odds failed to make a profit, leading to a loss of £9.33. You only get the stake back for the winning bets, which in this scenario are two singles and one double.

Here’s how it looks if the 2 longer odds bets win and the shorter odds bets lose.

If the longer odds bets win, there is still a profit of £56 from the two singles and one double as the double is the equivalent odds of 40/1. Getting the odds and selections right is the key to winning more on the lucky bets. Four low-odds bets will struggle to make a profit even if only 3 win.

Horse Racing Each Way Lucky 15 Example

Here is where things get a little different, as you can have each-way options on racing lucky 15s.

How each way lucky 15s work. 

With each-way bets, you effectively have two lucky 15s—one on the win market and one on the each-way market.

If all four win  –

You’ll win both lucky 15s and usually win some serious cash.

If three win and one places –

This is where the returns drop. In this scenario, the winning three would return three singles, 2 doubles, and 1 threefold. The each-way bet would return all 4 at whatever odds were available (usually 1/3 or 1/4 odds for a place).

Ideally, you need a couple of winners for a decent return as 1 winner and 1 place would potentially make a loss as it’s a 30-line bet in total. It’s potentially better to take a racing lucky 15 from the “to place” market rather than having an each-way bet on it.

Here’s Grandad Jimmy Taylor, who won £47,013 from a 50p-a-line lucky 15 on the horses (£7.50 total stake) in his local Betfred.

Lucky 15 Minimum Odds

There are not minium odds on your lucky 15 bets, but from our experience we think there should be! Here are the minimum odds for a profit based on the number of winners on a lucky 15 bet (example based on all the odds being the same) –

• 1 winner = 15/1 breaks even, 16/1 is a profit
• 2 winners = 2/1 breaks even, above is in profit
• 3 winners = 8/13 makes a profit

Lucky 15 v Accumulator bet

A lucky 15 is a good alternative to an accumulator, offering an increased chance of making a profit without requiring each result to win. If all your selections come in, then the accumulator will return a higher amount as shown, based on a 1 point per line lucky 15 and a 15 point accumulator –

All bets are at even odds

• Lucky 15 profit = 65
• Accumulator profit = 225

All bets are at 5/1 odds

• Lucky 15 profit = 2,385
• Accumulator profit = 19,425

Lucky 31 bet explained

The lucky 31 bet is available when you have five outcomes selected.

It comprises 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds, and 1 five-fold accumulator. If you take the singles out of this, the bet becomes a Canadian/super Yankee (26 lines). This bet can also be taken for horses and first goalscorer football bets. It is a popular bet for the main races at the Cheltenham festival. Offers such as best odds on horse racing can be included, so it is best to check with your chosen betting company.

Lucky 31 example

For this example, we will back 5 results all at evens (1/1, 2.0). We are placing it as a £1 a-line bet for £31 in total (not each way).

• 1 winner returns £2 (£29 loss)
• 2 winners return £8 (£23 loss)
• 3 winners return £26 (£5 loss)
• 4 winners return £80 (£49 profit)
• 5 winners return £242 (£211 profit)

As you can see, at lower odds, you need to get many more results correct to profit. If all your picks were at 10/1, then you only need 2 winners in order to make a £112 profit on the same stake as above. Mixing the odds produces different results.

Lucky 63 bet explained

This lucky bet is available for six selections. It comprises 6 singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds, and 1 sixfold acca. If you remove the singles here, the bet becomes a Heinz (57 lines – named after Heinz 57 varieties). This can also be taken each way. If taken each way, it is double the odds and effectively 2 separate bets.

Lucky 63 example

For this example we will use the same odds and stake as above, evens for every bet and a £1 a line stake – £63 total stake. If you were to take this bet each way you would have a £126 total stake at £1 a line. The each-way option is basically 2 bets – one lucky 63 to win and one lucky 63 on the each-way bet.

• 1 winner returns £2 (£61 loss)
• 2 winners return £8 (£55 loss)
• 3 winners return £26 (£37 loss)
• 4 winners return £80 (£17 profit)
• 5 winners return £242 (£179 profit)
• 6 winners return £910 (£847 profit)

The returns are the same as a lucky 31 on the same amount of winners at the same odds. It is only the 6th line that is different.

If each line is 10/1, then we need two winners for a profit.

Lucky bet tips

If you want to get a lucky 15 bet, here are our top tips for making your selections

1. Don’t use odds under 1/2 (1.5), as these are very low to get a profit
2. Try using the calculator to find a sweet spot of odds – Usually, we find bets of evens and above work well.
3. Try looking at other markets, such as draw no bet or double chance, to get different odds and more winning outcomes.
4. If you have 2 or more bets under evens, consider using a Yankee bet.
5. Look at the stats—although that should be the case for all betting! Before placing your bets, check out the latest stats, such as expected goals or goal scorers who are in hot form.

Where to find lucky bets on your bet slip

To get a lucky bet, you need to add four selections to your bet slip on your chosen betting app. As long as the bets are on qualifying markets, you’ll see the lucky 15 option in the multiples section of the bet slip.

Some markets are unavailable, and conflicting markets don’t count – for example, if you have Manchester United to win as one selection and Manchester United to win -1 handicap as another selection.