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

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When we talk about “lucky bets” we’re not talking about being lucky with your bets! We’re talking about a multiple-bet option that covers all the outcomes if you are backing 4, 5, or 6 selections. We’ll explain how these bets work as well as where to find them if you are betting on a mobile site or app with the major bookies.

What is a lucky bet?

A lucky bet is a multiple-line bet covering all the different possible outcomes. It will cover all the selections as singles, doubles, trebles, 4-folds and accumulators. 

Lucky 15 bet explained

The lucky 15 is offered if you have 4 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 1 selection to win but this will usually make you a loss unless the odds on that particular selection were significantly longer. The more legs win the more you win.

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. 

Lucky 15 explained

You can calculate your potential returns and bets using a bet calculator app. Add all the options and you’re able to 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. There are fewer options in football betting 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 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 4 wins.

Lucky 15 returns example

There is a great return of £464 if all 4 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 4 wins.

Two low odds winners example

As the two longest odds lost the two shortest odds fail 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 2 singles and 1 double.

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

Lucky 15 with two long odds winners

If the longer odds bets win there is still a profit of £56 from the 2 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.

Lucky 31 bet explained

The lucky 31 bet is available when you have 5 outcomes selected.

It consists of 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 each way 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 with this, 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 a lot more results correct in order 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 6 selections. It consists of 6 singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds, and 1 sixfold acca. If you take out 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 2 winners for a profit.

Horse racing 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 are effectively having 2 lucky 15s – one on the win market and 1 on the each-way market.

If all 4 win  –

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

If 3 win and 1 places – 

This is where the returns drop. In this scenario, the winning 3 would return 3 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 a 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.

Winning a huge lucky 15 bet

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 then consider using a Yankee bet.
  5. Look at the stats, although that should be the case for all betting! Before getting your bets on check out the latest stats like expected goals or goal scorers who are in hot form.

Where to find lucky bets on your bet slip

To get a lucky bet on you need to add 4 selections to your bet slip. As long as the bets are on qualifying markets then you’ll see the lucky 15 option in the multiples section of the bet slip.

Some markets are not available and confliction 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.


Lucky Bets - FAQs

A lucky 15 bet is a 4-result bet where you cover every possible outcome. It consists of 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 four-fold. The stake is multiplied by 15 to get the total amount staked. 

The most popular alternative to a lucky 15 bet is a yankee. This is an 11-line bet that covers 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 four-fold.