A Lucky 31 bet is made up of five selections and involves 31 individual lines, ensuring it is a full coverage bet. Put another way, you only need to have one winner to see some return on the initial investment.
This in part explains why it remains a popular option in the world of sports betting.
Lucky 31 Betting Explained
A Lucky 31 is a wager that sees the bettor choose five selections which are then combined across various multiples. These consist of five singles, ten doubles, ten trebles, five fourfold accumulators and a five-fold accumulator.
If your stake is £1 then all of the 31 bets are priced accordingly. This means that a £1 Lucky 31 costs £31. Naturally, a £1 each-way Lucky 31 will cost £62.
If that is a bit rich for your blood, don’t worry as most bookmakers will accept a stake as low as 10p per line. This would price your Lucky 31 bet at £3.10.
Returning to those multiples, at first glance they may seem complicated, but once we break them down into separate components all becomes clear.
Doing this also highlights the appeal of a Lucky 31 bet, in that it rewards partial success as well as paying out huge dividends if it’s well and truly your day.
In this instance we’re focusing on football, before switching to horse racing to illustrate how a Lucky 31 pays out.
In our example Chelsea, Fulham, Leeds, Oxford and Notts County are all fancied to win their respective matches on a given weekend.
The five singles that make up the first part of your Lucky 31 bet therefore is very straightforward with each selection a stand-alone wager. If Leeds win, you get paid out. The same goes for the other four teams.
Now for the doubles, of which there are ten. These are the combinations of two that derive from your five selections. So Chelsea and Fulham both to win will be one, Leeds and Oxford another, and so forth.
If any two combinations both win you strike three-fold because there are also the two single successes to account for.
Concerning the trebles, the same principles apply, with all ten possible combinations of three in play. The same goes for the four-folds.
That just leaves the five-fold accumulator that comes good if you experience a clean sweep.
Horse Racing Lucky 31
Let’s first take a look at a win-only Lucky 31 bet example for racing. The odds of each horse in this example are 5/1, Evens, 3/1, 2/1 and 2/1.
Once you have made your selections for this bet, you could decide to use a Lucky 31 Calculator to quickly identify the potential returns in relation to your intended starting stake.
Using the Lucky 31 bet Calculator, you can enter the odds of your selections and also determine the returns that you would pocket based on the number of winning lines you achieve.
This is helpful in painting a clear picture in your mind before you make the bet as to what returns you should expect to see based on varying degrees of success in your bet.
By using a resource like this, you are always fully informed before placing a Lucky 31 bet, particularly if you have not used this bet type before.
Remember, with this bet type you don’t need all your selections to win in order to earn a profit. You only need one winner to see some return on your money!
If, however, all our selections are winners in this bet, the £1 Lucky 31 bet (total cost £31) would return £1679, giving a profit of over £1600!
Four winning selections in this example could still give a return of £483 for an overall payout of close to 16/1 on the initial stake.
Even if only three of our selections prove to be winners, it would generate odds of 3/1 as seven lines (three doubles, three singles, one treble) have all come up on the Lucky 31 bet.
As with all multiples, the more winning lines we have, the more the overall return is going to be in your Lucky 31 betting.
Lucky 31 advantages
A Lucky 31 is similar to a Canadian bet but crucially it also has singles. This makes it a full coverage wager.
A Lucky 31 can be equally effective with short-priced selections and longer odds. A £1 Lucky 31 consisting of five even-money winners returns a total of £242!
This is a considerably greater sum than if you opted for the same five choices as a bet builder.
Lucky 31 bets can sometimes be accompanied by a consolation bonus offered up by bookmakers should a single win be attained.
With so many bets in play, a Lucky 31 affords the bettor sustained interest across several matches/races.
Lucky 31 Bet FAQs
Is A Lucky 31 A Good Bet?
The Lucky 31 is always worth considering if you have five fancies at reasonable odds.
As with all bets, there is an element of risk but it is enhanced with Lucky 31 due to higher stakes.
How Do You Place A Lucky 31 Bet With 888sport?
Once you’ve picked your five selections, add them into your bet slip and then click on the permutations section.
Then, add your stake to the singles, doubles, trebles, four-folds and five-folds section.
Can You Do An Each Way Lucky 31 Bet?
Yes – an each-way Lucky 31 is accepted with 888sport. Follow the same steps in the question above but remember to tick the each-way box next to each permutation.
When Is A Lucky 31 The Best Option?
With a Lucky 15, you need to be quite confident in at least one of your selections with reasonable odds.
For the Lucky 31, you probably need two winning picks at a longer value to maximize your chances of profit.