The betting term ‘Lucky 15’ refers to specific type of wager that is made up of four selections and covers fifteen individual bets.
A Lucky 15 consists of four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold accumulator. As this wager includes singles, it is classed as a full coverage bet. Therefore, the bettor only needs one winning selection to get a return from the bookie.
With fifteen separate bets, the stake per bet must be multiplied by 15 to reveal the total cost of the wager. For instance, if a punter wants to stake £1 per bet, the total cost of the Lucky 15 will be £15. As a result, it is unlikely that a single winning selection (unless the odds are over 15 to 1) will return a profit.
This bet type is very similar to a Yankee, which consists of 11 bets. The difference is a Lucky 15 includes the four singles; all other bets are identical.
Both of these wagers are extremely popular with horse racing punters, but they are not exclusive to this sport. For instance, modern online sportsbooks are seeing an uptake in the number of Lucky 15 football and tennis bets being placed.
The simplest way to fully understand a Lucky 15 is to run through an example. Below are four horses that will form the bet:
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakwell Ark | 4.5 |
| 2 | Green Eye Surprise | 2.0 |
| 3 | Bitter Gourd | 5.0 |
| 4 | Rags to Rags | 3.5 |
The 15 bets are:
| Bet Type | Combinations (illustrated using the bet numbers) |
|---|---|
| Singles (4 bets) | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Doubles (6 bets) | 1×2, 1×3, 1×4, 2×3, 2×4, 3×4 |
| Trebles (4 bets) | 1x2x3, 1x2x4, 1x3x4, 2x3x4 |
| Four-folds (1 bet) | 1x2x3x4 |
Lucky 15 Payouts
The payout on a Lucky 15 depends on how many winning selections you get and the odds. Based on a £1 per bet stake (£15 total cost), here is a rundown from our bet slip.
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakwell Ark | 4.5 | Win |
With one correct selection, the winning bet is one single (1):
- 1 = 4.5 = £4.50
£15 total stake – £4.50 = £11.50 loss
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakwell Ark | 4.5 | Win |
| 2 | Green Eye Surprise | 2.0 | Win |
With two correct selections, the winning bets are two singles (1, 2) and one double (1×2):
- 1 = 4.5 = £4.50
- 2 = 2.0 = £2.0
- 1×2 = 4.5 x 2.0 = £9.0
£15.50 return – £15 total stake – = £0.50 profit
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakwell Ark | 4.5 | Win |
| 2 | Green Eye Surprise | 2.0 | Win |
| 3 | Bitter Gourd | 5.0 | Win |
With three correct selections, the winning bets are three singles (1, 2, 3) and three doubles (1×2, 1×3, 2×3) and one treble (1x2x3):
- 1 = 4.5 = £4.50
- 2 = 2.0 = £2.0
- 3= 5.0 = £5.0
- 1×2 = 4.5 x 2.0 = £9.0
- 1×3 = 4.5 x 5.0 = £22.5
- 2×3 = 2.0 x 5.0 = £10
- 1x2x3 = 4.5 x 2.0 x 5.0 = £45.0
£98.00 return – £15 total stake – = £83.00 profit
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakwell Ark | 4.5 | Win |
| 2 | Green Eye Surprise | 2.0 | Win |
| 3 | Bitter Gourd | 5.0 | Win |
| 4 | Rags to Rags | 3.5 | Win |
The dream ticket is to land four correct selections. This results in all fifteen separate bets winning:
- 1 = 4.5 = £4.50
- 2 = 2.0 = £2.0
- 3 = 5.0 = £5.0
- 4 = 3.5 = £3.5
- 1×2 = 4.5 x 2.0 = £9.0
- 1×3 = 4.5 x 5.0 = £22.5
- 1×4 = 4.5 x 3.5 = £15.75
- 2×3 = 2.0 x 5.0 = £10.0
- 2×4 = 2.0 x 3.5 = £7.0
- 3×4 = 5.0 x 3.5 = £17.50
- 1x2x3 = 4.5 x 2.0 x 5.0 = £45.0
- 1x2x4 = 4.5 x 2.0 x 3.5 = £31.50
- 1x3x4 = 4.5 x 5.0 x 3.5 = £78.75
- 2x3x4 = 2.0 x 5.0 x 3.5 = £35.0
- 1x2x3x4 = 4.5 x 2.0 x 5.0 x 3.5 = £157.5
£444.50 return – £15 total stake – = £429.50 profit
You can see why a Lucky 15 is so popular. Two selections are normally enough to at least break even and when you hit three or four winners, the profits really build up.
Some punters will include one outsider in their four selections. For instance, below we have exchanged the last horse with Pixel Prince that is priced at 20/1 (21.0 in decimal).
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakwell Ark | 4.5 | Win |
| 2 | Green Eye Surprise | 2.0 | Win |
| 3 | Bitter Gourd | 5.0 | Win |
| 4 | Pixel Prince | 21.0 | Win |
From only a £1 per bet stake (total cost of £15), the punter would get a return of £2177 (a profit of £2162).