A ‘Lucky 31’ is a combination (system) bet that consists of thirty-one independent wagers.
Many punters are familiar with the popular Lucky 15 combination bet which is composed of four selections covering 15 individual wagers. A Lucky 31 is the next step up as it uses five selections. The complete bet is made up of 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-fold and 1 five-fold accumulator.
It is a full-coverage bet and as there are single bets included, you only need one winner to see a return; however, this may not yield a profit as the total stake is: X amount per bet x 31.
While a Lucky 31 can be applied to any sport or betting market, it is most commonly-used in horse racing. Below is a detailed breakdown of this bet so you can see it in action and the potential returns you can get from it.
| Bet No. | Selection (horses) |
Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Cape | 5.00 |
| 2 | Queen’s Diamond | 3.00 |
| 3 | Apple Cart | 4.00 |
| 4 | Swansong | 2.00 |
| 5 | Vinkel | 11.00 |
The 31 bets are:
| Bet Type | Combinations (illustrated using the bet numbers) |
|---|---|
| Singles (5 bets) | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Doubles (10 bets) | 1×2, 1×3, 1×4, 1×5, 2×3, 2×4, 2×5, 3×4, 3×5, 4×5 |
| Trebles (10 bets) | 1x2x3, 1x2x4, 1x2x5, 1x3x4, 1x3x5, 1x4x5, 2x3x4, 2x3x5, 2x4x5, 3x4x5 |
| Four-folds (5 bets) | 1x2x3x4, 1x2x3x5, 1x2x4x5, 1x3x4x5, 2x3x4x5 |
| Five-folds (1 bet) | 1x2x3x4x5 |
The number of winning (correction) selections you get and the odds of those selections will determine the payout you’ll receive. These are a few examples to provide some insight.
For simplicity, our base betting unit is £1, so the total cost of the Lucky 31 combination wager is £31. You can bet more or less than this amount.
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Cape | 5.0 | Win |
One correct selection: the winning bet is one single (1):
- 1 = 5.0 = £5.00
£31 total stake – £5.0 win = £26.00 loss
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Cape | 5.00 | Win |
| 2 | Queen’s Diamond | 3.00 | Win |
Two correct selections: the winning bets are two singles (1, 2) and one double (1×2):
- 1 = 5.0 = £5.00
- 2 = 3.0 = £3.0
- 1×2 = 5.0 x 3.0 = £15.0
£31 total stake – £23.0 win = £8.00 loss
| Bet No. | Selection | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Cape | 5.00 | Win |
| 2 | Queen’s Diamond | 3.00 | Win |
| 3 | Apple Cart | 4.00 | Win |
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 = 5.0 = £5.00
- 2 = 3.0 = £3.00
- 3= 4.0 = £4.00
- 1×2 = 5.0 x 3.0 = £15.0
- 1×3 = 5.0 x 4.0 = £20.00
- 2×3 = 3.0 x 4.0 = £12.00
- 1x2x3 = 5.0 x 3.0 x 4.0 = £60.00
£119.00 return – £31 total stake – = £88.00 profit
For four winning selections (1, 2, 3 and 4), the total return would be £359.00, which is a profit of £328.00. By landing all five selections, which includes the 11.0 shot Vinkel, the return would shoot up to £4319.00 – a profit of £3988.00.
Why Place Lucky 31 Bets?
System betting is both a trade-off and a form of insurance. The returns are far greater than merely backing single selections but of course, you have the 31x stake to cover.
The insurance aspect relates to the larger accumulators (four and five-folds). If you only placed one five-fold accumulator bet, the stake would only be £1 but if one horse let you down, the entire bet is lost.
Punters like this format as it allows for at least one if not two, riskier selections to be added to the combination. These are what really boost the payouts, but if they do not win, the other ‘safer’ selections will cover the stake of the bet and potentially leave you with a small profit as well.