What is a Lucky 31 Bet?

A Lucky 31 is a pre-packaged bet that consists of 31 separate wagers of the same value on selections in five different events. This includes one five-fold accumulator, five four-folds, ten trebles, ten doubles and five singles.

A £2/line bet on a Lucky 31 wager would, therefore, cost £62. The returns you make from a Lucky 31 wager depend on the number of successful selections and their odds. Since a Lucky 31 wager features single bets, you just need one win from your five selections for a return on the wager, although this may be less than your total stake.

The Lucky 31 and other Lucky bets are known as full cover bets, this is because it covers all possible winning outcomes.

The Origin of a Lucky 31

For many decades, bettors were forced to bet on single wagers or straight-accumulators. As a result, the idea of multiple wagers in a single bet was born. The concept was first introduced by Fred Done, the founder of Betfred, and his brother when they invented a Lucky 15 bet.

After the invention of the lucky 15, which covers four selections, punters started to explore the idea and included additional bets, resulting in the Lucky 31 betting market for 5 selections.  For 6 selections the full cover bet is known as a Lucky 61.

The name ‘Lucky’ comes from the fact that Betfred, and others, often offer bonuses on winnings if all selections win in the bet.

In 2017, a punter won big at Goodwood. He walked away with £163,000 in a Lucky 31 bet. The Coral player from Neath Wales placed a Lucky 31 bet, staking only £15.50. He picked out five selections to win, including Breton Rock and the shock 50/1 Lennox Stakes victor. Expert Eye emerged the winner in the Vintage Stakes at 7/4, while Fabricate, another selection, got the ball rolling for the lucky punter after winning at 20/1.

What Does A Lucky 31 Pay?

To make things simple let’s say you have selected 5 different bets all at 4/1 each.  You place a Lucky 31 bet at £2/line costing £62 overall.  This is the potential payout from that bet:

• Five winners = £15,550 (£15,488 net return)
• Four winners = £2,590 (£2,528 net return)
• Three winners = £430 (£368 net return)
• Two winners = £70 (£8 net return)
• One winner = £10 (-£52 net return)
• No winners = £0 (-£62 net return)

You will note here that you will only get a net positive return, i.e. more back than you stakes, if two or more selections win.

The five-fold acca in this bet alone would pay out £6,250 if all selections win.  If you had placed the entire £62 on just the 5-fold acca the return would be much higher, £193,750, but here if one selection loses the whole bet loses.  The Lucky 31 covers all possible winning combinations.

Lucky 31 Example

After looking at the weekend football fixture you’ve made the following selections for your wager:

• Liverpool to defeat Everton
• Manchester City to defeat Leicester City
• West Ham United to defeat Tottenham
• Arsenal to defeat Brighton
• Crystal Palace to defeat Aston Villa

If any of these selections win, you’ll earn a return from this bet since you only need one of them to be successful. For example, if both Crystal Palace and Manchester City win and all other selections lose, two singles and one double will payout.

If you had placed a straight five-fold accumulator, then your wager would be a losing one unless all 5 selections win.  With a Lucky 31 you can get a return if one selection wins, which may be less than your overall stake but will still return something.

The more selections win the more individual bets win and higher the overall return. As the ‘full cover’ name suggests it covers all possible winning outcomes.

What A Lucky 31 Bet Looks Like

Applying A Lucky 31 bet to a weekend of EPL football makes it easy to understand this type of wager and how its rules apply. Let’s assume you have picked the above selections, including a win for Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham United, Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

Within your Lucky 31 bet, the following wagers are available:

What is a Lucky 31 Each-Way Bet?

An Each-Way Lucky 31 bet doubles the initial stake to include wins as well as places, making it a 62-wager inclusive. In a Lucky 15 Each-Way bet, you will find 31 wagers on the win and 31 more on the place.

That means A Lucky 31 Each-Way bet consists of 62 wagers made up of two separate Lucky 31 bets, one on all selections to win and one on selections to place.

What Sports Allow Lucky 31 Wagers?

Lucky 31 wagers work well across most sports. They are, in most cases, associated with greyhound and horse races. But you can also place Lucky 31 bets on football games, bowling matches and tennis tournaments, to mention just a few.

The main requirement that a sport needs to meet in order to provide a Lucky 31 betting opportunity is that it should encompass multiple events that you can bet on.

Keep in mind that all the five selections must be on different events. Making five selections within a match is impossible. The Lucky 31 wager allows you to mix and match different sports and events, as long as each is stand-alone.

Lucky 31 vs Super Yankee Bet: Are they the Same?

Just like a Lucky 31 bet, a Super Yankee wager also features five selections. However, there is one main difference. A Super Yankee bet has 26 bets, while a Lucky 31 features 31 wagers.

The Super Yankee bet has fewer wagers since it doesn’t feature the five single bets.  It is a useful alternative if you don’t want to cover the singles and want to spend less overall on your stake.