How a Lucky 31 bet works
There are 31 bets on the slip: 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and 1 five-fold. A £1 Lucky 31 therefore costs £31, or £62 each way.
It is a Super Yankee with the five singles added. Like a Lucky 15, a single winner is enough for some return, but with 31 stakes to recover you usually need two or three winners at decent prices before the bet shows a profit. When four or five come in, the doubles and trebles multiply quickly, and that is where most of the payout comes from.
Settling a Lucky 31 by hand means working through 31 sums, which is where most mistakes happen. The breakdown table under the calculator lists every winning line, so you can check it against the bookmaker’s settlement.
What is in a Lucky 31?
| Bet | Number |
|---|---|
| Singles | 5 |
| Doubles | 10 |
| Trebles | 10 |
| Four-folds | 5 |
| Five-folds | 1 |
| Total bets | 31 |
At £1 a bet, a Lucky 31 costs £31.00 win only, or £62.00 each way. At 10p a bet it costs £3.10.
Lucky 31 returns by number of winners
A £1 Lucky 31 (£31.00 in total) on selections at 2/1, 3/1, 5/2, 6/4, 4/1, with the winners taken in that order.
| Winners | Stake | Return | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | £31.00 | £0.00 | -£31.00 |
| 1 | £31.00 | £3.00 | -£28.00 |
| 2 | £31.00 | £19.00 | -£12.00 |
| 3 | £31.00 | £89.00 | £58.00 |
| 4 | £31.00 | £314.00 | £283.00 |
| 5 | £31.00 | £1,889.00 | £1,858.00 |
At these prices the bet first shows a profit with 3 winners. Longer prices lower that number, and shorter prices raise it.
Worth knowing
Five selections from separate events are needed. If one is a non-runner it is treated as a winner at odds of 1.00 (evens is 2.00), so the bets containing it carry on as smaller multiples rather than losing. Set its result to Void to see the effect.
Lucky 31 questions
What is the difference between a Lucky 31 and a Super Yankee?
A Super Yankee, also called a Canadian, has the same 26 multiples but no singles. The Lucky 31 adds the five singles, so it costs 31 stakes instead of 26 and pays out with one winner instead of needing two.
Is a Lucky 31 worth it?
It depends on the prices. Full-cover bets spread risk but also multiply the bookmaker’s margin across every line. They suit selections at bigger prices, where a couple of winners can cover the whole stake. On a slip of favourites, a few well-chosen singles often cost less.
How many bets are in a Lucky 31?
31, on 5 selections. A £1 Lucky 31 costs £31, or £62 each way.
How many winners does a Lucky 31 need to pay out?
One. The Lucky 31 includes bets that pay from a single winner, though one winner at a short price will not cover the full stake.