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The Lucky 31 bet explained
While most people associate sports betting with sheer luck, there’s a lot more that goes into the game. Whether you’re betting on the Premier League or a series of horse races, turning a profit is all about choosing the right type of wagers. One of the most popular bets for new and experienced punters alike is the Lucky 31.
Lucky 31 bets are unique combination bets that are designed to increase your odds of earning a return. While there’s no such thing as a “guaranteed win” with sports bets, a Lucky 31 does ensure that you’re covering all of your bases.
Thinking of pressing your luck with a Lucky 31 bet? Before you do, it’s important to understand how these bets work and what they have to offer. Luckily, we have you covered.
What is a Lucky 31 Bet
A Lucky 31 is what bookmakers and punters call a combination bet. Basically, combination bets are a collection of several bets packed into one deal. They allow you to wager your money on the same selections and events. This helps you improve your chances of getting a return. We’ll get into that more in a bit.
There are several kinds of combination bets out there. Inexperienced bettors can take a stab at simpler combo bets like the Trixie or Yankee bet. Meanwhile, more seasoned players typically go for higher-stakes options like the Super Heinz bet or Goliath Flag bet. Where does the Lucky 31 fall?
It’s somewhere in the middle. It’s not as risky as some other high-stakes options, but you still need to make a considerable investment! In total, the Lucky 31 bet includes 31 separate bets. These are split up into several types of bets. All of your bets in the Lucky 31 are going to include five selections.
You must use the same five selection on all of the wagers included on the Lucky 31 bet slip. However, they can’t be from the same event. Combination bets like this are geared more toward multi-match events. This could be a racing event with multiple rounds or a large-scale championship event.
How Does a Lucky 31 Bet Work?
31 individual bets might seem a bit intimidating to those who are used to only placing single one-way bets. However, the Lucky 31 bet is not as complicated as it may seem.
Ultimately, the best way to understand how this combination bet works is to learn more about the individual bet types it contains. Once you get a good grasp on that, it’s much easier to understand your risks and odds. Lucky 31 bets can be broken down as follows:
5 single bets
10 double bets
10 treble bets
5 four-fold accumulators
1 five-fold accumulator
Single Bets
Singles bets are what most people are familiar with. Even if you’ve never officially placed a wager, you’ve likely made a single bet at some point in your life. These are those simple “win or lose” wagers. You’re making a single selection and hoping that it wins.
Single bets are relatively safe. As a result, they don’t offer the highest potential returns. The good news is that Lucky 31 bets offer five single bets. That’s a different bet for all of your total selections. Many combination bets don’t include singles, so it’s a nice safety net to have.
Double Bets
Double bets are a bit tricker than singles. With these wagers, you’re making two selections over different events. To win, both of your selections have to come out victorious. You can’t have any dead-heats. One winning and one not winning isn’t accepted either.
There are lower chances that both of your selections will be victorious, so these do come with a slightly higher payout. In total, the Lucky 31 bet consists of ten doubles, so you can easily cover all potential outcomes.
Treble Bets
Trebles are even harder to win than doubles. As you can probably guess, these bets consist of three of your selections over different events. Like the previous bets, all of your choices need to win for you to see a return. With 10 treble bets, there are plenty of ways to plan your bet slip to work in your favor.
Four-Fold Accumulators
Now we’re getting into the higher-risk wagers. An accumulator is any bet that consists of four or more selections. While it goes by a different name than doubles or trebles, it’s essentially the same thing.
You must choose four selections on your bet slip. To win the four-fold accumulator, every single one of those selections has to come out on top. You get five with the Lucky 31.
Five-Fold Accumulator
Finally, there’s the five-fold. This is the toughest bet to win out of the bunch. Thus, it has the best return possible. As the name would imply, this bet utilizes all five of your selections. There’s only a single five-fold accumulator in the Lucky 31 bet.
How to Calculate Your Winnings from a Lucky 31 Bet?
Calculating winnings from a Lucky 31 bet is no easy task. There are a lot of factors that come into play with a combination bet. Remember, there are 31 individual bets in the combo! For each one, you have to consider your unit stake, total stake, odds format, and more.
While you could try to do that all yourself on a pen and paper, there are much easier alternatives. A Lucky 31 bet calculator can get the job done instantly. These calculators are readily available and have all the parameters you need to figure out how much you could win.
The cool thing about a betting calculator is that you can easily adjust things on the fly. Just put in your parameters and make adjustments as things change. They’re a must-have tool for any punter looking to stay on top of their game.
Betting Tips: Potential Results Prediction
One of the biggest advantages of placing a Lucky 31 bet is that you’re able to predict potential results a bit better. With a single win-only bet, your odds of winning and losing are evenly split. The outcome of the event can only go one of two ways. While it seems safer, you actually have a lot more to lose.
That’s not the case with a combination bet. Think about all of the potential outcomes that could happen with your sporting event. You can do your best to pick the most likely outcome, but anything can happen.
When you place a Lucky 31 bet, you’re covering most of those eventualities. Let’s use horse racing as an example. You go to the bookmaker and select five horses to win five different races. When you’re filling out your bet slip, you can use the contents of the Lucky 31 bet to play strategically. Spread out your choices evenly while using up all of your singles, doubles, trebles, and accumulators.
Now, the best-case scenario would be that every single one of your selections win. However, there’s a low chance of that happening. Say that only three of your selections win. While you won’t win the highest cashout possible, you will get something back with three selection wins.
That’s because those three wins could have been covered by the individual bets that make up the Lucky 31. You could have won a treble, double, and multiple singles! Instead of walking away with nothing but a hole in your wallet, you might have earned some of your money back. Depending on the parameters of your bet, you might even make a modest profit.
Why Make a Lucky 31 Bet?
The biggest reason why punters place Lucky 31 bets is that they’re generally safer. By covering more potential outcomes, there’s a greater chance that you will win something in return.
Like we said earlier, there are no guarantees in sports betting. But, a combination bet like the Lucky 31 bet is the closest you’re going to get. Statistically speaking, you have better chances of winning some type of return over nothing at all. It may not be the big cash that you want, but it’s something.
That said, Lucky 31 bets do have the potential to net you some handsome rewards. These bets do require a bigger upfront investment. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a £1 unit stake is low. Remember these bets are comprised of 31 wagers, so your total stake will be at least £31. But, that higher stake could be lucrative if you manage to win all five selections.
With a simple £1 unit stake and horses at 4.00, you’re looking at a total profit of over £3,000 if all your selections win.
Variations of the Lucky 31 Bet
Lucky 31 bets are already relatively safe on their own. However, there is a way to control your losses even more. Each-way Lucky 31 bets are a unique variation of the traditional bet. Basically, you’re transforming those individuals 31 bets into each-way bets.
An each-way bet is a two-part bet. With the first bet, you’re wagering on your selection to win first place. On the second, you’re betting money that they at least get a top spot. This could be second or third place in a horse race.
Because you’re doubling every wager, the total number of bets becomes 62! This comes with a much higher total stake. However, it does increase your odds even further.
What’s the Difference Between a Lucky 31 Bet and Other Combination Bets?
Walk into any booking establishment and you’re bound to learn about many different combination bets. Combination bets are very popular, but they can get confusing pretty quickly. With quirky names and virtually no explanation, it’s not hard to get things mixed up. There are a few different kinds of bets that many newer punters mistake for the Lucky 31.
The first is the Super Yankee. Also known as a Canadian bet, this wager also involves five selections. It also has the same amount of doubles, trebles, and accumulators as the Lucky 31. However, the primary difference is the lack of single bets! With no singles bets, the Super Yankee is a bit harder to see a return on.
You might also see people referring to the Lucky 31 as simply “Lucky.” This can get confusing pretty fast because there are other types of Lucky bets. There’s the Lucky 15 and the Lucky 63. The difference between these bets is the number of selections and individual bets. The Lucky 15 has four selections and 15 total bets. Meanwhile, the Lucky 63 involves six bets and 63 total bets.
What Sports Work Well with Lucky 31 Bets?
Lucky 31 bets work well across most sporting events. They’re most commonly associated with horse races or greyhound races. But, you can see bettors placing these bets on football matches, tennis tournaments, bowling games, and much more.
The only real requirement is that the sport encompasses multiple events that you can wager on. Remember, your five selections have to be on different events. You can’t really make five selections on a single match with two teams. So, the Lucky 15 bet is best used for large tournaments or league games.
Best Sites to Place a Lucky 31 Bet On
Since the advent of the online bookie, punters have had it easy! You can make bets from the comfort of your own home. Many sites accept Lucky 31 and other combination bets, so you have no shortage of choices. Take a look at the following sites. You may find free bets for new customers. Some even have a winners bonus to help you maximize your winnings!
Bet365
888 Sports
Betfred
Ladbrokes
Paddy Power
William Hill
Bet Victor
Summary
Don’t let the idea of placing multiple bets at once fool you! Lucky 31 bets are relatively easy to understand once you have the basics covered. These are one of the easier combination bets to try out. They can increase your odds of seeing a return while still providing that thrill you’re after. Give it a shot and see what you can win!