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Lucky 15 bets are hugely popular in horse racing because they offer punters the chance to back multiple events at once. The name comes from the 15 bets involved, which require four selections. While you’re guaranteed 15 bets, there’s no guarantee they’ll all be lucky. Read on for a more detailed breakdown of how to make a Lucky 15 bet.
What is a Lucky 15?
A Lucky 15 is a multiple bet and a way to combine a quartet of selections. The wager is broken down as follows: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold accumulator. In order to gain a return, punters need just one selection to oblige, and bookmakers will offer bonuses including double or treble the odds for just a single winner.
A 10p lucky 15 would mean a total stake of £1.50. Each-way Lucky 15s are also popular, especially on horse racing, and it’s a way to combine four fancies on the day’s action. An each-way Lucky 15 is placed the same way as a win wager, with the only difference being that the number of bets increases to 30.
How to Place a Lucky 15 Bet
Most bookmakers’ bet slips have built-in sections, so you don’t need to place singles, doubles, trebles, and four-folds separately. Just add your four selections, then choose the Lucky 15 option, which should be found under the multiples tab or dropdown menu.
Lucky 15s can be combined across all sports on matches, outright markets, races or whatever markets punters desire.
Difference Between Lucky 15 & Other Multiple Bets
While both a Yankee and a Lucky 15 include doubles, trebles, and a four-fold from four selections, only the Lucky 15 features singles. Bigger bets such as Lucky 31 and Lucky 63 require five or six selections, making a four-selection bet a more practical option.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Lucky 15 Bets
One of the main plus points to betting Lucky 15s is they give a return if just a single selection obliges. Clearly, that is going to need to be a decent price to cover the stake, but it still pays if only one pick wins.
Another advantage is that not all selections need to win to secure a decent return. If two or three picks are successful a healthy profit can be returned, and when betting each-way, it’s possible to land a nice profit with the four selections just making the frame.
However, with a Lucky 15 you are splitting your stake across a number of bets and therefore it can diminish the returns.
If you placed a 10p Lucky 15 it would total a £1.50 stake. If all four selections were to win, the returns would be far lower than if a straight £1.50 accumulator was placed.
The singles aspect of the bet also need consideration. If the four selections are all priced at around 20-1, 25-1, 33-1 or 50-1 then clearly a single win is going to produce a nice return.
However, if they are odds-on shots, the singles almost become a wasted part of the bet, given the small returns they are likely to bring. Punters should consider if the single part of the bet is worth the increased stake.
