Lucky 15 explained: all 15 bets drawn out

What are the 15 bets in a Lucky 15?

A Lucky 15 covers every combination of four selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one fourfold, making 15 bets in total.

Call the selections A, B, C and D. The singles are A, B, C and D. The doubles are AB, AC, AD, BC, BD and CD. The trebles are ABC, ABD, ACD and BCD. The fourfold is ABCD. Every bet carries the same unit stake, which is why the total outlay is always 15 times the unit.

The selections must be in different races, since a double cannot contain two horses from the same race. Most people build a Lucky 15 from one card, but the legs can come from any meetings on any day before the bet is settled.

How much does a Lucky 15 cost at £1 win and £1 each way?

At £1 a line a win Lucky 15 costs £15. Each way doubles every line into a win part and a place part, so a £1 each way Lucky 15 costs £30.

The unit stake is the figure on the slip, and the total is the one that leaves your account. Many people think of a 50p Lucky 15 as a small bet, but it costs £7.50 win or £15 each way. The place parts are settled at the each way fraction for each race, usually one quarter or one fifth of the odds, depending on the field size and race type.

What does a Lucky 15 return with one, two, three or four winners?

One winner pays one single; two winners pay two singles and a double; three winners pay three singles, three doubles and a treble; four winners pay all 15 bets.

Take a £1 win Lucky 15 on horses at 2/1, 3/1, 4/1 and 5/1, which are 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 in decimal. If only the 5/1 shot wins, the return is £6 for a £15 stake. If the 2/1 and 3/1 shots win, the singles return £7 and the double £12, a total of £19. Three winners at 2/1, 3/1 and 4/1 return £119. All four winning return £839.

The pattern shows where the value of the bet sits: almost all of the big return comes from the trebles and the fourfold, which only pay when three or four of your selections win on the same day.

What bonuses do bookmakers add to a Lucky 15?

Some bookmakers add their own Lucky 15 bonuses, for example on a single winner. These are promotions set by each bookmaker, not part of the bet, and they are often excluded from Tote bets.

Bonus terms differ on minimum odds, whether they apply to each way bets, and whether a non-runner cancels them. As an illustration, a consolation that doubled the odds on a lone 5/1 winner would turn the £6 return above into £11, which would still lose £4 on a £15 stake. Read the offer terms before relying on a bonus in any comparison.

How is a Lucky 15 settled when one selection is a non-runner?

The non-runner is treated as void. Its single is refunded, doubles containing it become singles, trebles containing it become doubles and the fourfold becomes a treble on the other three.

In effect the stakes on lines with the non-runner run on to the remaining selections, alongside a Patent on the other three. No stake is lost because of the withdrawal, but the potential return falls because the biggest multiples now have one fewer price in them. A Rule 4 deduction may also apply to the other runners in that race, which reduces their winnings rather than their stake.

Each way Lucky 15s follow the same logic twice over. The win half is settled as above, and the place half is settled as a separate Lucky 15 at the place odds of each horse that finished in the frame. A 5/1 winner in a race paying one fifth the odds counts at 6.0 on the win side and 2.0 on the place side, so one winner with two placed horses can still return a useful sum.

Is a Lucky 15 better than four singles?

Four £1 singles cost £4, while a £1 Lucky 15 costs £15. The extra £11 buys the doubles, trebles and fourfold, which pay only when two or more selections win.

Neither is better in general. The Lucky 15 multiplies the bookmaker margin through its multiples and needs several winners to justify its cost; four singles keep each opinion separate. Check the live win rates by price on this page: at 5/1 a runner wins roughly one race in seven, so four winners from four 5/1 shots is a rare day, and budgeting on that basis keeps a Lucky 15 in proportion.

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