Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
A Lucky 15 is a type of accumulator that people use to bet on football matches, as well as horse and greyhound racing.
Betting on a Lucky 15 means that you’re effectively betting on fifteen individual permutations under four separate matches – a collection of singles, doubles, trebles and one fourfold. Those fifteen bets are:
- 4 singles
- 6 doubles
- 4 trebles
- 1 fourfold
So, a standard Lucky 15 £1 bet will cost £15 in total, as punters place a pound on each separate bet. When you bet on a Lucky 15, each of the fifteen stakes must be the same amount of money.
How a Lucky 15 bet works
If, for instance, you selected Liverpool, Juventus, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund to each win their games in a Lucky 15 bet, your single bet will win you a small sum every time one of those teams wins their match.
But if two of your teams win, you’ll win the double bet as well as the two singles.
If three come home, your bookie pays out on one treble, two doubles and three singles. And finally, if you pick four winners then you’ll enjoy fifteen different wins – four singles, six doubles, four trebles and the one fourfold. Quids in!
Why use a Lucky 15 bet?
Because Lucky 15s see you spread your wager across a number of matches and bets, they offer a more secure investment than a standard accumulator and can provide a good payout for even the most cast-iron home bankers.
You’ll never win enough to buy that mid-sized Caribbean island with a Lucky 15, but they’re a great option for the slightly more risk-averse accumulator lover – ensuring a bit of compensation even if one of your selections concedes a 90th-minute equaliser.
They’re also used by many punters for betting on anytime goalscorers – where you can find slightly higher odds than on single matches.
Improved odds on Lucky 15s
It’s common for some bookies to offer special deals on Lucky 15s to tempt punters in. Sometimes you’ll be offered a bonus for selecting a number of winners, or get doubled odds on a single if all but one of your choices went to pot.
When shouldn’t I bet on a Lucky 15?
A Lucky 15 represents great value for a punter because it’s an accumulator that still pays out if you’re not lucky enough to predict all the winners. It’s not hard to see why ‘weekend punters’ would be attracted by the protection it offers. It carries a bit of compensation and guards against a heavier loss.
However, if you’re a little more confident about a bet and think you’ve got four sure-fire bankers on your hands, it could make sense to put your money where your mouth is and invest the money that you would have put on the Lucky 15 into more lucrative bets like four trebles or even one fourfold accumulator.
That way, you’re not spending money on relatively low-yield single and double bets.
Just don’t blame us if that home banker lets you down…
