Lucky 31 Calculator
A Lucky 31 places 31 bets on 5 selections: 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and a five-fold. Enter your odds, mark each selection won or lost, and switch the two standard bookmaker bonuses on or off — this page settles them the way a UK bookmaker does, and shows the price a lone winner needs before the bet returns its own outlay.
The stake covers each of the 31 bets, so a £1.00 Lucky 31 costs £31.00 in total.
Bookmaker bonuses
These are the common UK terms, but they are not universal: check your own bookmaker’s rules before relying on them. Bonuses are normally void if any selection is a non-runner.
Bet-by-Bet Breakdown
| Bet Type | Bets | Won | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | 5 | 5 | £20.00 |
| Doubles | 10 | 10 | £155.00 |
| Trebles | 10 | 10 | £580.00 |
| Four-Folds | 5 | 5 | £1044.00 |
| Five-Fold | 1 | 1 | £720.00 |
| All-winners bonus (10%) | — | — | £251.90 |
What Each Outcome Would Pay
The same five prices, settled at every number of winners, with your bonus settings applied. Unlike a Canadian, a Lucky 31 always pays something when one selection wins.
| Outcome | Selections | Return | Profit / Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 winner — shortest price | #1 | £3.00 | −£28.00 |
| 1 winner — longest price | #5 | £11.00 | −£20.00 |
| 2 winners — shortest pair | #1, #2 | £11.00 | −£20.00 |
| 3 winners — shortest three | #1, #2, #3 | £59.00 | £28.00 |
| 4 winners — shortest four | #1, #2, #3, #4 | £359.00 | £328.00 |
| All 5 winners | #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 | £2770.90 | £2739.90 |
Your Results
One-Winner Break-Even
16.00
With the double-odds consolation applied, a lone winner has to be priced at 16.00 (15/1) before the single alone returns the 31-unit outlay. Your longest price is 6.00.
Same Outlay as a Canadian
£31.00 spread over 26 lines instead of 31 (£1.19 per bet, no singles and no bonuses) returns £2979.58 on these results.
The Canadian is £208.68 better on this outcome: fewer lines, more money on each one.
Win-only calculation. Each-way Lucky 31s double the bet count to 62 and apply place terms to the second half — see the Each-Way Calculator.
How a Lucky 31 Is Calculated
Each of the 31 bets is settled on its own: five singles, then every possible double, treble, four-fold and the five-fold. Any line containing a losing selection returns nothing, but every other line still stands. The singles are what separate a Lucky 31 from a Canadian — they are the reason a single winner still pays something.
Take a £1 Lucky 31 (total outlay £31.00) on five selections at decimal odds of 2.00, 3.00, 4.00, 5.00 and 6.00, with all five winning:
| Bet Type | Maths (£1 per bet) | Return |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Singles | 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 | £20.00 |
| 10 Doubles | 6 + 8 + 10 + 12 + 12 + 15 + 18 + 20 + 24 + 30 | £155.00 |
| 10 Trebles | 24 + 30 + 36 + 40 + 48 + 60 + 60 + 72 + 90 + 120 | £580.00 |
| 5 Four-Folds | 120 + 144 + 180 + 240 + 360 | £1,044.00 |
| 1 Five-Fold | 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 = 720 | £720.00 |
| Total before bonus | 20 + 155 + 580 + 1,044 + 720 | £2,519.00 |
| With the 10% all-win bonus | 2,519 × 1.10 | £2,770.90 |
What “Double the Odds” Actually Means
The single-winner consolation is the most misread term on the slip. Doubling the odds means doubling the fractional price, not the decimal one: a 5/1 winner is settled at 10/1, which is 11.00 in decimal — not 12.00. In decimal terms the rule is 2d − 1, and the difference is a pound on every unit staked. A calculator that doubles the decimal price overstates your return on the one outcome where the consolation matters at all.
The Number Most Lucky 31 Calculators Leave Out
The consolation sounds generous until you compare it with the outlay it has to cover. One winner pays one single out of 31 lines, so even at double the odds the sum is unforgiving: 2d − 1 has to reach 31, which means the winner must be priced at 16.00, or 15/1. Without the consolation the same test needs 31.00. Almost nobody puts a 15/1 shot in a five-selection Lucky 31, which is the honest way of saying the double-odds bonus almost never gets your money back — it softens a loss, it does not reverse one.
Two winners are only slightly kinder. They pay two singles and one double, and the break-even condition tidies up neatly: add one to each price, multiply them, and the result has to reach 32. Two evenly priced winners therefore both need to be above 4.66 — a pair of 7/2 shots at 4.50 leaves you down, a pair of 4/1 shots at 5.00 clears it. Three winners at 2.00, 3.00 and 4.00 return £59.00 on the £31.00 outlay, so three is where the bet reliably turns profitable.
Lucky 31 or Canadian for the Same Money
A Canadian is a Lucky 31 without the five singles: 26 lines instead of 31 on the same five selections, and normally without the bonuses. Compared at the same total outlay — the comparison the results panel above runs on your own numbers — £31.00 spread over 26 Canadian lines puts £1.19 on each one, so all five winning returns £2,979.58 as a Canadian against £2,770.90 as a Lucky 31 with the bonus included. The Canadian wins the best-case scenario; the Lucky 31 wins every scenario where only one or two selections come in.
Put plainly, the singles and the bonuses are not a gift. They are paid for by taking money off every multiple on the slip. If you are backing five selections you genuinely expect to win together, the Canadian Calculator prices the better structure; if you are hoping one or two carry the bet, this one does. For four selections the equivalent pair is the Lucky 15 and the Yankee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Lucky 31 bet?
A Lucky 31 covers 5 selections with 31 separate bets: 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and 1 five-fold. The stake applies to each of the 31 lines, so a £1 Lucky 31 costs £31.00 in total.
How much does one winner pay in a Lucky 31?
One winner pays one single. With the usual double-odds consolation the winner needs to be priced at 16.00 (15/1) before that single alone returns the 31-unit outlay; without the consolation it needs 31.00. The consolation softens a losing slip, it rarely rescues one.
Does “double the odds” mean double the decimal price?
No. UK settlement doubles the fractional price, so a 5/1 winner is paid at 10/1 — decimal 11.00, not 12.00. In decimal terms the rule is 2d − 1. This calculator applies it that way.
What is the difference between a Lucky 31 and a Canadian?
A Canadian is the same five selections without the five singles — 26 lines instead of 31, and usually without the bonuses. For the same total outlay the Canadian puts more money on every multiple, so it pays more when four or five selections win, while the Lucky 31 pays more when only one or two do.
Do Lucky 31 bonuses apply if a selection is a non-runner?
Usually not. Most UK bookmakers void both the double-odds consolation and the all-winners bonus if any selection is a non-runner, and the void leg is then settled at odds of 1.00 so the bet collapses onto the remaining selections. Terms differ between operators, so check the rules on your own account.
A Lucky 31 stakes thirty-one times your unit before a single race is run, and the bonuses do not change that — set a budget for the full outlay before you start and never chase losses. 18+. If gambling stops being fun, see our responsible gambling resources.