Lucky 31 Calculator

Work out the returns on a Lucky 31: thirty-one bets across five football selections, singles included.

A Lucky 31 calculator lets you work out the total returns on thirty-one bets across five football selections at decimal odds, with singles included in every combination.

What Is a Lucky 31?

A Lucky 31 is a full cover bet constructed from five selections of your choice. Unlike a simple accumulator, which requires all five selections to win, the Lucky 31 splits the five selections across thirty-one different bets arranged by type. This bet structure means that winning selections can still generate returns even if others lose.

The thirty-one bets consist of five singles—one bet on each selection alone—ten doubles across all possible pairs, ten trebles from every three-selection combination, five four-folds from every four-selection combination, and finally one five-fold accumulator on all five. This layered approach gives you multiple ways to win. A single winning selection will at least push back part of your stake through its single, while losing selections do not return that portion of your outlay.

The Lucky 31 sits between the Lucky 15 and the Lucky 63 in the Lucky family of bets. The Lucky 15 uses four selections (making 15 bets), whilst the Lucky 63 extends to six selections (making 63 bets). Because the Lucky 31 includes singles in its structure, bookmakers traditionally offer consolation and bonus terms to this bet type. These bonuses typically apply when you achieve certain conditions—such as having exactly one winner, or when all five selections win. The terms vary between bookmakers and are not factored into the calculator; they operate outside the basic settlement calculation.

How a Lucky 31 Is Calculated

The mathematics of a Lucky 31 follows a fixed, simple pattern. You multiply the number of bets (31) by your chosen unit stake to find the total outlay. If you decide on a unit stake of EUR 0.25, for example, the total cost is 31 multiplied by EUR 0.25, which equals EUR 7.75.

The bet breaks down into exactly five bet types. You have five singles—one separate bet on each of your five selections. You then have ten doubles, each pairing two selections together; because there are five selections, there are exactly ten possible two-selection combinations. Next come ten trebles, covering all possible three-selection combinations from your five picks. The four-folds number exactly five: these cover all possible combinations of four selections. Finally, you place a single five-fold accumulator, which requires all five selections to win.

To calculate the return if all selections win, you multiply each odds value in sequence, then multiply the result by your unit stake, then multiply again by 31. This gives the total return across all thirty-one lines if every pick comes in. The profit is that return minus your total outlay.

When a selection loses, the return changes because every bet containing that selection now fails. The singles, doubles, trebles, and four-folds that do not include the losing selection can still return money. This partial return is still calculated line by line: each surviving combination multiplies out separately, then you total the results. The more selections you lose, the fewer lines continue to pay.

What the Calculator Shows You

The Lucky 31 calculator displays several key outputs once you enter your five decimal odds and your unit stake. First, it confirms the total number of bets—always 31 for a Lucky 31, regardless of your stakes or odds. It then shows your total outlay: the unit stake multiplied by 31. This is the amount you must pay to place the bet.

Next, the calculator shows your total return if all five selections win, expressed in euros. Below that sits your profit if all five win—this is the return minus the total outlay you paid. If you mark any selection as a loss or void, the calculator recalculates the return and profit for the remaining selections, showing what the bet pays out with that selection removed. This helps you see how resilient your bet is to losing picks.

Worked Example

To see how a Lucky 31 works in practice, consider a bet on five football selections at a unit stake of EUR 0.25. Your five picks are:

• Braga to beat Farense at 1.60
• Twente to beat Almere City at 1.80
• Union Saint-Gilloise to beat Cercle Brugge at 2.00
• Slovan Bratislava to beat Zilina at 2.50
• Malmo to beat Halmstad at 3.00

Your total outlay is 31 bets multiplied by EUR 0.25, which equals EUR 7.75.

If all five selections win, every one of your 31 bets comes in. The return across all lines totals EUR 76.19, which means your profit is EUR 68.44. This is a worthwhile return on a EUR 7.75 stake.

Now imagine Malmo fail to beat Halmstad. The Malmo selection is gone, but the bet is not finished. The four surviving selections—Braga, Twente, Union Saint-Gilloise, and Slovan Bratislava—still produce bets. You still have four singles (one on each of the four winners). You still have six doubles (every pair from the four survivors). You have four trebles (every three-selection combination from the four), and you have one four-fold (all four together). The five-fold is lost because it requires all five.

With only Malmo gone, your return drops to EUR 18.86, and your profit falls to EUR 11.11. The bet still pays out. This is why the inclusion of singles matters: even a single winner pushes back some money through its single bet, and partial combinations of the winners continue to pay.

What the 31 bets in a Lucky 31 actually are

The Lucky 31 contains exactly 31 separate bets across five distinct types. Each type covers a different combination of your selections. The single bets are your most basic coverage; they offer the lowest returns but activate whenever their selection wins. The doubles, trebles, and higher multiples each require more selections to win but produce larger returns when they do.

Total outlay for a Lucky 31 at different unit stakes

The cost of a Lucky 31 is directly proportional to your unit stake. Every line you place costs the same amount; multiply that unit stake by 31 to find your total outlay. The table below shows how total outlay scales across typical unit stakes. Whether you stake EUR 0.10 or EUR 1.00 per line, the structure remains identical; only the cost changes.

When Small Stakes Add Up

Small unit stakes accumulate quickly across a Lucky 31. Thirty-one lines at EUR 0.25 per bet cost EUR 7.75 in total, which is not a negligible amount if you plan to place multiple bets in a session. The singles that form part of the bet do offer some consolation if selections lose, but they do not function as a financial safety net. A single winner will return its odds minus the stake through the single alone, but the singles across five selections will not by themselves recover a full EUR 7.75 outlay. This is why the Lucky 31 works best when all five of your selections are genuinely fancied rather than when you have one strong pick padded out to five weaker choices.

Because the singles are present, you cannot ignore the mathematics: each selection must earn its place in the bet. Adding selections simply to qualify for the Lucky 31 bet type is a mistake; the multiple small bets will drain your stake without generating sufficient returns. The bet type requires discipline in selection-building.

Remember also that bookmaker bonus terms, which frequently apply to Lucky bets, operate outside these calculations. Different bookmakers apply different bonus rules and different payout adjustments. Read the specific terms before placing the bet, because those bonuses can materially change the effective return once the wager settles.

When a Lucky 31 Makes Sense

A Lucky 31 suits a specific betting approach. It is most effective when you hold five selections that you genuinely believe in, with each priced at a level that reflects value to you. The inclusion of singles means you profit even if some selections fail, provided enough others win. If you have five picks of comparable confidence level—not one strong selection surrounded by weak filler—the structure rewards that spread.

The bet is less suitable if you have only one or two strong picks and must invent selections to reach five. Building out to five selections under pressure dilutes your bankroll across weaker bets. In that scenario, a Canadian (five selections, 26 bets) or even a smaller Lucky 15 (four selections, 15 bets) may suit your portfolio better. Choose the bet type based on the genuine picks you have, not the other way around.

Bankroll management matters with Lucky 31s. At EUR 0.25 per line, the outlay is EUR 7.75. If you can afford EUR 1.00 per line, the cost becomes EUR 31.00. Work backwards from your available bankroll and your overall staking plan. Do not stretch your stakes to make the Lucky 31 format work; the bet must fit your budget comfortably.

The Lucky 31 is also well suited to situations where you hold selections across multiple fixtures or leagues. Because the bet includes combinations of all lengths up to five, it captures value across many different payout scenarios. If you are confident in a broad set of picks rather than betting on a single event, the multiple layers of the Lucky 31 give you exposure to numerous outcomes.

Common Mistakes

Many bettors set a unit stake without multiplying by thirty-one, then are surprised by the total cost of the bet. Relying on bookmaker bonuses without reading the specific terms means you may not qualify for the bonus you expect, or the bonus structure may differ from your assumption. Viewing the singles as a full safety net is a mistake; they provide only partial recovery on individual selections and will not offset the full outlay. Finally, padding out your selection list to five picks simply to qualify for a Lucky 31 is backwards thinking—build the bet from the strong picks you have, not invent picks to fit the format.

Lucky 31 vs Lucky 15, Canadian and Lucky 63

The Lucky 31 is one of several multi-selection cover bets. It differs from similar formats by covering five selections in thirty-one lines, sitting between the Lucky 15 (four selections, 15 lines) and the Lucky 63 (six selections, 63 lines). The Canadian covers the same five selections but uses only 26 lines because it excludes singles. Choose your format based on the number of selections you wish to include and your appetite for covering partial wins.