Understanding Lucky 15 wagers

In the sports betting world, most punters would rather be lucky than good. And where better to reap good fortune than a Lucky 15 bet. Continue reading to learn more about Lucky 15 betting, including what they mean and some real-world examples of Lucky 15 wagers.

What is a Lucky 15 bet?

A Lucky 15 bet is a multiple bet based around four events with 15 bets. These bets must include:

- Four single bets - Six doubles - Four trebles - One four-fold Parlay bet.

Lucky 15 bets are great for punters who prefer to cover a wide range of outcomes and combine several wagers into one multiple bet. If you’re thinking that Lucky 15 bets sound complicated, they’re not. That’s because sportsbooks like Wildz Sports automatically create all the doubles, trebles, Parlay, etc., after you select a Lucky 15 on your betting slip.

Just like other multiple wagers such as Trixie bet and Yankee bet, punters can see a return from a Lucky 15 even if only one of the four events is a winner. Even better, the more events that win say two, three or all events, the larger the return.

In some instances, with different sportsbooks, Lucky 15 Bets can also offer punters the opportunity to earn bonuses or consolations and increase their returns.

Example of a Lucky 15 wager

To get a clearer understanding of how the Lucky 15 works, it is worthwhile applying it to a real-world scenario. One such scenario is a weekend round of NHL matches.

In this scenario, our punter, Granny, has selected four matches:

Philadelphia Flyers v Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings v Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens v Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning v Pittsburgh Penguins.

From those matches, she has made the following predictions:

Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins.

From these selections, the following bets would be made:

Four single bets:

Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres.

This bet does not require the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens or Tampa Bay Lightning to win their matches.

Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers.

This bet does not require the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens or Tampa Bay Lightning to win their matches.

Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators.

This bet does not require the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings or Tampa Bay Lightning to win their matches.

Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins.

This bet does not require the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings or Montreal Canadiens to win their matches.

Six double bets:

Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers
Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins
Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins
Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins.

Four treble bets:

Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers to beat Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins
Detroit Red Wings to beat Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens to beat Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning to beat Pittsburgh Penguins.

Finally, all Lucky 15 bets require one four-fold Parley bet, i.e., all four selected winners to win.

The pros and cons of a Lucky 15 wager

The benefits of a Lucky 15 bet are clear to see. The more single bets that win, the higher the potential of some of the doubles and trebles hitting. And depending on the odds, the larger the potential windfall. In addition, if Granny were to bet each-way on the Lucky 15, it’s possible to return a decent profit on the four selections.

Like every other bet, such as a coin toss, there are two sides to it.

On the downside, Lucky 15s are more expensive to place than regular bets. This is because, for every bet placed, a new stake is added. For example, if Granny wishes to place a $5 unit stake per leg, this total would rise to $75 overall because a $5 unit stake is being placed on each of the 15 bets.

However, with clever bankroll management, such as swapping a $5 unit stake for a $0.50 unit stake, a $75 overall stake is now only $7.50. This way, punters can participate in responsible betting while reducing their risk of ruin.

Secondly, with a Lucky 15, dividing your stake across several bets could diminish the returns. For example, if Granny placed a $0.50 Lucky 15, her stake would total $7.50. If all selections were to hit, the returns would likely be much lower than if she placed (and won) a four-fold Parlay bet for $7.50.

The singles aspect of Lucky 15 wagers also requires inspection. If the four selections have wide odds, such as 34.0 (+3,300) or 51.0 (+5,000), then clearly, a single win is going to produce an excellent return. Whereas, if Granny mostly bets on heavy-favoured teams or horses, i.e., bets with short odds, the singles almost become irrelevant, given the minimal returns they guarantee. Therefore, punters like Granny should consider if the single part of the bet justifies a larger stake.