Lucky 15 calculator
Work out what a lucky 15 returns: four selections, 15 bets, win only or each way.
- Total stake
- £0.00
- Profit
- £0.00
Every bet, line by line
Bookmaker bonuses and consolation payouts are not included. Returns are rounded down to the penny.
How a lucky 15 settles
A lucky 15 is 15 separate bets on four selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold accumulator. A £1 lucky 15 costs £15, and £1 each way costs £30, because each way doubles every bet.
Because it includes the singles, one winner is enough for a return. Each extra winner brings in the doubles, trebles and the four-fold that include it.
Worked example: £1 lucky 15 (£15.00) with winners at 2/1, 3/1 and 4/1 and a loser at 5/1. The 4 singles return £12.00, 6 doubles return £47.00, 4 trebles return £60.00, the four-fold returns £0.00. Total return £119.00, a profit of £104.00.
The worked examples on this page are settled by the same calculator you can use above, so the figures match it to the penny.
The rules we use
These are the standard UK settlement rules. Where bookmakers differ, we use the commonest rule and say so. Your bookmaker's own rules decide your bet.
- Each way
- An each-way bet is two bets of the same stake: one to win at the full odds, one to place at the place fraction of the odds. A winner pays both. A horse that only places pays the place bet.
- Each-way multiples
- The win part needs every horse to win. The place part needs every horse to win or place, and a winner counts at its place odds there.
- Non-runners and voids
- A non-runner or void leg counts as odds of 1.0: in a single you get your stake back, and in a multiple that leg drops out, so a double becomes a single, a treble a double, and so on.
- Rule 4
- The deduction comes off the winnings only, never the stake, and only on the leg it applies to. The place part is worked from the reduced win odds. Deductions above 90p in the pound are refused, because the rule caps them there.
- Dead heats
- The stake on that leg is divided by the number of horses tied, then multiplied by the number of tied places that are still paid. A dead heat for 1st halves the win part. Two tied for the last place paid halves the place part.
- Rounding
- Everything is worked out exactly and only the total return is rounded, down to the penny, as most bookmakers do. Each line in the breakdown is rounded down on its own, so the lines can come to a penny more than the total.
- Bonuses
- Bonuses and consolation payouts on lucky 15s, lucky 31s and similar bets vary from bookmaker to bookmaker, so none are included. Check your own bookmaker's rules.
- Total stake
- If you enter a total stake, it is shared equally across every bet in the bet (and across both halves of an each-way bet).
Questions
How many bets are in a lucky 15?
Fifteen: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold, all on the same four selections. That is why a £1 lucky 15 costs £15.
Do I get anything back with one winner?
Yes. The single on that horse pays out. Whether that covers the stake depends on the price: at £1 a bet you need roughly a 14/1 winner on its own to get your £15 back. Many bookmakers add a bonus for a single winner, which this calculator leaves out.
How does an each-way lucky 15 work?
It is 30 bets: the 15 win bets and 15 place bets. The place bets pay on any selection that wins or places, at the place fraction of its odds, so a lucky 15 with no winners can still return money.
What happens to a non-runner in a lucky 15?
Its single is refunded and it counts as odds of 1.0 in every multiple, so a double with the non-runner in it becomes a single on the other horse, and so on.
Other calculators
18+ only. A calculator works out a return; it does not tell you what to back. If you bet, bet what you can afford to lose. Help is free at BeGambleAware.org.