How La Quiniela works: ticket, Elige 8, reduced bets and prizes

Everything about the official SELAE Quiniela: how to fill in your ticket, what doubles and trebles are, Elige 8, reduced bets, and how prizes are distributed.

La Quiniela is Spain's official state football prediction game, run by SELAE (Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado) since 1946. Every matchday, millions of people fill in their ticket to predict the results of 14 football matches and the exact score of a fifteenth. La Quiniela offers multiple betting formats to suit any budget and strategy.

The ticket: 14 matches + the pleno al 15

The official Quiniela ticket covers 15 matches. The first 14 are predicted using the symbols 1, X or 2, which indicate a home win, a draw, or an away win respectively. These results include extra time where applicable. The fifteenth match is the «pleno al 15»: instead of choosing a sign, you predict the exact score of the match, again including extra time if played. For goals, you mark the exact number for each team; if a team scores 3 or more goals, you mark the letter M.

• 1 — home win (including extra time)
• X — draw
• 2 — away win (including extra time)
• Pleno al 15: mark the exact goals for each team; if a team scores 3 or more goals, mark M

Types of bet

Single bet

A single bet means selecting one sign for each of the 14 matches and one exact score for the pleno al 15. It is the cheapest option and covers the fewest combinations.

Multiple bet

A multiple bet lets you mark 2 or 3 signs (1, X, 2) for any matches where you are unsure of the result, which is the equivalent of submitting several bets at once. You can also mark multiple score combinations for the pleno al 15. The total cost is multiplied by the number of possible results you have covered: each double multiplies by 2 and each treble multiplies by 3.

Conditional bet

A conditional bet is a way of playing a multiple bet at a lower cost. You mark a C on the matches where you want to apply the condition and, in the Variants, X and 2 columns, you indicate how many variants (X or 2), how many draws (X) and/or how many away wins (2) you expect to occur across all the marked matches. This removes the multiple combinations you consider less likely, keeping only those you regard as most plausible and reducing the cost of the ticket.

Reduced bet

Rather than playing every possible combination from your multiples, a reduced bet plays a mathematically selected subset that maximises the chances of a guaranteed prize. SELAE authorises 6 official reduced bets:

• Reduction 1: 4 trebles → 9 bets → €6.75
• Reduction 2: 7 doubles → 16 bets → €12.00
• Reduction 3: 3 doubles + 3 trebles → 24 bets → €18.00
• Reduction 4: 2 trebles + 6 doubles → 64 bets → €48.00
• Reduction 5: 8 trebles → 81 bets → €60.75
• Reduction 6: 11 doubles → 132 bets → €99.00

To understand the logic, take Reduction 1 as an example: 4 trebles would normally generate 81 bets (81 × €0.75 = €60.75), but with the reduced bet you only play 9, at €6.75. In return, if all your predictions are correct, you have a 100% chance of having included a bet with 13 correct results and an 11.11% chance of hitting 14.

How much does it cost to play?

The base price is €0.75 per column (15 singles). The cost multiplies for each double or treble you add to any of the 14 matches:

• 1 single column (15 singles): €0.75
• 1 double + 14 singles: €1.50
• 2 doubles + 13 singles: €3.00
• 1 treble + 14 singles: €2.25
• 3 doubles + 12 singles: €6.00

Elige 8: the format for everyone

Elige 8 is an add-on you can include with your regular Quiniela bet for an extra €0.50. Instead of predicting all 15 matches, you choose 8 of the 15 on the official ticket and predict only those 8 results. The signs system (1, X, 2), doubles and trebles work exactly the same as in the standard format.

Statistically, it is easier to get 8 results right than 15. The approximate odds of getting all 8 correct with a single bet are 1 in 6,561. Elige 8 is ideal for casual players who want to take part without the pressure of predicting the full matchday.

Prizes: distribution and odds

SELAE allocates 55% of takings to prizes, distributed across 6 categories plus the special pleno al 15 prize. The approximate odds for a single bet are as follows:

• Pleno al 15 (exact score of the 15th match): 1 in 76,527,504
• 1st category (14 correct): 1 in 4,782,969
• 2nd category (13 correct): 1 in 170,820
• 3rd category (12 correct): 1 in 13,140
• 4th category (11 correct): 1 in 1,643
• 5th category (10 correct): 1 in 299

If no player gets the pleno al 15 right in a given matchday, the prize rolls over to the following week. SELAE also guarantees a minimum prize for each category.

QuiniPrats: the social side of La Quiniela

QuiniPrats does not replace the official SELAE Quiniela: it complements it. With QuiniPrats you make the same weekly predictions — the 15 matchday results — but you compete against friends, family or colleagues in a private league. Each matchday you accumulate points based on your correct picks, follow a live ranking, and at the end of the season there is a winner.