Full Permutations Explained: 10 from 10 or 12 from 12?

Full permutations sit at the ambitious end of pools coupon planning — no banker to lean on, every one of your chosen matches treated as a genuine doubtful, and every qualifying combination covered. They’re powerful, but they get expensive fast, and understanding the maths before you commit is the difference between a sensible stretch and an overspend you regret by Thursday.

Step 1: Understand what “full perm” actually means

A full permutation means you’ve selected a block of matches — your “doubtfuls” — and you’re backing every possible combination that satisfies your plan, with no single selection locked in as a guaranteed banker. This is different from a banker-based perm, where one or more picks are assumed correct and only the remaining matches are permed. In a full perm, every match in your block is genuinely in play, which is exactly why the line counts climb so steeply as the block grows.

Step 2: The maths behind the line count

The number of lines a full perm requires is governed by a combinations calculation — the same maths used anywhere you need to count how many ways you can choose a smaller group from a larger one, where the order of selection doesn’t matter. The formula is:

C(n, k) = n! / (k! × (n − k)!)

where n is your total number of doubtful selections and k is the number of those selections your plan requires to be correct (commonly the number of score draws, “aways”, or whatever qualifying result your plan targets).

Worked example 1: 8 from 10

If you’ve picked 10 doubtful matches and your plan needs 8 of them correct:

C(10,8) = 10! / (8! × 2!) = (10 × 9) / 2 = 45 lines.

Worked example 2: 8 from 11

Add just one more doubtful match to the block, still needing 8 correct:

C(11,8) = 11! / (8! × 3!) = (11 × 10 × 9) / 6 = 165 lines.

That’s more than triple the line count, for one extra match added to the block — this is the step that catches a lot of players off guard.

Worked example 3: 8 from 12

Extend the block again to 12 doubtfuls, still requiring 8 correct:

C(12,8) = 12! / (8! × 4!) = (12 × 11 × 10 × 9) / 24 = 495 lines.

From 45 lines to 495 lines by adding just two matches to your doubtful block — an elevenfold increase. This is the core lesson of full perms: the cost doesn’t scale gently, it scales explosively as your block grows, because you’re combinatorially covering every possible arrangement.

Step 3: Comparing “10 from 10” against a trimmed-down block

A true “10 from 10” full perm, where all ten selections must be correct with no room for error, is actually just a single line — C(10,10) = 1 — because there’s only one way to get all ten right. The far more common and far more expensive use of full perm structures is requiring something less than the full block, like 8 from 10 or 9 from 12, which is where the line counts above come from. Players sometimes confuse “10 from 10” language with a cheap single-line bet when, in context, what’s usually meant is a specific qualifying threshold within a larger doubtful block — always check exactly what “k” your plan is using before assuming the cost.

Step 4: Matching cost to realistic prize tiers

This is the step that separates a full perm worth playing from one that isn’t. As an illustrative framework rather than real pricing: if each line in your perm costs a notional single stake unit, a 495-line full perm costs 495 of those units — a substantial multiple of a simple single-line entry. Before committing to a block that size, it’s worth asking honestly whether the realistic prize tiers on offer for that level of coverage justify the stake multiple, compared with simply playing a smaller, cheaper perm or adding a banker to shrink the block.

Step 5: Decide if a full perm is right for you this week

• Full perms suit weeks where you genuinely struggle to separate several matches and don’t want to force a banker call you’re not confident in.
• They’re a poor fit if your budget is tight, since the jump from a 10-match to a 12-match block multiplies cost far faster than most players expect.
• Always calculate the exact line count for your intended block before committing, using the formula above, rather than estimating.
• Consider whether locking in just one strong banker and permin the rest shrinks your block enough to bring costs back under control without losing much coverage.

A final word

Full perms are a legitimate and genuinely useful tool, but the maths above should make clear why they reward careful planning over enthusiasm. Work out your line count, check it against a budget you’ve set in advance, and don’t let an exciting-looking block of fixtures talk you into a stake size you hadn’t planned for. You must be 18 or over to play, and UK responsible gambling support is available if you ever want help keeping perm sizes and spending in check.