[9] According to Robert Copsey of Digital Spy, the song contains the same "bells-and-whistles template" that is present in the band's previous single "Moves Like Jagger".

[12] Lyrically, the song discovers the theme of sexual intercourse that can be seen through the lines, "Your body rockin', keep me up all night/One in a million, my lucky strike".

[14] Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly labeled "Lucky Strike" and "Payphone" as the best tracks on Overexposed and described the former as "a funk-spiked strut".

[27] Contact Music's Alex Lai wrote that Levine has exchanged his "angelic vocals for singing in favor of more universal hooks" on the album, pointing out Lucky Strike specifically.

[28] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters called the song a "danceable carbon copy" of "Second Chance" (Gimme Some, 2011) by Peter Bjorn and John.

[30] Upon the release of Overexposed, due to strong digital downloads "Lucky Strike" debuted on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number two on June 24, 2012, with sales of 53,090 copies.