Simply put, an each-way bet will see you placing a bet in two parts, one is a win bet, and the other is a placement bet when it comes to horse racing, football, golf and more. The two bets that are made will be of the same amount on the same selection to both win the race and to also place in any of the top positions.
The amount of places that are paid out will depend on your bookie of choice, although it is usually four or five places. It is important to note that a bet of £10 is not just a straight £10 bet. The common mistake is that you are only placing a £10 wager, but you are actually betting £10 on the winner of the race and £10 on the placement outcome.
In the next section of this guide, we will go into more detail on each-way betting with regard to specific sports, with each-way bets a very popular way to wager your money.
What Bookmaker Bonuses Can I Use With Each-Way Betting?
Whenever you go to bet with a new bookmaker, or you decide to utilise a new type of betting market that you have not used before, we always recommend checking out the terms and conditions that they bring. In this case, you should have a thorough read of the available terms and conditions of the welcome offer or existing offer that you plan on using before pairing it with an each-way bet. The bookmaker will usually articulate any and all markets that their promotion is not available to be used with but, usually, each-way bets are included as an available betting market that you can use a promotion with.
How Does Each-way Betting Work?
How Does an each way bet work on horses
As mentioned above, each-way betting, when it comes to horse racing, is fairly simple to understand once you have gotten the hang of it.
For a horse racing each-way bet, you will create a bet that has two parts, one is a win bet and the other as a placement bet. The first bet will be on a horse to win the race in Doncaster for example, while the second bet will be for the same horse to place, usually in the top four or five places.
If your horse wins, you will be paid out at the displayed odds, while if your horse places, you will receive a pay out at usually around a quarter or a fifth of the win odds, so make sure the winner odds are long enough that you will still be able to cover your bets if your horse places.
How Does an each way bet work on Football
Whereas each-way betting is a common betting market for specific horse races, for football, things are slightly different. Each-way betting when it comes to football will see you betting on the winner of a league, cup or competition where it is easier to quantify the places that a team will finish in. Due to the win-draw-lose nature of football, each-way betting is far less common in the day-to-day match sense.
Many will cite that the best use of each-way betting in a football sense comes into play in a competition that is tough to call, with the FA Cup a perfect example of this. The magic of the cup is something that commentators and fans of the game talk about a lot, and it is true of many knockout competitions that see a giant having to travel to a lower-league opponent, or where a ‘giant killing’ could be on the cards.
Despite each-way betting usually seeing bookmakers cutting the odds on a particular team roughly in half, if your chosen team reaches the final and constitutes a surprise package there, then you could be in for a very tasty return.
We would recommend that you should only consider an each-way bet if the odds on your pick are 4/1 or more, to ensure there is good profit in your each-way bet if your team places, with a standard pay out being a quarter (or sometimes even a fifth) of the initial odds.
If you fancy a side to do well in a league or cup but you aren’t totally sold they will win, then each-way betting could be for you.
How Does an each way bet work on Golf
Each-way betting in golf is far closer to that of horse racing and is therefore just swapping out the horses for golfers. In golf, the first portion of your bet will see you back a winner, which is the main focal point of your bet. The second portion is the place bet. This will see you trying to back a golfer to place inside the number of places the bookmaker has outlined.
For example, if you were to bet £20 (£10 to win and £10 to place), and the terms of the bet are each way 1-5, then for the second portion of your bet to pay out, your golfer will need to finish inside the top five places. It’s as simple as that.
How Does an each way bet work on Tennis
In tennis, each-way betting will see you backing a certain player to win the tournament, with the second part of your bet seeing you back that same player to make it to the final. You will therefore get a pay out if your chosen player reaches the final, with this bigger if your player wins.
How to Calculate Each-Way Bets?
Each-way betting can be a bit confusing to work out sometimes, especially if you are new to this facet of gambling. It can therefore be easier to explain how to calculate an each-way bet through an example:
- You place your first bet on horse X to win a race.
- Your second bet is for horse X to place in the race, with a placement bet in horse racing usually a win if they finish second, third or fourth (although some bookies may stretch this beyond fourth place).
- This second bet will usually have odds of around a quarter or a fifth of the odds of the initial bet you placed, meaning that if your bet wins because your horse placed, the pay out will be far less than the amount the return from the winner bet would have provided.
- Bear in mind that if your stake is £10 each-way, you will actually be betting £20, with each-way betting doubling your stake.
As an example, if you bet £10 on a horse at 10.0, including your stake, you will receive £100 back if your horse wins plus an extra £32.50 due to your placement bet (£10×3.25) for a total of £132.50, with it important to remember here that your full stake on an each-way bet is doubled (so it is worth £20 in this case).
If your horse places, your pay out will be £10×3.25, which will give you £32.50, which still constitutes a profit of £12.50.
The final option is that your horse does not win or place, and you therefore make a loss of £20.
How Much Can I Win From Each-Way Betting?
Much like any type of betting, each-way betting is only capped by the betting limits the bookmaker has set. This means that you can win a fair amount from each-way betting.
However, as a word of warning, you need to ensure you fully understand how each-way betting works before using it. If you are backing the favourite horse at Evens, then there is very little sense in betting each-way, as if your horse places and does not win, then your pay out for placement would likely be a quarter or a fifth of the 1/1 odds, which is not worth it.
It is therefore vital that any each-way bet you place has odds that are long enough to make the second placement bet worthwhile if that’s what comes in.
Each-Way Betting on Live Events
Much like the available bonuses, this comes down to the discretion of the bookie themselves. Check in with the bookmaker that you want to use for each-way betting and read their terms and conditions on each-way betting as this will tell you whether or not they support each-way betting on in-play events.
However, unless you have done a lot of research and you are simply late to the party in making your bet, we would recommend getting your each-way bet in sooner rather than later.
The nature of betting means that odds will shift as the event closes in and, if you leave it too long, you could be left with far shorter odds than if you had wagered earlier, which is a problem with each-way betting as you need the win odds to be longer to ensure you get some return on the placement odds.
Each-way Betting Strategy Examples
Each-way betting is about weighing up your options and working out whether this type of bet has any real value. This is vital as if you are going to bet each-way on a horse with very short odds, then the return on the placement bet will not likely be worth risking a doubled stake for.
Instead, each-way betting is best used when there is no clear favourite, with most of the horses having odds of 4/1 or longer, with this being the minimum odds you should bet each-way at.
If you are not totally confident about your proposed choice then an each-way bet may serve you well, especially if you are happy about their chances of placing. Of course, if this is the case then you could just back the horse in the ‘to place’ market too. Although it is worth noting that some bookmakers do not offer placement markets, meaning the only way you can make placement bets is through an each-way wager.
Importantly, if you feel good about the chances of your horse placing AND the winnings from the placement bet will cover any losses from the win bet, then an each-way bet is ideal.
We would recommend that you avoid each-way betting if the odds are shorter than 4/1, as this will provide you with little real value if your horse/team merely places.
Conclusion
Each-way betting is a facet of gambling that will likely scare off a lot of inexperienced bettors.
However, if you do your research and take the time to understand the process and benefits of gambling this way, it can have big benefits and keep your gambling experience fresh. Remember though, if you are going to use each-way betting, the odds must be long enough to allow the placement bet to bring some value and cover your bets should your horse/team fail to win.