Each Way Betting Guide
Each way betting is a hugely popular choice among horse racing betting fans – but not everyone knows how it works.
That’s understandable. If you’re new to horse racing betting then you can’t be expected to know all the jargon – and racing has a lot of jargon!
We’ve therefore created this guide to explain what each way betting is and how it works in the BetUK sportsbook. We’ll take you through the basics of betting each way, how it affects your stake, and explain how to calculate each way winnings.
Our aim is to help you understand the difference between a win and a place, and why each way bets are so useful.
What is Each Way Betting
Let’s start with the basics. Each way betting is when you back a horse to win or finish in the top positions of a race. Unlike a win bet, your each way stake is split into two.
The first half backs the horse to win at full odds. The second half backs the horse to ‘place’ at a fraction of the odds.
This way you stand to earn a payout if your selection narrowly misses out on victory.
Each way bets are popular because they provide a level of insurance when picking horses. After all, you can never guarantee a horse will emerge victorious. What you can do, though, is ensure you have as many outcomes covered as possible.
How Each Way Betting Works
The best way to explain how each way betting works is to look at an example. Here’s a race featured in the BetUK website.
There are nine runners, and you can see their odds in the column second from the right. Asfoora is the favourite at 6/4, with Bradsell at 3/1.
You decide to bet £2 on Bradsell each way. Now, an EW bet is effectively two bets. Half your stake backs the horse to win, the other half backs it to finish in the top positions – depending on how many horses there are in the race, this could be a top-two finish or perhaps a top-seven finish.
If your horse wins, you win both sides of your EW bet. If it places, you only win the ‘place’ side.
And, because you’re placing two bets, your stake is doubled. So, if you enter ‘2’ in your EW bet slip, your total stake is £4.
Now let’s look at the racecard above. At the top, it says: “Each Way 1/5 1-2-3-4”. What does this mean? For a start, “1-2-3-4” shows that an each way bet wins if your horse finishes first, second or third.
Now, the “1/5" part shows what fraction of the overall profit you win if your horse only places.
In our example, your £2 EW bet on Bradsell means a £4 total stake. Should the horse win, you’ll win both sides of the bet for a £11.20 return. Should the horse place, you’ll earn a £3.20 return.
Notice something here? If Bradsell finishes third, you’ll actually be down 60p on the race. Punters often use the EW option to cover the majority of their losses if a horse doesn’t win. Otherwise they need to find a horse at higher odds to earn profit from a place finish.
How to Place an Each Way Bet
Betting each way is really simple. All you need to do is tick the red ‘Each Way’ box in your BetUK bet slip, when you select your horse.
As you can see from our example, we’re backing Ponntos to win each way in a race at York. We back Ponntos odds of 16/1 with a £3 stake and hit the ‘Each Way’ box. Doing this doubles our stake and ensures we earn a payout if Ponntos finishes first, second or third.
If you want to bet on horse racing today then why not joint BetUK and discover the each way odds just waiting for you on our site and app?
Calculate Each Way Bet Profit
Each way profits are sometimes difficult to calculate because there are so many different variables. But it is possible to do so, even if you don’t use an each way betting calculator.
We’ll use our above example of betting £4 EW on Ponntos at 16/1 with a 1/5 place share to guide you through the calculation process.
There are two outcomes where you earn a return: Ponntos wins or Ponntos places.
Ponntos wins
Here, both sides of your bet win, so both sides pay out. However, they pay out different sizes:
£2 Win Bet – Returns £34.40 (£30.40 profit + £4 stake) £2 Place Bet – Returns £8.00 (£4 profit + £4 stake)
Total return: £42.40
Remember, the odds of your place bet are divided by a fifth, which is why you receive a smaller payout on that side.
Ponntos places
Here, only the place bet wins, which means your return is lower:
£2 Win Bet – Loses £2 Place Bet – Returns £8.00 (£4 profit + £4 stake) Total return: £8.00
If this feels a bit too complex then the best way to find your each way profit is to ‘test’ your bet on the BetUK site. Make your selection and enter your stake in the bet slip, click the Each Way button and you’ll see your potential profit.
What is EW+?
EW+ is a horse racing betting promotion available at BeUK. Our tipsters pick a boosted race that offers more winning places than usual. So, rather than four places, an EW+ race might feature five.
You can see EW+ races on our site and app, indicated at the top of race cards and in the horse racing homepage.
Each Way Tips
So, now you know about each way betting it’s time to consider your options. Do you think you’ll try it out, or stick to win bets? Here are three quick tips on how to use each way bets effectively:
Consider Your Reasoning
The first thing to do when betting each way is to consider why you want to go EW. Are you doing it to spread risk, or to justify backing an outsider? Are you seeking to earn big from a place finish, or just want to cover your stake if your pick doesn’t win?
These are the questions you need to address. Many punters use EW odds purely to add an extra layer of insurance, should their pick fail to win. Others back rank outsiders with an each way bet and hope they sneak a place.
Focus on Returns
Once you understand why you want to bet each way, you can start to think about your returns. Are you happy to turn a profit, no matter the size? If so, you’ll need to back a horse at minimum odds of 5.00 for a 1/4 EW split, or 6.00 for a 1/5 EW split.
Any lower, such as 3.00, and you’ll lose money if the horse places.
Or, are you gunning for big returns? If this is the case you’ll need to focus on outsiders and find a horse that everyone else has overlooked. There’s no winning formula for this tactic!
Consider Each Way Accas
Each way accumulators are increasingly popular in horse racing as they help keep combination bets alive all day long. You can group various selections together into one mega bet and hit the EW button. This way you still earn a payout even if half your picks win and half place.
Each way accas aren’t for everyone but they’re a great place to start if you plan to regularly bet on horse racing multiples.