An each way bet is a type of bet that punter often misunderstand, but it really is not as complicated as it sounds. If you use this type of bet logically and sensibly, then you can see your long-term profits increase quite dramatically. Below we will teach you every single thing that you need to know about each-way-betting.
What is An Each-Way Bet?
Well, an each-way bet is a type of bet that is made up of two different bets – a win and a place bet. When you are placing this type of bet, the same stake will be placed on both bets. In other words, if you make a N1,000 stake, the total cost of your bet will stand at N2,000.
Each-way betting is very popular when it comes to sports such as horse racing. The first part of an each-way bet is for your selection to win, while the second part of an each-way bet is on your selection to place. In other words, if your selection finishes first, second or third, you will win this part of the bet as well.
Sometimes the bookie that you have made an account with will include 4th place in the each-way bet. The odds that you are given for the second part of the bet is usually a half or one-third of the odds that you were given for the first part of the bet.
However, sometimes it can be as low as one-fifth. This is obviously because a selection has more of a chance finishing second, third, or fourth than they do of winning.
Bookmakers that Offer to Place Each-Way Bets
Example of an Each-Way Bet
To give you a better understanding of an each-way bet, we will now look at some examples.
Let us say that you are a huge fan of horse racing and you decide to place a $5 bet with odds of 11.00 each-way and 1/5th of that for the selection to finish first, second, or third. At the end of the race, the horse that you backed wins the race, which means that you actually win both of your each-way bets. So, how much would you win? Well, for the first part of the bet you would see $55 returned to you, for a $50 profit (taking the stake away). For the second part of your each bet, you would see a $10 profit as the odds for the horse finishing in one of the top three places were 2.00. Therefore, for this bet, your total profit would be $60.
Happy with your win, you decide that you would like to place another each way bet. Once again, you place $5 each-way bet on a horse with odds of 11.00 and 1/5th of that for it to finish first, second, or third. In this particular race, the horse that you backed ends up finishing second. So, how much do you win this time? Well, your first bet is lost as the horse did not win. However, you won your place bet so you will see another $10 profit.
You decide that you would like to make it a hat-trick of wins, so you bet on another horse with the same odds as before. However, this time the horse that you backed comes in 4th place. In this case, you lose both of the bets and do not see any returns.
However, from your day out at the races, you have earned yourself a profit of $55, which is not too bad at all if you ask us.
Race |
Returns ($) |
Profit ($) |
1 |
70 |
60 |
2 |
15 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
-10 |
$55 |
How to Place an Each-Way Bet
When it comes to placing an each-way bet, the process is a pretty simple one and we have outlined below what you will need to do.
- Go on your sportsbook account and find the sport that you would like to place an each-way bet on.
- Have a look and find a selection that interests you and click on it so that it is added to your betting slip.
- Decide how much you would like to stake and enter it into the box. Please remember that your stake will be doubled since you are effectively placing two different bets.
- Once you have added your stake to the box, click on the each-way box that will usually be next to E/w. Once you have done this, click on place bet and you will have just placed your first each-way bet!
Tips for Placing an Each-Way Bet
When you are thinking about placing an each-way bet, it is very important that you take every scenario on its merit.
With each-way betting, a general rule is that it is only worth placing an each-way bet if the odds available are large enough to give you a decent profit if your selection goes on to finish second, third, or fourth.
Therefore, with this in mind, you should only consider each-way betting when the selection that you made with odds of 5.00 has an each-way bet that pays out 1/4 of the odds if your selection places. Or, you should make sure that the selection that you made with odds of 6.00 has an each-way bet that pays out at least 1/5 of the odds.
Our Views on Each-Way Betting
Each-way betting is just like any other type of bet in the sense that it also has its advantages and disadvantages. Below we will take a close look at some of these.
Advantages
Obviously, the main advantage of an each-way bet is that it improves your chances of winning some money.
In some sporting events, such as big horse races, there are no huge favourites, meaning each selection has decent odds. Just think about it, in a horse race there are a lot of things that can go; the horse can get spooked at something and toss the jockey off or the horse can make a mistake while jumping over one of the many fences and fall over, taking itself and its jockey out of the race.
Therefore, you will never find a horse in a horse racing event with odds of 1.50 like you would find in other sports such as football. These higher odds mean that you will still stand to win a decent sum of money even after your odds have been cut down for the place bet.
Disadvantages
When you stick down an each-way bet, your stake will be doubled which means that you risk losing more money should luck be against you and your selection finishes below the top three or four.
Furthermore, many gamblers like to take a risk, so there are plenty of people out there who will be disappointed by the reduced odds that they receive for a place bet. In other words, they will see lower risk and smaller potential profits as something negative. However, if you happen to be this type of gambler, there is one solution to this issue and that is obviously not to place this type of bet.