What Is an Each Way Bet?
By the MyHorseBets team · Updated · 13 min read
On this page
- What is an each way bet, in plain terms?
- How does each way betting work? Worked examples
- UK each way place terms, and why they vary
- Extra places: what they are and how they change the maths
- Each way in multiples: doubles, trebles and Lucky 15s
- Non-runners and Rule 4 on each way bets
- Dead heats for a place
- When each way makes sense, and when it doesn’t
- Each way in other sports
What is an each way bet? It is two bets in one: a win bet on your selection and a place bet on the same selection, each for the same stake. If the horse wins, both halves pay. If it finishes in the places without winning, the place half still pays, at a fraction of the win odds. That safety net is why so many punters reach for it on big-field handicaps and at the major festivals.
This guide is the full version: what each half does, how the place terms are set and why they change from race to race, how extra places work, what happens in multiples, and how non-runners and dead heats are settled. Every example below uses real numbers you can check in our each way calculator.
What is an each way bet, in plain terms?
The first thing to know is that an each way bet doubles your outlay. When you ask for “£10 each way”, you are placing £10 on the horse to win and another £10 on it to place, so the bet costs £20. Betting slips usually show this as “E/W” or “EW” and display the total stake once you tick the box.
The win half
The win half is an ordinary win bet. It pays at the full odds you took (or the starting price, if you bet at SP) and only if the horse finishes first. If you’re not sure how a starting price is set, our guide to what SP means in horse racing covers it.
The place half
The place half pays if the horse finishes in any of the paid places, which includes winning. It is paid at a fraction of the win odds, usually 1/4 or 1/5. At 1/5 the odds, a 10/1 horse pays 2/1 for the place; at 1/4, a 12/1 horse pays 3/1. The fraction and the number of places together are called the place terms, and they are printed on the slip.
Three possible outcomes
That gives every each way bet three possible results:
| Result | Win half | Place half |
|---|---|---|
| Horse wins | Pays at full odds | Pays at the place fraction |
| Horse places but doesn’t win | Loses | Pays at the place fraction |
| Horse finishes outside the places | Loses | Loses |
That table is each way bet explained in its simplest form, and for most races it is all you need. The rest of this guide is about the details that change what each row pays.
How does each way betting work? Worked examples
The simplest way to see how each way betting works in practice is to run one bet through all three outcomes. To work out any part, convert the fractional odds to a return: stake times the odds, plus the stake back.
£10 each way at 8/1, 1/5 the odds, three places
This is a typical non-handicap with eight or more runners. Total stake: £20. The place odds are 8/1 x 1/5 = 8/5.
- The horse wins. Win half: £10 x 8 = £80 profit plus the £10 stake, so £90. Place half: £10 x 8/5 = £16 profit plus £10, so £26. Total return £116, a profit of £96 on the £20 staked.
- The horse finishes second or third. The win half loses. The place half returns £26. Profit on the bet: £26 minus £20, so £6.
- The horse finishes fourth or worse. Both halves lose. You’re £20 down.
The same bet at 1/4 the odds
Now put the same horse in a handicap with 12 to 15 runners, where the usual terms are 1/4 the odds for three places. The place odds become 8/1 x 1/4 = 2/1.
- The horse wins. Win half £90 as before. Place half: £10 x 2 = £20 plus £10, so £30. Total return £120, a profit of £100.
- The horse places. The place half returns £30, a profit of £10 on the bet.
- The horse is unplaced. You lose £20.
The difference between a fifth and a quarter of the odds is small on the win, but it decides whether a placed horse makes you £6 or £10. That is why serious each way backers look at the terms before they look at the price.
UK each way place terms, and why they vary
Place terms in British racing follow a standard pattern set by the number of runners and whether the race is a handicap. These are the terms most UK bookmakers publish in their racing rules:
| Race | Runners | Places paid | Fraction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any | 2 to 4 | Win only | None |
| Any | 5 to 7 | 2 | 1/4 |
| Non-handicap | 8 or more | 3 | 1/5 |
| Handicap | 8 to 11 | 3 | 1/5 |
| Handicap | 12 to 15 | 3 | 1/4 |
| Handicap | 16 or more | 4 | 1/4 |
Why field size matters
The more runners, the harder it is for any one horse to finish in the first three, so the bookmaker can afford to pay more places or a bigger fraction. In a five-runner race, finishing second is easy for a fancied horse, so only two places are paid. With four runners or fewer there are no place terms at all: an each way bet is settled as all to win, so you have simply staked twice on the horse winning.
Why handicaps pay more
In a handicap, the official handicapper allocates weights to bring the runners closer together, so results are less predictable than in a level-weights race. Bookmakers reflect that by paying 1/4 rather than 1/5 once a handicap has 12 runners, and a fourth place once it reaches 16. Our guide to what a handicap horse race is explains how the weights are set.
The terms are fixed by the horses that start
The terms you get are not always the terms you saw when you placed the bet. Sky Bet’s racing rules, for example, state that place terms are “determined by the number of horses coming ‘under starter’s orders’ and not by the number of declared runners when the price was taken”. If an eight-runner non-handicap loses one horse before the start, only seven come under orders and the race drops to two places at 1/4. A horse that finishes third in that race no longer places.
Extra places: what they are and how they change the maths
Extra places are a concession some bookmakers offer on selected races, typically big handicaps and festival races: they pay one, two or more places beyond the standard terms. A 20-runner handicap would normally pay four places; with an extra place offer it might pay five or six.
A bookmaker concession, not a rule
Extra places are a promotional choice by the individual bookmaker, not part of the racing rules, and they vary from firm to firm and race to race. Sky Bet’s each way help page notes that in a promotional extra place, it reserves the right to change the place terms, so an offer may come with a different fraction from the standard one. A bet with a bookmaker that isn’t running the offer is settled on its normal terms. Always read the terms on your slip before you confirm.
How an extra place pays
Take £5 each way (£10 staked) at 20/1 in a 20-runner handicap, with the bookmaker paying five places at 1/4 the odds. Your horse finishes fifth.
- Under standard terms (four places), both halves lose: you’re £10 down.
- With the extra place, the place half pays at 20/1 x 1/4 = 5/1: £5 x 5 = £25 profit plus the £5 stake, so £30. You’re £20 up on the bet.
The extra place doesn’t change the price or the payout on any other position. It only adds one more finishing position that counts, which is worth most on bigger prices in bigger fields, where the gap between fourth and fifth is often a short head. The two meetings where extra places come up most are the Cheltenham Festival, with its big-field handicaps, and the Grand National; our Cheltenham betting guide shows how the terms change from race to race.
Each way in multiples: doubles, trebles and Lucky 15s
Each way works in multiples too, and this is where most confusion comes from. The key rule, which Sky Bet’s rules put as “settled win to win, place to place”, is that an each way multiple is two separate multiples: one on all your selections to win and one on all of them to place. A horse that only places can’t feed the win line.
A worked each way double
You place a £5 each way double: Horse A at 4/1 and Horse B at 6/1, both in races paying 1/5 the odds for three places. The bet is two £5 doubles, so it costs £10.
- Win line: £5 x (4 + 1) x (6 + 1) = £5 x 5 x 7 = £175.
- Place line: Horse A’s place odds are 4/1 x 1/5 = 4/5, a decimal of 1.8. Horse B’s are 6/1 x 1/5 = 6/5, a decimal of 2.2. So £5 x 1.8 x 2.2 = £19.80.
| Result | Win line | Place line | Total return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both win | £175 | £19.80 | £194.80 |
| A wins, B places | £0 | £19.80 | £19.80 |
| Both place, neither wins | £0 | £19.80 | £19.80 |
| Either horse unplaced | £0 | £0 | £0 |
Notice that a winner plus a placed horse returns the same as two placed horses: once one leg fails to win, only the place line is alive.
Trebles, accumulators and Lucky 15s
The same logic runs through every multiple. An each way treble is a win treble plus a place treble. A Lucky 15 is 15 bets (four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold), so a £1 each way Lucky 15 is 30 bets costing £30: 15 on the win line and 15 on the place line. Our Lucky 15 calculator settles both lines for any mix of winners and placed horses, and the bet calculator handles every other multiple.
Non-runners and Rule 4 on each way bets
Non-runners affect an each way bet in two ways: the terms can change, and the winnings can be reduced.
If your horse is a non-runner
If your own selection doesn’t come under starter’s orders, both halves of a single are void and the stake is returned. In a multiple, bookmakers typically treat the non-runner leg as void and settle the bet on the remaining legs, so an each way double becomes an each way single.
If another horse is withdrawn late
When a horse is withdrawn too late for the market to re-form, Tattersalls Rule 4 deductions apply to winning bets. Sky Bet’s settlement rules say the deductions are made from winnings, exclusive of stake, and that where more than one horse is withdrawn the total deduction will not exceed 90p in the pound. On an each way bet, bookmakers typically apply the deduction to the winnings on both halves.
Example: £10 each way at 8/1, 1/5 the odds for three places, and a 4/1 shot is withdrawn at the start, which means a 20p deduction. Your horse wins.
- Win half winnings: £80, less 20% = £64. Return £74.
- Place half winnings: £16, less 20% = £12.80. Return £22.80.
- Total return: £96.80, against £116 without the withdrawal.
The withdrawal can also drop the race into a lower band of place terms, as described above. Our Rule 4 calculator gives the deduction for any withdrawn price.
Dead heats for a place
A dead heat changes your stake, not your odds. Bookmakers’ rules, such as Sky Bet’s, say that in a two-way dead heat half the stake is applied to the selection at full odds and the other half is lost.
When a dead heat cuts the place payout
For the place half, the reduction only applies when the tie pushes more horses into the places than the terms pay. Coral’s dead heat rules describe this case: where, as a result of a dead heat, more than the required number of selections are placed.
Example: £10 each way at 12/1 in a 13-runner handicap (three places at 1/4). Your horse dead-heats for third with one other. The win half loses. The place half is settled on half the stake: £5 at 12/1 x 1/4 = 3/1, so £15 profit plus £5, a return of £20. The other £5 is lost. Without the dead heat, the place half would have returned £40.
When it makes no difference
If two horses dead-heat for second in a race paying three places, they occupy second and third between them, so both are inside the terms and the place half is paid in full. A dead heat for first, on the other hand, halves the stake on the win half while the place half is paid normally.
When each way makes sense, and when it doesn’t
How does each way work out over time? It depends heavily on the price. The place half only covers its own stake and the losing win stake when the place odds are evens or bigger.
The break-even point
At 1/5 the odds, a 5/1 horse pays evens for a place: £10 each way returns £20 if it places, exactly your stake. At 1/4 the odds, the same break-even point is 4/1. Shorter than that, a placed horse loses you money.
Short prices: an example
£10 each way on a 2/1 shot at 1/5 the odds for three places. The place odds are 2/5.
- Wins: win half £30, place half £10 x 2/5 = £4 plus £10, so £14. Total £44, a profit of £24.
- Places: place half returns £14 on a £20 stake, a loss of £6.
- For comparison: £20 to win on the same horse returns £60 if it wins, a profit of £40.
On a short-priced horse, each way gives away a large share of the winning payout to insure against a result that still loses money. Many punters back short prices to win only and keep each way for bigger prices.
Where each way earns its keep
Each way tends to suit bigger prices in races where the terms are generous for the field: a 12-runner handicap paying 1/4 for three places is better value for the place half than an 11-runner one paying 1/5. Watch for races sitting just above a threshold too, such as an eight-runner non-handicap, where one non-runner takes a place off the terms. If you’d rather focus on finishing positions across a whole card, the Tote’s Placepot asks you to find a placed horse in each of six races.
Each way in other sports
Each way isn’t limited to horse racing. Bookmakers offer it on greyhounds, golf, and outright markets in football and other sports, where it means the same thing: a win bet and a place bet at a fraction of the odds. The difference is that there’s no standard table outside racing. In golf, the number of places paid and the fraction are set by each bookmaker for each tournament, and dead heats are common because players tie on the same score. Coral’s dead heat rules, for example, include a separate formula for multi-way ties in golf. In football outright markets, such as top goalscorer or league winner, place terms vary just as much. Whatever the sport, the terms on your slip are the ones that count.
If you’re new to racing in general, our guide to how to bet on horses covers the other main bet types and how to place them.
Betting always carries a risk of loss and no tipster, system or staking plan can guarantee a profit. Only stake what you can afford to lose, and set a budget before you start. Gambling responsibly.
Frequently asked questions
It means two £10 bets on the same selection: £10 for it to win and £10 for it to finish in the places, so the total cost is £20. If it wins, both bets pay; if it only places, just the place bet pays, at the fraction of the odds shown on your slip.
An each way bet pays out separately on its two halves. The win stake is paid at full odds only for a winner, and the place stake is paid at a quarter or a fifth of the odds for any finish inside the paid places. A placed loser therefore returns the place half only.
Not entirely. UK bookmakers set the number of places and the fraction by the runners that come under starter's orders, not the field when you bet. If withdrawals shrink the race into a smaller band, for example from eight runners to seven, the terms drop to match.
Usually not, if the favourite is short. A horse at 2/1 pays only 2/5 for a place at a fifth of the odds, so a placed finish loses money overall. Each way generally becomes worthwhile around 5/1 or bigger at 1/5 terms, or 4/1 at 1/4 terms.
Yes, on some markets. Bookmakers typically offer each way on outright football markets such as tournament winner or top goalscorer, rather than on single match results. The places paid and the fraction are chosen by each bookmaker for each market, so check them before you place the bet.