An each way bet is essentially two separate bets placed at the same time: a win bet and a place bet. For the win portion of the bet to payout the selection must win outright, while for the place portion of the bet to payout the selection must either win outright or finish in one of the ‘places’ outlined by the sportsbook. The number of ‘places’ that payout depends on the wager, so you should always make sure you check how many places pay rather than assuming its a certain number. The odds paid on the place portion of the bet are generally a fraction of the win odds. You will generally see 1/2, 1/4, etc and these fractions determine the odds that you will receive on the place portion of your bet.
For example you may see a bet that looks like this “Each-way 1/3 1-2-3”. This would mean that the place portion of the bet pays out 1/3 of the win odds which will be shown and the place bet wins if your selection finishes in the top 3 positions.
Each-way Bet Example
Here is an example of an each-way bet for the winner of the top goalscorer of the UEFA Champions League.
Each-way 1/4 1-2-3-4
- Cristiano Ronaldo +150
- Lionel Messi +175
- Robin van Persie +800
There are the 3 favorites to win the top goalscorer in the Champions League this year. So let’s use Messi in this example and find out how much you would win based on which place he finishes in the top goalscorer standings. We will use a $100 each-way bet for this example, which would cost $200 total for the two bets it’s placing:
- The return on the win part of the bet (which is what the odds show) would be $100 stake + $175 winnings = $275
- The return on the place part of the bet (which is for finishing from 1st through 4th in this example) would be $100 stake + (175/4) = $143.75
So overall you bet $200 total, with $100 going towards the win portion of the bet and $100 going towards the place portion of the bet. If Messi won the scoring title outright then you would win both the win and place bets for a total payout of (275 + 143.75) = $418.75 (+$218.75). If Messi came 2nd through 4th you would lose the win portion of the bet, but win the place portion for a total payout of $143.75 (-$56.25). Then of course if Messi doesn’t finish in the top 4 at all you would lose your $200 bet.
Where Can Each-Way Bets Be Found
Each-way bets will be offered on any events where competitors finish in places. Some examples include horse racing, greyhounds, motor sports, golf, tennis tournaments (would typically be a 1-2 each way so the player would have to make the finals to payout on the place bet), and anything else where competitors are ranked.
Each-way Bet Tips
The main tip I can give you is to understand what you are betting on. Make sure you know how many places pay out and what the odds are for the place portion of the bet. As long as you have all of the information you can make an educated decision about whether or not you want to place the each-way bet.