How Do Each Way Bets Work?

An each-way bet is one of the most popular methods of betting in the world of horse racing and you will often stumble across an each-way bet calculator every now and then, so we will aim to answer the question ‘what does each way mean in horse racing?’ right here for you.

An each-way bet explained will be quite easy to understand. Ultimately, when you’re betting on betting on horses, you want to pick the winner. It is that simple. However, it is not that simple to actually do, so picking a bet on a horse to win is tough to figure out, especially when you’re betting on something highly competitive such as the Grand National or the Cheltenham Festival. This is where each way horse racing betting comes into play.

If you can’t pick an outright winner in a horse race, an each-way bet gives you the chance to get a win if the horse you back doesn’t win but instead finishes in 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th place. Naturally, as you would expect, this will decrease the returns overall, but your chance of winning enhances too, as you’re backing multiple horses.

Rather than use an each-way bet calculator, if you’re wondering ‘how does each way betting work?’, remember that there are two areas to this bet.

The initial part of an each-way bet is picking a winner in a specific horse race. The second part is the defining ‘each way’ aspect, where you are getting a return for a horse that finishes anywhere up to 5th place.

Simply put, if you're backing an each-way bet in horse racing, your bet is placed into the parts: the 'win' and the 'place'. Each part of the bet will be equal, so for example, a £10 bet will be split into two £5 bets. One half of the bet will be on the winner you chose, and the other will be on the ‘place’ bet, and if your horse managed to finish in positions 2-5, you would win the place bet. If they finish above 5th, your each-way bet would lose.

Placing an each-way horse racing bet is relatively easy once an each-way bet is explained, and it is also quite easy to find on the bookmaker you are betting with. More often than not, you will find that each-way bets are right next to the area where you bet on the outright winner, as you simply click the box that says ‘each way’ or ‘EW’ for short. Most races will allow for an each-way bet also, and it isn’t something that is just for bigger races and events like Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival.

So, if you want to bet on an each-way bet, head to the horse racing section of the bookmaker you are betting with and choose the race or races you want to bet on. Input how much you want to place, and you can then have the option to click on an each-way bet before you cement the overall bet. You will then see this read on your betting slip as an each-way bet, with the returns listed out for you.

The best rule of thumb for this one is if there are 5, 6 or 7 horses running in a race, then there are two places available, which means there is a cash return if backed each way on horses who finish first or second at quarter of the odds.

Ultimately, this essentially allows the chance to get a return on your bet if the horse you back doesn't win but finishes inside the top 5 anyway. Smaller races with only 5 runners in it obviously won’t have this rule.

As is always the case when backing an accumulator bet, you have the chance to win more money but at significantly higher odds, meaning the chances of actually winning are not so good. The same applies to an each-way betting calculator, but as you will be betting on each race with a chance of a return from a placed horse, an each-way accumulator is a good way at getting some returns in.

On one hand, there is the increase in odds, but also, on the other hand, the unlikelihood of the whole thing winning also remains higher and to increase the odds much more than one each-way bet, you will need to add in quite a few selections.

An each-way odds calculator will help with this, but overall, the best way to figure out if it is worth it is to enter the amount you want on the each-way horse racing bet, and before you finalize the bet itself, take a look at what this could return.

On the other hand, another way to decide whether an each-way bet is worth it is to simply check the odds for the horse you’re backing to win to actually win. If the odds are high, it’s fair to say that the chances of an each-way bet would be quite small, simply because it is expected that the horse is expected to finish in these positions anyway, and vice versa.

Moreover, an each-way accumulator will be much tougher to work out as there are multiple bets and outcomes to consider and the overall maths would be greater, so it’s wise to send these over to an each-way odds calculator to get a definitive answer.

An each-way bet calculator will help you with this, but essentially, the answer here is no. This will all depend on the each-way horse racing bet itself and what the odds are here, but just because they are higher odds to finish as the winner doesn’t necessarily mean that the odds for an each-way bet will be generous too, as the bookmakers simply calculate that these outcomes are expected as they are not favoured to get into the winning positions as it is.

We advise that you head to our each-way bet calculator here in order to find out whether or not this is worth it.

Calculating the odds of an each way bet can be hard to work out so we don’t advise you sit there calculating it all by yourself, as you’re just going to take time out of your day!

If you want to calculate the each-way bet odds with an each-way odds calculator, simply head over to our each-way betting calculator and see what odds you get for each one.

If you’re after the each-way bet tips and the each way meaning for your overall betting odds, you’ve come to the right place. An each-way horse racing bet isn’t incredibly complex to work out and the idea behind it is to ultimately cover different angles so you don’t lose cash, but of course, this isn’t as simple as the idea that just because you’re backing different outcomes you will win; your horse could finish 6th!

With this in mind, head to our each-way betting tip and take a look at all our latest each-way bet tips and our each-way horse racing predictions for each race out there.