What is Each Way betting (EW)?

Each way is a combination of two bets, where stakes are placed on Win and Place. The two bets are with equal stakes. The 'Win' part is betting on your selection (often a horse) wins a certain event (e.g. a horse race). The 'Place' part of the wager is for the selection to place within the top 2,3,4 - depending on the event and bookmaker.

Each way betting is very popular in horse racing and greyhounds.

How to Calculate Each Way Payout?

In each way betting, if your selection wins, you win both parts of the bet. If your selection only places, but doesn't win, you lose your 'Win' part, but win the 'Place' part of the bet. If your selection doesn't place - the entire bet is lost.

To give an example with real numbers, let's say that in a race the horse has odds of 3.00 to win. Each way bet is at 1/4 (the fraction set by the bookmaker) for places 1-3. You place an each way bet of 10€ (or 20€ in total).

If your horse wins:

  • you will get 10€*3.00 for the one bet and 3.00*1/4*10€ on the other, or a total of 37.5€ 

If the horse places within the top 3:

  • your return will be 3.00*1/4*10€ = 7.5€

If your horse doesn't place:

  • you lose your 20€ bet

 

How to Find Out How Many Places are Paid?

Bookmakers set different numbers of places that get paid. That varies by bookmaker, race type and number of runners. The more the runners, the more places will be paid. 

The usual place terms are as follows (valid for bet365, Betfair, WilliamHill and many more):

NON HANDICAP RACES:
2-4 Runners Win Only
5-7 Runners ¼ the Odds 1, 2
8 or more Runners 1/5 the Odds 1, 2, 3

HANDICAP RACES:
2-4 Runners Win Only
5-7 Runners ¼ the Odds 1, 2
8-11 Runners 1/5 the Odds 1, 2, 3
12-15 Runners ¼ the Odds 1, 2, 3
16 or more Runners ¼ the Odds 1, 2, 3, 4