Each Way Betting Calculator

Each-way betting is one of the most popular horse racing betting markets. Especially when a horse is not considered a favourite, each way online betting becomes a much more viable way of winning on a race.

Each Ways bets are single selection wagers that contain two bets, these are a winning bet and a place bet.

As an each-way bet consists of two bets, the stake inputted when you place your bet is doubled, if your win bet loses, it is still plausible for you to win your bet. It is likely that you will use this calculator with either Horse Racing or Golf betting, if you are doing this, be sure to use the 'place' and 'dead-heat' options where applicable.

How to use the BetUK Each Way betting calculator?

If you're looking to calculate your potential winnings, you won't find an easier way to do so than BetUK's Each Way betting calculator, on this page you'll be able to find the full functionality of the calculator while on our specific pages for each bet, you'll only be able to find that bet type. So, if you're someone who isn't quite sure what bet they're going to place, we recommend using this page, if you're somebody who already knows exactly what bet they're going to place, we recommend selecting one of the pages that can be found linked lower down the page. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use our betting calculator at BetUK.

Step 1: Select the bet type that you wish to calculate from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Make sure the Each Way box is ticked.

Step 3: Select the correct format for your odds, these will either be Decimal or Fractional, this is a step you must do before inputting any odds.

Step 4: Add your total stake into the calculator

Step 5: Input the odds from your bet slip into the calculator and view your potential winnings. Each odds section will have win, lost, void or placed, select the right outcome for each bet, the placed option will only appear if you have selected an each way bet. So, if you don't see it appear, it is because you haven't ticked the each-way box, specified in step 2.

What is Each Way Betting?

Each-way betting is when you place a bet, also allowing for your selection to finish in the places just behind the winner. This means that if your selection comes 2nd, you will still get some returns. Each-way betting is slightly different to place betting in that each way betting will return a bigger amount if your selection wins.

When placing an each-way bet, you are essentially placing 2 different bets that can easily be combined into one. For example, placing a £5 each-way bet on a horse will result in a total bet of £10, which covers 2 different markets. £5 will be placed on your selection to win, with the other £5 going on your selection to finish in the places.

For horse racing betting, the places are normally dependent on the number of runners in each race. The more runners in a race, the more places will be offered. For football betting each way markets typically only apply to 1st and 2nd place. However, the each-way places will be clearly displayed on every relevant online betting market.

If a selection places, the each-way part of your total bet will have resulted in a win. This means that for a £10 bet, £5 placed on the horse to win will be lost, with £5 on the horse to place resulting in a win. However, each way bets will not return as much/ as the winning stake would. When betting on a market, the place terms will be clearly visible. Typically, the each-way bet will return between ½ and ⅕ of the odds of a horse. For example, if a horse was 9/1 and the each-way returns were 1/3 of the original price, the each-way bet would return 3/1. This means that from a £10 overall stake, £5 would be put on 3/1 and return £20. Taking away the £5 win bet that lost, would leave you with a £15 win.

How does an Each Way bet calculator work?

As an each-way bet is essentially two bets in one, there are a number of permutations attached. Let's use horse racing as an example. If your horse wins, then both parts of the bet have come in. That means, to calculate your winnings, you need to add up the winnings from the win bet (using the original odds) and the place bet (using the each-way fraction).

For a scenario in which the horse doesn't finish first but places, your win bet is lost, but your place bet has won. In these cases, you would work out your winnings by applying the each-way fraction.

The third possible scenario is if that horse doesn't win or place (come in the top two, three or four). In these cases, both bets have lost.

Each Way Betting Example

A £10 each way bet is placed on Horse A at odds of 10/1. This means that £10 will be staked on the horse to win, with the other £10 being placed on the each-way market.
This race has a high number of runners and is offering 5 places. The each-way market will be 1/3 of the original starting price, meaning if Horse A finishes in places 2nd - 5th, odds of 2/1 will be paid out.
If Horse A finishes 1st, then both parts of the each-way bet will have resulted as a winner. This means that the £10 stake on the horse to win at 10/1 will win, as well as the £10 each-way bet on the horse to place at 2/1 to win. Overall, this will result in a £140 win.
If Horse A finishes between 2nd - 5th, then the each-way part of your bet will win. This will mean £10 placed at 2/1 will return £3. The £10 win part of your bet will result as a loss though, so you’re overall returns for the bet will be £20.

Get help with some of our more complicated markets with Bet UK's Betting Guides. Bet UK offers each way markets on all of our horse racing markets, as well as our outright markets from football betting, tennis betting and more.

How Does Each Way Betting Work?

Let's use betting on horse racing as an example - the win bet, as the name suggests, is made on the horse to win the race, while the place bet is made on the same horse to place in the race; that is, finish in the top two, three or four places (these are predetermined positions set by the Jockey Club and can vary from race to race).

In this example, the first part of an each-way bet is on the horse winning the race; if the horse is victorious, the bet is won. The second part of an each-way bet is on a horse placing; if the horse finishes anywhere in the top two to four spots (which can vary according to the race), the bet is won.

If you bet £10 each way on a particular horse to win a race, your stake would total £20. So £10 would go on the horse to win, and the other £10 would go on the horse finishing in the top two, three or four.

How Are Each-Way Bets Written?

Before we come on to calculating the potential winnings of an each-way bet, it is important to know how they are written on sports betting platforms. You should look out for the following three elements:

Betting odds - these would usually be written as fraction, decimal, or Moneyline odds, and be seen to the right of the horse or competitor. To learn more about how betting odds work, read our Betting Odds Explained article here.

The number of places - as we explained earlier, the number of positions that count as a place will vary between the top two, three or four. You can check which positions your horse or competitor needs to finish in to place in a particular race. This will typically be shown towards the top of the screen as 1-2, 1-2-3, or 1-2-3-4.

Each way fraction - the third element you should always look out for when weighing up an each-way bet is the each-way fraction. This will allow you to work out the odds for the place part of the bet.

As the horse or competitor has more chance of placing than they do of winning the race, the odds for the win part of the bet is reduced to the 'each way fraction' of the winning odds. This then gives you the odds for the place part of the bet.

The each-way fraction is commonly 1/4 or 1/5. So with an each-way fraction of 1/5, winning odds of 10/1 would be reduced to 2/1 for the place part of the bet. We will explain how to calculate your potential winnings further in the next section.

Is Each Way Betting A Smart Move?

The main attraction of betting each way is that it increases the chances of winning. But is each-way betting savvy? Or is it a punter's admission that they are not confident in their pick? There are times when backing an event entrant each way can make sense, both in terms of the nature of the event and the form of the competitor. And the experts say that because there are fixed rules in place for working out place odds from the each-way fraction, there is a potential mathematical benefit that cannot be realised from straight win bets alone.

Horse racing offers an excellent example of how the boundary between the various place categories could offer value to someone placing the bet. Typically, when a race has eight or more runners its places would be 1-2-3. So a race with just eight runners (or 'dead eight' as this is commonly referred to) and places 1-2-3 might be considered more mathematically advantageous than a race with 11 runners that also has placed 1-2-3, assuming both had the same each way fraction. Similarly, 16 runners is generally the minimum number for a race to have places 1-2-3-4, and so a punter may consider this to offer good conditions for an each-way bet, compared to a race with say 20 horses, that has the same places and each way fraction.

You might find some events, such as golf tournaments or horse races with many runners, where there are no entrants priced as strong favourites, and every selection is priced long. In these markets, it is obviously difficult to perfect picking who wins, but because of the long odds, each way betting still offers attractive odds even after the each-way fraction is applied.

As always, sniffing out the best value is the name of the game, and there may be circumstances in which an each-way bet allows you to extract more value.

How Is The Number Of Places Decided?

In general, the number of places for a race or event will vary according to how many runners or competitors there are. So horse races with a large number of runners, such as the Grand National, may offer four places. For sports that have a podium for the top three competitors - such as motorsports or athletics - you can expect the number of places to be three.

Each-Way Betting With Accumulators

If you are a fan of accumulators - that is, a bet made up of four or more selections which all need to be successful in order for you to win (odds are multiplied together for increased winnings) - then you should know that you can apply each-way betting. The shortened name for this is an 'each-way acca'.

Essentially, there is not much difference from placing a standard each-way bet, apart from the format is an accumulator. So the win part of the bet remains the same as a normal accumulator, while the place part requires all the selections in the accumulator to place in order for it to win - the each-way fraction is applied in the same way to each selection.

Are There Any Downsides To Each Way Betting?

You should take into account that while it offers a 'safety net' of sorts to a win bet, an each-way bet does require you to double your stake, meaning that you are risking a larger amount of money.

Another potential downside of each way betting is the odds you receive after the each-way fraction has been applied. For cases in which the odds were relatively short, to begin with, the each-way fraction will shrink your potential winnings to an even lower sum. This might make an each-way option less attractive in the eyes of many.

Which Sports Are Suitable For Each Way Betting?

While each way betting might be readily associated with horse racing, you can bet each way on a number of sports. These would typically be sports or markets with a range of competitors pitted against each other, rather than a match with two opponents or two teams. Each way bets are popular when it comes to betting on golf, as well as other multi competitor sports such as motorsports, athletics and cycling.

In some sports with matches featuring two opponents or teams, you might find an each-way betting option in the market for an outright winner of a competition. You might find each-way bets in football betting markets for tournaments such as the FA Cup, or the European Championships, or in tennis betting for picking the outcome of tournaments like Wimbledon or the US Open, or the Snooker World Championship, for example.

Each-way betting is a useful betting technique to be aware of. And while each-way bets might not always offer the best value, depending on the individual odds of participants winning a particular event, use this betting option wisely and it could increase the number of times you come out a winner!

What bet types can I find at Bet UK?

There are dozens of bet types that can be found at Bet UK, including: