You may have noticed the words “each-way” with a bunch of numbers (something like 1/4 1-2-3-4 for example) beside it on various “to win outright” types of bets.  Some of even the most seasoned bettors have asked me what “each-way bets” are and I’m hoping that this page will clear up any questions you may have.

Basically each-way betting allows you to split your bet between a “to win outright” bet and a “to place” bet.  For the win portion of the bet to payout the selection must win outright, while for the place section of the bet to payout the selection must just finish in one of the ‘places’ outlined by the sportsbook.  The odds of the placing portion of the bet and the number of ‘places’ that qualify for a payout of the “place” portion are always outlined by the sportsbook.

I think the easiest way to explain will be through the use of a couple examples….

I’ve had to take down the screenshot examples from Bet365.  I will try to update this page with more screenshots once I get permission from Bet365 to do so.  Until then I’ve tried to include examples with text.

Example 1 – Golf

Here’s an example with odds to win a golf tournament with the following each-way terms: 1/4 1-2-3-4-5

• Dustin Johnson 8.00
• Jordan Spieth 8.00
• Rory McIlroy 10.00
• Jason Day 13.00
• Hideki Matsuyama 17.00
• Rickie Fowler 19.00
• Justin Thomas 19.00
• Jon Rahm 19.00
• Justin Rose 21.00
• Tiger Woods 21.00

It says E/W 1/4 1-2-3-4-5.  What this means is that if you choose to make the bet an “each-way” bet, then half of your wager will go towards a bet for your golfer to finish in the top 5 positions and winnings on that portion of the bet will be 1/4 of the “to win” winnings.

It’s important to understand that it’s 1/4 of the amount won, not the amount paid out.  This is why the odds may look funny when you’re looking at 1/4 of 9.00 being 3.00.  In reality the 9.00 includes the payout, so the winning portion is 8.00.  When you divide 8.00 by 4 you end up with 2.00 and then you add the stake back on to find the payout odds of 3.00.

So let’s use Rickie Fowler as an example.  A $50 each-way bet on Fowler to win the tournament would cost $100.

• The return for the win portion of the bet would be ($50 x 19.00), which equals $950.
• The return for the place portion of the bet would be ($50 x 5.50), which equals $275.
• If Oosthuizen won the tournament the total return on the each-way bet would be $950 + $275 = $1225.
• If Oosthuizen finished in 2nd to 5th place the return on the each-way bet would be $275.

Example 2 – Tennis

Here’s an example from with different each-way bet terms.  This one is for the winner of a tennis tournament.  The each-way terms are 1/2 1-2:

• Novak Djokovic 1.80
• Rafael Nadal 4.50
• Stan Wawrinka 7.50
• Andy Murray 12.00
• Kei Nishikori 19.00
• Roger Federer 21.00

This each-way bet is 1/2 1-2.  Which we now know means that if you choose to make it an each-way bet half of your bet will go towards your tennis player to finish second in the tournament and the odds on that portion of the bet will be 1/2 of the “to win” odds.

Let’s look at Novak Djokovic as the example.  A $50 each-way bet on Novak to win the tournament would cost $100.

• The return for the win portion of the bet would be ($50 x 1.80), which equals $90.
• The return for the place (losing in the finals) portion of the bet would be ($50 x 1.40), which equals $70.
• If Novak won the tournament the total return on the each-way bet would be $90 + $45 = $135.
• If Novak lost in the finals the return on the each-way bet would be $45.

I want to reiterate that the fraction indicated is the amount of your winnings you would receive.  With the $90 return on the $50 bet for Novak winning the tournament, $40 of that is the winnings.  For the placing bet you would receive half the winnings of the “to win” bet, which equals $20.  You then add on the stake to find the $70 that I came up with above.

Each-Way Betting Tips

The most important tip for each-way bets is to understand what it is you are betting on.  Make sure you know how many places pay out and what the odds are for the placing payout.  If you understand what you are betting on then you can make an educated decision about whether to click that “each-way” button or leave the bet as an outright winner wager.

I like to take the each-way bet when I’m confident that a player will have a strong tournament (or race), but I’m not convinced that they will win the event outright.

Where To Make Each-Way Bets

Bet365.com offers each-way bets for pretty much every ‘outright winner’ betting line they have available.  This includes outright winner bets for golf and tennis tournaments, scoring titles in soccer, horse races, F1 races, and more.  Here is a Bet365 review if you’d like to learn more about the betting site.