Home › How to Bet › Each-Way Betting Explained
By The Guv'nor · Last updated October 2026
Each-way betting explained simply: an each-way bet is two bets of the same stake, one on your horse to win and one on it to place. So £10 each-way costs £20. If the horse wins, both halves pay. If it only places, the place half is paid at a fraction of the odds, usually 1/4 or 1/5.
On a betting slip or in a tipster's write-up you'll see it shortened to E/W. That's all "e/w" means in horse racing: each-way. The rest of this page is the bit most guides skip, which is when the place half is actually worth having. I'm essentially a statistics and maths geek, so expect numbers.
Each-way calculator
Pop in your stake per part, the odds and the place terms, and it works out the return, the profit and the place chance you need to break even.
| What happens | Win part (£10) | Place part (£10 at 8/5) | Total back | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse wins | £90 | £26 | £116 | +£96 |
| Horse finishes 2nd or 3rd | £0 | £26 | £26 | +£6 |
| Horse finishes 4th or worse | £0 | £0 | £0 | -£20 |
How that £10 each-way bet works out
The win part is a normal bet: £10 at 8/1 returns £80 profit plus your £10 back, so £90.
The place part is paid at a fifth of 8/1, which is 8/5 (1.6/1). £10 at 8/5 returns £16 profit plus the £10 stake, so £26. When the horse wins it has also placed, so you collect both halves.
If the same horse runs in a race paying 1/4 the odds, the place part goes off at 2/1 and a placed finish returns £30 instead of £26. That fraction is the whole game with each-way betting, and it's why the terms deserve a read before the horse's name does.
Now try it on a shorter one. £10 each-way at 4/1 with 1/5 terms: the place part is paid at 4/5, so a placed finish returns £18 on a £20 outlay. You "won" your place bet and still lost £2. Crazy right? That's the trap with short-priced each-way bets.
Place terms by field size and race type
How many places you get paid on depends on the number of runners and whether the race is a handicap. These are the standard terms in the Tattersalls Committee Rules on Betting (Rule 3), and bookmakers use the same bands unless they display something different. I've added a column of my own: the place chance of an average runner, which is simply the places paid divided by the runners.
| Runners | Race type | Places paid | Fraction of the odds | Average runner's place chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 4 | Any | Win only | None (all to win) | Not applicable |
| 5 to 7 | Any | 2 | 1/4 | 40% (5 runners) down to 28.6% (7) |
| 8 or more | Non-handicap | 3 | 1/5 | 37.5% (8 runners), 30% (10) |
| 8 to 11 | Handicap | 3 | 1/5 | 37.5% (8) down to 27.3% (11) |
| 12 to 15 | Handicap | 3 | 1/4 | 25% (12) down to 20% (15) |
| 16 or more | Handicap | 4 | 1/4 | 25% (16), 20% (20) |
Two details catch people out. First, the terms are set by the actual number of starters, not the number declared on the racecard. Second, ante-post each-way bets are the exception. Tattersalls Rule 3 leaves them out of the actual-starters rule, and bookmakers' own rules, such as Coral's horse racing rules, say the place terms offered when you struck the bet stand, whatever the final field size. More on that in my guide to ante-post betting.
In a race with fewer than five runners there's no each-way at all. Tattersalls calls it "all to win": your £5 each-way becomes a £10 win bet.
The sweet spots: 8 runners and 16-runner handicaps
Look at the last column again. The average runner's chance of placing jumps at two points:
- 7 runners pay 2 places (28.6% for an average runner), but 8 runners pay 3 (37.5%).
- A 15-runner handicap pays 3 places (20%), but a 16-runner handicap pays 4 (25%).
So an 8-runner race or a 16-runner handicap is the each-way punter's friend, with the most places per runner in its band. The flip side is the non-runner. One withdrawal turns 8 runners into 7 and 16 into 15, and you lose a place you were counting on. If you're betting into a field sitting right on the line, have a look at whether any of them are doubtful before you commit.
The maths: when the place part is value
Here's the bit I care about. The place part of an each-way bet is a bet in its own right, so ask the same question you'd ask of any bet: is the price bigger than the chance?
The place part pays the win odds multiplied by the place fraction. To break even on it, the horse has to place at least this often:
Break-even place chance = 1 ÷ (1 + win odds × place fraction)
A 10/1 shot at 1/4 the odds is paid 10/4 (2.5/1) for a place, so it needs to place 1 ÷ 3.5 = 28.6% of the time. Below that, the place half is losing you money over time, however often it "comes in".
| Win odds | Place odds at 1/5 | Needs to place at 1/5 | Place odds at 1/4 | Needs to place at 1/4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/1 | 2/5 | 71.4% | 1/2 | 66.7% |
| 3/1 | 3/5 | 62.5% | 3/4 | 57.1% |
| 4/1 | 4/5 | 55.6% | Evens | 50.0% |
| 5/1 | Evens | 50.0% | 5/4 | 44.4% |
| 6/1 | 6/5 | 45.5% | 6/4 | 40.0% |
| 8/1 | 8/5 | 38.5% | 2/1 | 33.3% |
| 10/1 | 2/1 | 33.3% | 5/2 | 28.6% |
| 14/1 | 14/5 | 26.3% | 7/2 | 22.2% |
| 20/1 | 4/1 | 20.0% | 5/1 | 16.7% |
| 33/1 | 33/5 | 13.2% | 33/4 | 10.8% |
Read that table next to the place terms one and a few things jump out.
Short prices make poor each-way bets. A 4/1 shot at 1/5 terms has to place 55.6% of the time just to stand still on the place part. Some 4/1 shots do that, plenty don't. If you fancy a horse at those odds, you're usually better off backing it to win.
The fraction matters more than people think. 4/1 at 1/4 needs 50%, the same as 5/1 at 1/5. The same horse at the same price is a noticeably better each-way bet at a quarter than at a fifth, so check the terms before you check anything else.
Bigger prices need far fewer places. A 20/1 shot at 1/4 the odds only has to place one time in six (16.7%). That's where each-way betting earns its keep, but only if the horse genuinely runs into the frame that often. Big prices aren't automatically value: the evidence on how the longest odds perform is on my value betting guide, so I won't repeat it here.
The favourite changes the sum
Place terms are a fixed fraction of the win odds, whatever the shape of the race. That rigidity is where the edge comes from.
Take an 8-runner race with a strong odds-on favourite. If the favourite does its job, the other seven are scrapping for two places, not three. The bookmaker still pays a fifth of each one's win odds for a place, and those win odds are inflated because the favourite is soaking up most of the win chance. A horse that's a poor win bet can still be a fair place bet in that set-up. The reverse is true in a wide-open handicap with no standout: the place odds are skinnier relative to each horse's real place chance.
Extra places: worth a shorter price?
On big handicaps and festival days, bookmakers often pay an extra place or two as a promotion: five places instead of four, say. An extra place is never a bad thing on its own. The question is what it costs you elsewhere, because the firm paying extra places isn't always the one with the biggest price. My Grand National guide looks at who has filled the extra places in recent Nationals.
Here's a worked example with made-up probabilities, purely to show the trade-off. Say a horse in a 16-runner handicap has a 7% chance of winning, a 28% chance of finishing in the first four and a 33% chance of finishing in the first five.
| Option | Price and terms | Average return per £2 | Expected profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 12/1, 1/4 the odds, 4 places | £2.03 | +1.5% |
| B | 10/1, 1/4 the odds, 5 places | £1.93 | -3.8% |
| C | 12/1, 1/4 the odds, 5 places | £2.23 | +11.5% |
The extra place in option B added five percentage points of place chance, but dropping from 12/1 to 10/1 took more off both halves of the bet than the place gave back. Option C, the extra place at the same price, is the one you want.
The general rule I'd take from it: an extra place is worth most on horses that are likely to be finishing just outside the standard places, the consistent types who run their race without quite winning. On a horse that's either going to win or finish down the field, the extra place adds very little, so don't give up price for it.
Each-way vs win-only vs place-only
An each-way bet ties you to equal stakes on the win and the place (that's the Tattersalls definition). You don't have to do it that way. Bookmakers also run place-only markets, often called "top 3" or "top 4 finish" (Coral's rules list them as "Place Only (Top 2/3/4 Finish)"), and betting exchanges have place markets too. Those prices are set on their own merits, not as a fixed fraction of the win odds.
| Bet | Pays out if | Usually makes sense when |
|---|---|---|
| Win only | The horse wins | It's shorter than about 5/1, or the place terms are poor for the field |
| Each-way | The horse wins (both parts) or places (place part) | A bigger price, good terms, and a horse that finishes in the frame often |
| Place only | The horse finishes in the places named | You want the place half without the win half, and the place-only price beats the each-way terms |
A quick check before you hit the button: work out what the place part of the each-way bet pays (win odds times the fraction) and compare it with the place-only price for the same number of places. Take whichever is bigger. Is each-way the same as a place bet? No. Each-way always includes the win bet, so it costs double the stake you typed in.
Dead heats and non-runners in each-way bets
Dead heats
Tattersalls Rule 10 says that in a dead heat, a bet on a horse involved loses half its stake and the other half is paid at full odds. With each-way bets, the one that bites is a dead heat for the last paying place.
Example: £10 each-way at 10/1, 1/4 the odds, 4 places, and your horse dead-heats for fourth. The win part loses. Half the place stake (£5) is paid at 10/4, returning £17.50, and the other £5 is lost. You get £17.50 back from £20.
If your horse dead-heats for first, the win part is settled the same way, half the stake at full odds. Different bookmakers word their dead-heat rules differently, so check yours for ties that don't straddle the last paid place.
Non-runners
Non-runners hit each-way bets twice.
First, the place terms follow the actual starters. If you back a horse in an 8-runner race at 1/5 and one comes out, it's settled as a 7-runner race: two places at 1/4. Lose a place, gain a better fraction.
Second, if you took a price, Rule 4 comes off the winnings of both parts. Tattersalls Rule 4(C) reduces the bookmaker's liability "win or place", based on the withdrawn horse's price when it came out. A withdrawn 5/1 shot sits in the 9/2 to 11/2 band, so that's 15p in the pound off your winnings. My Rule 4 deductions guide has the full table and examples; the calculator above has a Rule 4 box too.
How I find each-way value: big fields, outsiders and the favourite
Look, I'm not a win-rate man. Anyone can talk about high win rates when they tip odds-on horses all day. I care about profit month to month, and I like outsiders and each-way value. Even when they only place, we make more profit than an odds-on shot winning. The maths on this page is why that works when it does, and why it doesn't when the price is too short.
Being a numbers geek, I look at the price and the terms as hard as the horse. If a horse is short enough that the place part needs it in the frame more often than not, the maths says back it to win or leave it alone. A bigger price in a field where the terms are working for you is where an each-way bet earns a proper look.
The outsiders in the daily newsletter from my tips service come from a system that picks out horses that have won or come close at a weight or mark higher than they're running off today. I won't pretend every one of them does, and if there's one I'm unsure about, I skip it.
Staking matters even more with each-way bets, because the bet costs double. I stake in points: divide your bank so that 1pt is, say, £5 on a £100 bank. "1pt each-way" then means 1pt on the win and 1pt on the place, so 2pts (£10) in total. Don't chase, and don't go all in because you've got a feeling. Understanding that losers are a thing is the key to being a winner longer term.
If you like rolling each-way picks into a multiple, the each-way version is covered in Lucky 15 explained, and my lucky 15 tips page is where those bets get put together. Winners Club members can also dig into my members-only special, Filthy Each-Way Bets.
- The Guv'nor
Each-way betting explained: common questions
What does E/W mean in betting?
E/W is short for each-way: a win bet and a place bet of the same stake on the same horse. "£5 E/W" costs £10 in total.
What does £2 each-way mean?
£2 on the horse to win plus £2 on it to place, so £4 in total. If it wins you're paid on both halves; if it only places you're paid on the £2 place half at the place terms.
How many places are paid each way?
Two places at 1/4 the odds with 5 to 7 runners, three at 1/5 with 8 or more, three at 1/4 in handicaps of 12 to 15 runners and four at 1/4 in handicaps of 16 or more. Fewer than five runners is win only. Bookmakers can offer extra places on top.
Is each-way betting worth it?
It depends on the price and the terms. On short-priced horses the place part rarely pays its way (a 4/1 shot at 1/5 needs to place 55.6% of the time). On bigger prices in fields where the terms are generous, like 16-runner handicaps at 1/4, it can be the best bet on the card.
Can you bet each-way in a 4-runner race?
Not under standard terms. With fewer than five runners, an each-way bet becomes "all to win": the whole stake, including the place half, goes on the horse to win.
What happens to my each-way bet if a non-runner leaves seven runners?
The bet is settled on the actual starters, so it pays two places at 1/4 the odds instead of three at 1/5. If you took a price, a Rule 4 deduction may also come off your winnings. Ante-post bets keep the terms they were struck at.
More in this guide
- How to bet on horse racing: the beginner's guide
- Horse racing odds explained, with a full odds chart
- Rule 4 deductions: the full table
- Yankee bets and every full cover bet
- Starting price, early prices and BOG
- Horse racing betting strategy
I run Bolts Up Daily. I was a Quantitative Researcher at a Tier 1 Investment Bank (essentially a statistics and maths geek), and I now use those skills to analyse UK and Irish racing, profitably enough that most of your favourite bookies won't take a bet from me. Every horse I tip, I'm betting on myself, and every bet comes with a stake in points. I own racehorses too. Look, I can't guarantee every tip is going to win (anyone that can is a fraudster), but I care about profit, not strike rate.
More from The Guv'nor · How my tips service works