Betting School

Published on May 21st, 2011 | by Sportingly Better Tipster

4

Each Way Betting Explained

Each way (E/W) betting is a popular betting strategy, which allows punters to make a selection on a particular event where there are a number of possible outcomes. An each way bet consists of two equal sized bets, with one backing the win (win bet) and the other backing the selection to finish well, high up, or amongst the ‘places’ (place bet).

Perhaps best known for horse racing, each way betting occurs when the racing field has more than 4 runners and riders. Bookmakers offer half (1/2), third (1/3), quarter (1/4) or a fifth (1/5) of the odds on a winning selection depending on how many runners there are in a field.

Each way betting explained in terms of football is common across a tournament or league format where ‘places’ can be easily determined such as the positions where clubs have finished in a domestic league table or the finalists in a competition, i.e. the winners and runners up of a tournament. Each way betting is also available in other outright betting markets such as the top goalscorer market.

Each Way Betting Example

If we have a strong fancy that Liverpool will either be champions or likely to finish high up in the Premier League then we can employ each way betting and possibly guarantee a profit. If we take the odds of Liverpool to win the Premier League at 12.0 then we can see that with bookmakers providing 1/3 odds on a 1-2 finish then we can guarantee a profit using each way betting providing Liverpool finish either first or second in the league.

£10.00 (E/W) Each Way bet
£20.00 Total

Win Bet
£10.00 on Liverpool to win the Premier League @12.00
If Liverpool win the Premier League then the winning returns including stake would be £120.00.
If Liverpool does not win the Premier League then the £10.00 bet will be a lost bet.

Each Way Bet
£10.00 on Liverpool to finish first or second @3.00 (or 1/3 of winning odds of @12.00)
If Liverpool finish either first or second then the winning returns including stake would be £30.00.
If Liverpool does not finish first or second then the £10.00 bet will be a lost bet.

From this we can see that if Liverpool finished in the top two then a profit is guaranteed through each way betting as the £30.00 profit from the each way selection is more than the total amount staked of £20.00, resulting in a guaranteed profit of £10.00. If Liverpool win the league then both bets are won with £150.00 returned (£120.00 + £30.00) from £20.00 staked or £130.00 profit.

Benefits and When to Use Each Way Betting – Explained

  • When you are NOT looking to back the favourite. It is very rare that the each way betting odds of a favourite are 2.0 or higher.
  • When you are unsure if your selection will win the competition, but are more confident and reasonably assured that the selection will finish well in a competition or high up in the league or ‘places’.
  • When you have a fancy for a ‘dark horse’ or a side having an outside chance in a competition, i.e. a selection at longer odds. Here the longer odds would make the odds for the ‘place’ bet particularly high and inviting.

Each way betting should only be used when the each way betting odds are equal to or greater than 2.00. The odds are then high enough to at least break even or produce an overall profit, by covering both the ‘win’ bet and the ‘place’ bet or the stake for the each way bet in total.

If the each way odds are less than 2.00 then it is advisable to simply back the win as even backing the selection each way will guarantee a loss overall and would only minimise potential losses than guarantee making any sort of profit.


About the Author

Established in 2008, Sportingly Better prides ourselves on bringing you FREE betting tips each and every week. Our football tips focus on the UK Premier League, Australian A-League, and more. Follow us on Twitter @sportinglybet to make sure you never miss our FREE tips!



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