Each-way betting is one of the most least understand types of sports betting wagers, even among seasoned sports betting veterans, but this page should clear up any questions you have regarding the “Each-way” or “E/W” numbers you see when betting on outright winners.
In the simplest of terms, an each-way bet allows you to split your wager 50/50 between an “outright win” bet and a “to place” bet. The win portion of the bet pays out at the odds displayed if your pick does in fact win outright, while the second half of the bet pays out at a fraction of the outright winner odds, if the selection finishes within the places outlined by the sportsbook.
Rereading that paragraph and I can barely understand what I mean, so let’s get into some examples, which are far easier to explain.
Golf Winner Example
Here’s an example from Bet365.com using the odds to win the British Masters golf tournament. The each-way terms for the market were “Each-way 1/4 1-2-3-4-5”:
- Rory McIlroy 13/2
- Sergio Garcia 8/1
- Alex Noren 14/1
- Bernd Wiesberger 20/1
- Lee Westwood 20/1
- Matthew Fitzpatrick 22/1
- Shane Lowry 25/1
Notice the “Each-way 1/4 1-2-3-4-5” option. This means that if you chose to make the bet an “each-way” bet, then half of your wager would be paid out a 1/4 of the above odds if your pick finished in the top 5 places in the tournament (1-2-3-4-5).
For the purposes of this example, let’s select Shane Lowry at 25/1. After selecting Lowry you will have the option to select the “Each Way” button at Bet365. When you select this option you will notice that your bet amount doubles. This is because when you select each-way you are actually making two bets. For this example let’s say you are placing one $20 bet on Lowry to win, and one $20 bet on Lowry to finish in the top 5 at 1/4 odds, which would be odds of 6.25/1 ($40 of total bets).
The $40 bet has a potential payout of $665. Let’s break that down.
- The first $20 on Lowry to win has a potential payout of $520 ($500 winnings at 25/1 + $20 wager).
- The second $20 bet has a potential payout of $145 ($125 winnings at 6.25/1 + $20 wager).
If Lowry finishes between 2nd and 5th then I will still receive the $145 payout on the each-way bet.
World Cup Example
Let’s quickly look at one more example, to show you how the each-way terms can be displayed differently. The outright winner market for the 2018 World Cup at Bet365 has each-way terms of 1/2 1-2.
- Germany 6.50
- France 6.50
- Brazil 7.50
- Spain 8.00
- Argentina 10.00
- Belgium 17.00
Here is a quick look at the 6 favourites to win the 2018 World Cup. Again, the each-way terms for the World Cup outright betting at Bet365 are 1/2 1-2. This means that if you select the each-way option then half of your bet would be wagered on the team just making the World Cup Finals and be paid out at half the above odds. For example, if you take Belgium at odds of 17.00 (16/1 in fractional) then half the bet would apply to Belgium making the finals at odds of 8/1.
Each-Way Betting Tips
There are a lot of ways you can use each-way bets to your advantage when betting futures. Here are a few things to keep in mind to give yourself an edge on the sportsbook.
- Compare the each-way odds to the equivalent prop bet. You will often notice that the each-way bet has better odds than the prop bet for say a “top 5” or “to reach final” continuing with the two examples above. For example, Lowry was 5/1 to finish in the top 5, while the each-way bet gave you odds of 6.25/1 for the same outcome.
- Compare the each-way terms between sportsbooks. The each-way terms do vary between sportsbooks, so pay attention to the terms and bet accordingly. For example, if a selection has odds of 25/1 at sportsbook A with each-way odds of 1/4 1-2-3-4, but odds of 22/1 with each-way odds of 1/4 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 at sportsbook B, it may still be better value to place your each-way bet at sportsbook B in order to take advantage of the extra 3 places for the payout. This is something that you can weigh the risk vs reward for yourself, but be aware of the terms.
- Look for each-way betting promotions. Bet365, for example, offers each-way betting promotions for the Grand Slam golf tournaments where they change their each-way terms to include the top 8 places, rather than the typical 5.