What Sports Can You Use For Each Way Betting? A Sport-by-Sport Breakdown

Quick answer: It’s possible to place each way bets on a wide variety of sports. Even if a sport doesn’t traditionally determine success with places, many bookies will offer each way markets on major tournaments. However, you’ll find the most opportunities on sports like horse racing and golf.

Each way bets are a highly popular type of wager, that effectively gives a bettor a second chance at winning some money if their chosen runner fails to win a race, as they offer a smaller return if the runner hits a paid place.

They’re most closely associated with horse racing, where each way bets are enormously popular, but that’s far from the only sport you can place an each way bet on. Golf is another common sport for each way betting, thanks to the place format of its tournaments, but even in sports you wouldn’t typically associate with each way betting, like football, you’re likely to find each way markets if you try.

In this article, we’ll talk you through the most common sports for each way betting, as well as explaining the mechanisms for each way bets on more niche sports, before giving you a few tips to help you optimise your strategy on each way bets.

Data Insight

An academic study analysing Australian online wagering data found that 15.81% of all recorded bets were each way bets. Although the exact figures will differ for UK bettors, this is a good illustration of the strong popularity of the each way bet.

- Journal of Gambling Studies

What Is Each Way Betting?

An each way bet involves placing two bets in one go:

• One on your selection to win

• One on your selection to hit a paid place

If your selection wins, both parts of your bet are paid out; if your selection places, only the place part pays out. An each way bet has the advantage of offering a potential consolation prize; even if your choice doesn’t win, you’ve still got a chance of a return if it places.

The odds you see when you place your bet apply to the win part of your bet; if your selection wins, the win part is paid out at those odds. The place part, however, is paid out at a certain fraction of the win odds - usually either ¼ or ⅕ for horse racing (in other sports you may see a greater variety of fractions). If your selection only hits a paid place, you get no return from the win part of your bet, but you’re paid out for the place part of your bet at that predetermined fraction of the odds.

Because you’re placing two bets at the same time, your stake is doubled when you choose the each way (E/W) bet option - so if you enter a stake of £5, for example, your total bet will be £10, as you see in the sample betslip below.

An example of an each way bet

As a demonstration of how an each way bet works in practice, we’ll imagine we’ve gone ahead and placed that each way bet on Court Drive from the above image, at odds of 6.

Our unit stake is £5, so we’re betting a total of £10 on our horse. As we can see from the betslip shown above, the bookie is paying 3 places on this race, at a place fraction of ⅕.

So long as Court Drive hits one of the three paid places, we’ll get some return from our bet - although if it fails to win or place, we’ll be down our full £10 stake.

What Sports Can You Place Each Way Bets On?

Each way betting is most common in racing-based sports, or in those like golf whose tournaments use a place-based system. However, each way betting is by no means exclusive to those sports, and you’ll often find each way markets for any sport that holds major tournaments - although there may be only two paid places if the tournament final is between just two teams.

Expert Insight

‘An each way market with more places can look attractive at first glance, but the real question is how much of the field you need to beat to get paid. A generous number of places means little if the odds are too low to compensate for the chance of missing out altogether.’

Horse Racing

Horse racing is the biggest sport for each way betting, especially as there are usually multiple extra place races (where one or more extra places than the norm are paid out by the bookie) on offer every single day.

It’s possible to take advantage of each way bets in horse racing with both Matched Betting and Value Betting techniques, allowing bettors to optimise their profits no matter their level of experience or their tolerance for risk.

To find out more, check out our dedicated guide to extra place offers for all the information you need to start maximising your profits from each way bets.

Golf

Golf is another sport where each way betting has become one of the most popular options for both bookies and punters. It works somewhat differently from horse racing, though, as there isn’t a set number of paid places for a golf tournament; instead, you can usually choose between a few different each way markets with different numbers of places and differing place fractions, as shown in the screenshot below.

Value Betting can be an excellent way to take advantage of each way markets in golf, with the potential for significant expected value to be found in the place part of your bet. For experienced bettors with a strong bankroll, Outplayed’s Golf Master is the best tool to have by your side, highlighting the best value players and markets to make it easier than ever to profit from golf each way bets.

Data Insight

From 2026, the PGA TOUR reduced the maximum field size for most full-field events played on one course from 156 to 144 players. Even with this reduction, however, with dozens of competitors in contention, golf each way markets require bettors to accurately assess both a player’s winning chances and the terms offered for finishing places.

- PGA Tour

Football

In football, each way betting is far from the most popular choice, as it can’t be applied to a regular match. However, it is possible to place an each way bet on outright football markets, such as the winner of the Premier League, as shown below.

It’s more difficult to take advantage of football each way markets with smart betting techniques, although knowledgeable and experienced football bettors may feel confident in identifying selections that hold value in this market.

This isn’t a market we’d recommend if that doesn’t apply to you, however; there are far more reliable strategies available for profiting from each way betting, in our opinion.

Darts

Like with football, many bookies will offer each way markets on the winner of a darts tournament. Because darts tournaments generally use a knock-out format, with two finalists, you’ll generally see only two paid places for darts each way markets, as you see below.

Again, it’s difficult to take advantage of each way markets in darts, and unless you’re a well-informed bettor willing to devote their time to research, you’re likely to struggle to assess the real value of a darts each way bet.

Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing works very similarly to horse racing from a betting perspective. However, there can only be a maximum of six dogs in a greyhound race, which means that you will normally only see two paid places if you’re placing an each way bet.

Greyhound racing is an increasingly niche sport, despite its long history in the UK, and consequently it can be more difficult to take advantage of it with smart betting strategies. If you plan to place each way bets on greyhound races, we’d advise you to perform plenty of research to make sure you understand the real chances for your selection, and never to bet more than you can afford to lose.

Other Sports

Generally speaking, you’ll be able to find each way markets in pretty much any sport that features tournaments. For example, bookmakers will typically offer each way markets with two places on major tennis tournaments, and you’ll find similar markets for sports like basketball, American football and snooker.

Of course, you’re also likely to find each way markets for any other kind of racing, such as motorsports, so long as they’re reasonably popular. Very niche sports, e.g. alpine skiing, may limit bettors to a win only market.

Considerations When Choosing A Sport For Each Way Betting

When deciding the sport you want to each way bet on, there are a few considerations to bear in mind:

Expert Insight

‘When you move beyond the main each way sports, don’t assume that a familiar betting format means you can assess the market just as confidently. Outright tournaments can be shaped by unpredictable draws, changes in form and uneven competition, so a selection needs sport-specific research rather than a simple comparison of headline odds.’

Strategies That Can Help You Profit From Sports Betting

Each way bets can be put to good use in optimising a betting strategy, but there are plenty of other ways you can get the most out of your betting, many of which are made easier by Outplayed’s tools, guides and expert support.

Matched Betting

Here are Outplayed, we’re big fans of Matched Betting, and much of our software is dedicated to making it easy and profitable to pursue a Matched Betting strategy.

Matched Betting involves placing bets both for and against the same outcome, meaning that one of your bets must win. Your bet for an outcome is known as a ‘back bet’ and is placed with a bookmaker, while your bet against that same outcome, known as a ‘lay bet’, is placed with a betting exchange. You make a profit by taking advantage of bookmaker offers in what is typically a two-step process.

First, you place what’s known as a ‘qualifying bet’ with a bookmaker, which unlocks a free bet or another reward. You match this bet at a betting exchange, which typically results in a small loss of a few pence, known as a qualifying loss.

Once your initial bet has settled, you repeat the process with the free bet you’ve unlocked. Generally speaking, this results in a profit of 70-80% of the value of your free bet (e.g. on a free bet of £10, you’d expect to make £7-£8 in profit).

To find out how you can get started, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Matched Betting, which talks you through exactly what you need to do to make your first profits from Matched Betting.

Arbitrage Betting

Arbitrage betting is a very similar technique to Matched Betting, which again involves placing bets for and against the same outcome.

But instead of using bookmaker offers to profit, arbitrage involves finding pairs of disproportionately favourable odds that allow you to lock in a profit with every single bet.

This is easiest when you place a back bet with a bookmaker and a lay bet with a betting exchange, as you would when Matched Betting. All you need to do is find odds for your back bet that are higher than the lay odds; if this is the case, you’ve got an arbitrage bet, which will generate you a profit regardless of the outcome of the event.

It’s also possible to use two or more bookmakers to create an arbitrage bet (which is a form of dutching), but it can be harder to locate pairs of odds that will produce a profit.

To find out more, take a look at our dedicated guide to arbitrage betting for all you need to know about how this strategy works.

Value Betting

Value Betting is a more advanced strategy than arbitrage betting or Matched Betting, but it can pair well with each way betting. Because it does involve risk, we recommend that bettors build up both their experience of sports betting and a strong bankroll before they get started.

If that does apply to you, Value Betting can provide a massive boost to your profits. It relies on a similar principle to arbitrage betting - that of locating particularly favourable odds from bookies. Specifically, odds that are higher than the true probability of a win would imply.

By betting only on selections with disproportionately favourable odds, you put yourself in a position where you’re statistically likely to end up profiting overall, even though you aren’t locking in a profit on any individual bet.

Each way betting can be a highly successful strategy for value bettors, especially if they use dedicated software, such as Outplayed’s Extra Place Master or Golf Master, to find selections that hold the best value.

To find out more about how Value Betting works and how you can get started, check out the dedicated Outplayed guide.

Summary

Each way markets are available for more sports than you might think - but the traditional sports for each way betting do tend to be the most useful to strategic bettors.

With the help of Outplayed’s Extra Place Catcher, Extra Place Master and Golf Master, it’s possible to turn each way betting into a streamlined betting strategy, at the level of risk that’s right for you.

If you’re a newcomer to Matched Betting, take a look at our Beginner’s Guide for all the information you need to get started.

Or if you’re already raring to go, take out our free trial and you’ll get immediate access to 40+ sign up offers worth over £800 in potential profits!

FAQs

1. Can you use each way bets for Matched Betting?

Yes! Extra place offers are a great way to take advantage of each way bets through Matched Betting.

2. Am I guaranteed to make money with an each way bet?

No; an each way bet somewhat improves your chances of making a return, as it’s more likely for a selection to place than to win, but it’s far from guaranteed.

3. Can I lose money each way betting?

Yes, especially if you aren’t using Matched Betting tactics to limit your risk. If you place an each way bet without laying it, you’re risking losing your full stake.

4. Will each way betting get my account restricted?

It’s pretty unlikely. Each way bets are popular with regular punters, so if anything you should blend in well by placing each way bets. That said, you should try to focus on popular events, as betting on highly obscure events can attract bookie suspicion.

5. Is each way betting beginner-friendly?

It certainly isn’t difficult to place an each way bet, but it can be a little more difficult to execute an each way Matched Betting strategy. If you’re new to sports betting, you’ll probably find it easier to start with Matched Betting sign up offers before you move on to more advanced techniques.