Set the decimal win odds, the stake for each half, and the place terms the bookmaker is offering. The calculator works out the place price, then returns your position under all three results: the horse wins, the horse places, the horse does neither. A £10 each-way bet takes £20 out of your account.
One Slip, Two Separate Bets
Each-way splits your money across a win bet and a place bet, both at the same stake. Ask for £10 each-way and the bookmaker takes £10 for the win half and £10 for the place half.
The place half runs at its own price, set as a fraction of the win odds. At terms of 1/5 the odds, a horse quoted 10.0 has 9.0 of profit in that price, and a fifth of it gives the place part a price of 2.8.
Place terms come in two parts: the fraction and the number of places paid. Both are printed on the racecard next to the market, and both change from race to race.
A Worked Example
£10 each-way at decimal win odds of 10.0, place terms of 1/5 the odds and three places. Total stake £20.
- Place odds: 1 + (9 × 0.2) = 2.8.
- The horse wins: win part £100 plus place part £28, a £128 return and a profit of £108.
- The horse finishes second or third: the win part loses, the place part returns £28, a profit of £8.
- The horse finishes unplaced: both halves lose, -£20.
| Result | Win part | Place part | Return | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | £100 | £28 | £128 | +£108 |
| 2nd or 3rd | Lost | £28 | £28 | +£8 |
| Unplaced | Lost | Lost | £0 | -£20 |
The middle row is why anyone bets each-way. A £10 win single on the same horse finishing third pays nothing, while the each-way slip hands back £28 and leaves you £8 ahead on the day.
Reading the Place Price
Take the place price as a bet in its own right and judge it that way. In the example above you are risking £10 at 2.8, and the Implied Probability Calculator turns that into the break-even chance you need the horse to hit the frame.
Compare that break-even number with how often you think this horse finishes in the first three. If those two figures line up badly, the place half is dragging on the bet even when the win half looks attractive.
The Odds / Payout Calculator answers the simpler version of the question when you drop the place half and back the horse to win only. Running both is the fastest way to see which of the two structures suits the price in front of you.
Where the Place Half Turns Sour
Place terms move with the size and shape of the race. A small field pays fewer places, a big handicap pays more, and firms run their own extra-place offers on top. The calculator prices the terms you enter, so read them off the card rather than assuming the last race’s terms carried over.
Short prices are where each-way betting leaks money. A fifth of 10.0 leaves the place part at 2.8, which covers both halves of the stake and more. A fifth of a 3.0 shot leaves a place price so short that its return falls well below the £20 you committed, so the horse can run into second and you still book a loss on the bet overall.
Two settlement rules also sit outside this calculator. A non-runner triggers a Rule 4 deduction that cuts both halves of your bet, and a dead heat for a place divides the place stake between the horses involved. Both leave you with less than the table above shows, and neither appears until the result is official.
Further Reading
- All betting calculators: the full library of 34 free tools
- Staking and bankroll: how should you stake?
- Glossary: the terms you will see across Gecko Edge
How does an each-way bet work?
You place two bets of equal size on one runner. The win half pays at the full odds if it wins. The place half pays at a fraction of those odds if it finishes inside the places the bookmaker is offering. A £10 each-way bet therefore costs £20, and both halves can win together.
What does 1/5 odds, 3 places mean?
Your place bet is settled at a fifth of the win odds, and it pays if the horse finishes first, second or third. At decimal win odds of 10.0 the profit portion is 9.0, so a fifth of that gives a place price of 2.8. Three places means anything outside the first three returns nothing.
What do you get back if your horse places but does not win?
The place half only. In the worked example on this page, £10 each-way at 10.0 with 1/5 terms returns £28 when the horse finishes second or third. Against the £20 total stake that leaves £8 of profit. The £10 on the win half is lost, which is why the return looks small next to the price.
When is an each-way bet poor value?
At short odds. The shorter the win price, the smaller a fifth or a quarter of it becomes, and the place half can return less than the £20 you committed even when the horse runs into the frame. Field size matters too: fewer runners means fewer places paid, so the same terms cover a narrower set of results.