Each-Way AtlasCompare UK bookmakers' each-way terms
How do you compare each-way terms across bookmakers?
To compare two bookmakers on the same race, line up three things at the same moment: the number of places, the place fraction and the win price. Then work out the return in at least two finishing scenarios, because the better offer can change with where the horse finishes.
Editorial team of Each-Way Atlas · Checked
Why do you need three figures?
Places alone mislead. A bookmaker that pays more places at a shorter fraction, or at a shorter win price, can be worth less than one that pays fewer places on better figures.
Each figure moves a different part of the return. The win price drives the win part, and the fraction and the number of places drive the place part. Comparing only one of them hides the other two.
The short version: places, fraction and win price each move a different part of the return.
What are the steps?
Do these steps for one race, and do them at the same moment, because prices move.
- Pick the race and the time. Note both. A comparison of different moments compares nothing.
- Read the terms for that race at each bookmaker. Use the method in how to read place terms.
- Fill in a terms sheet. One row per bookmaker: places, fraction, win price, Rule 4 and dead-heat wording, the source and the time.
- Choose your scenarios. Use at least two: the horse wins, and the horse places without winning.
- Work out each return. Use the formulas in how to work out each-way returns, or the each-way returns calculator.
- Compare the totals against the same total cost. Choose the bookmaker with the higher return in the scenario you care about, and note where the order flips.
The short version: read the terms for one race at one moment, then compare returns in at least two scenarios.
What does the terms sheet look like?
The sheet below is blank on purpose. We do not summarise any bookmaker's published terms on this page; the dated table of standard place terms is a separate page that we are preparing.
| Bookmaker | Places | Fraction | Win price | Rule 4 and dead heat | Time read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookmaker 1 | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Bookmaker 2 | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
The short version: a terms sheet with a time on every row is the only fair basis for comparison.
What does a worked comparison look like?
This is an example with two imaginary bookmakers, X and Y, on one imaginary race. The figures are assumptions for the arithmetic, not real offers. The unit stake is £4.00, so the total cost is £8.00 at both.
- X: win price 5/1 (decimal 6.0), three places at 1/4.
- Y: win price 11/2 (decimal 6.5), four places at 1/5.
| Scenario | X return | Y return | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse wins | £4 × 6.0 = £24.00 plus £4 × 2.25 = £9.00, total £33.00 | £4 × 6.5 = £26.00 plus £4 × 1.9 = £7.60, total £33.60 | Y by £0.60 |
| Finishes third | Place part £4 × 2.25 = £9.00 | Place part £4 × 1.9 = £7.60 | X by £1.40 |
| Finishes fourth | £0.00, because only three places are paid | Place part £7.60 | Y by £7.60 |
The order flips with the finish. Y is ahead if the horse wins or finishes fourth, and X is ahead if it finishes third. That is why one scenario is never enough.
The short version: in this example neither bookmaker is better in every scenario, so the finish decides.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Comparing prices taken at different times.
- Counting a Rule 4 deduction for one bookmaker and not the other.
- Treating a tier or a list as a price. See how we tier bookmakers, which describes features, not the price on one race.
- Forgetting that extra-place offers can change the places for one race only.
The short version: same race, same moment, same rules applied to both bookmakers.
What did we check?
We checked the arithmetic by hand on 7 November 2026. The bookmakers in the example are imaginary, and every real-world cell is Not verified.
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The short version: the method and the sums are checked, and no real bookmaker's terms are claimed.
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