G'day Martin, Logic

This is an interesting part of betting...something saturated with as much myth as fact.

I don't believe longshots are by default each way bets....thats a myth perpetuated by the false comfort of more collects from each way betting than other approaches. Each way betting would be the worst possible way to bet long shots....in fact its the worst way to bet any set of selections (from a profit making perspective that is :smile:

You are much better of staking 2 horses to win than you are 1 horse each way. Alternatively betting place only can be worthwhile depending on the selections....but each way should be a no-no for every punter.

Using your selections for the past 5 weeks as an example Martin, I quickly went through my results database using the best of SP or NSW TAB for win div's and the NSW tab for place div's.

In total for the past 5 weeks there have been 154 selections for 5 winners (3.2%) and 30 places (19.5%)

Betting Win Only:
Outlay $154.00
Return $80.10
Loss $73.90

Betting Place Only:
Outlay $154.00
Return $127.30
Loss $26.70

Betting Each Way:

Outlay $308
Return $207.40
Loss $100.60

Based on this each way betting certainly shows to be the worse way to bet the4 Friedman Family selection with a loss of about $100, v's a loss of $74 for win only and just $26.70 for place only.

Granted the sample is only 154 selections and one good week betting horses at this price range can largely change the figures....but one thing is for certain, each way betting will never return as much profit or as small a loss as other, much smarter betting strategies.