I've been known to go ew on as low as 3/1 mate if the circumstances are right. For years and years I was a slave to the "logic" that each way was only any good at 4/1 and over for 1/4 odds races and 5/1 and over for 1/5 races. Something else I did was only back ew on races with 8 horses or more but often (depending upon the prices of the horses in the field) the better bet can be to aim for two places at 1/4 odds. It's a judgement call.
What changed my thinking was when I watched a bloke talking about short priced e/ws (not sure if it was on one of the racing channels or online) and what he said made sense to me. If I look at a six horse race and come to the conclusion that there is only one danger to my 3/1 horse, I can either risk my tenner and lose it if the danger horse wins or I can chuck another tenner in and back it each way knowing that I'll get £17.50 of my £20 stake back if I come second. You're gonna lose some £20s but you're also going to drag some place money over the longer term.
It doesn't suit everyone but in the area that I concentrate on, my horses will often be 3/1, 7/2 up against a short-priced fav. Don't get me wrong, in a field of newcomers when you don't know what you're up against there's a chance that I'm going to find 3 or 4 better than mine so I'd usually go for the straight win.
I have no written rules but I've got to the stage where I can pick up a racecard (or, more accurately, look at an oddschecker page) and know straight away if there's a bet there for me without looking at any form or race conditions or anything. Then I'll look into the race further. I like to stick to races with 11 runners or less if I can - the more horses, the more scope for surprises
The other "counter-intuitive" thing I've learned to do is to ignore drifting prices and back the fuckers anyway.
None of which is relevant to this particular thread
One bet, one winner. Just the 5/1
