Dead heat, push and void: three ways a bet fails to pay in full

A push and a void both return the stake. A dead heat does not: part of the stake wins at full odds and the rest loses. On a 20 bet at +200, a two-way dead heat returns 30, a push returns 20 and a void returns 20. The dead heat returns more than the stake at +200 and less at short prices.

The dead heat calculator shows the return under each treatment for the same bet.

The three outcomes

Push. The result lands exactly on the number, such as a team winning by 3 on a spread of -3. The bet is neither won nor lost and the stake comes back. See the push article.

Void. The bet is cancelled, as when a player does not play, a match is abandoned, or a market is withdrawn. The stake comes back. See the void article.

Dead heat. The selection ties for a paying position with others, so the stake is split. Part wins at the full price and part loses.

Where each leaves you

• Push or void: net 0 on the bet.
• Two-way dead heat at +200: net +10 (30 returned on 20).
• Two-way dead heat at even money: net 0 (10 × 2.00 = 20, the stake).
• Two-way dead heat at -200 (decimal 1.50): net -5 (10 × 1.50 = 15 on 20).

The break-even price for a two-way dead heat is even money. A longer price returns more than the stake and a shorter price returns less. A three-way dead heat needs a price of 3.00 or longer to return the stake, and in general a price at or above the number tied.

In a parlay

The three cases settle differently inside a ticket. A push or a void leg drops out, and the ticket pays on the remaining legs, at the shorter price. A dead-heat leg stays in, with its price multiplied by the fraction. Take a ticket at 2.00, 3.00 and 2.00, normally 12 per unit.

• The 3.00 leg pushes or is voided: the ticket is 2.00 × 2.00 = 4.00 per unit.
• The 3.00 leg is a two-way dead heat: the ticket is 2.00 × 1.50 × 2.00 = 6.00 per unit.
• The 3.00 leg wins outright: 12.00 per unit.

The treatment of a push in teasers is separate again, as in the teaser push article.

Why the distinction matters when you read a record

A log that marks a dead heat as a push understates a gain at long prices and overstates the result at short ones. Record the result code, the fraction and the return separately, so that the profit is computed from the actual cash. The columns for that are in the logging article.

Compare them. Enter a stake, a price and the number tied in the dead heat calculator for the return under each treatment.