A tie at the cutoff of a first-five golf market: the dead-heat fraction

When a tie straddles the last paying place, only some of the tied players could have taken a paying spot, so the fraction is paying places left ÷ players tied. In a first-five market, four tied for fourth share places 4 and 5, so the fraction is 2 ÷ 4. A 40 bet at +250 pays on 20: it returns 70, a profit of 30, not 100.

The dead heat calculator applies the fraction for any tie and number of places.

Counting the places

A tie for a position occupies that many consecutive positions. Four players tied for fourth occupy fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. In a market that pays the first five, only fourth and fifth are paying, so 2 of the 4 places count. Fraction = 2 ÷ 4 = 0.5.

More ties in a first-five market

• Two tied for fifth. They occupy fifth and sixth. One paying place for two players: fraction 1 ÷ 2.
• Three tied for fifth. Places 5, 6 and 7, one paying: fraction 1 ÷ 3.
• Three tied for third. Places 3, 4 and 5, all paying: fraction 3 ÷ 3 = 1, so every bet pays in full.
• Two tied for second. Places 2 and 3, both paying: fraction 1, full payment.
• Tied for sixth or lower. No paying place left: the bet loses.

The rule is the same for the first ten, the first three or any other number: count how many of the tied positions fall inside the paying places, and divide by how many players share them. A tie in the middle of the paying places costs nothing; a tie on the edge cuts the stake.

What a profit of 30 against 100 tells you

The result of a golfer finishing tied fourth in a field with four sharing it is not a win, a loss or a push. It is a win on half the stake. At a price of +250 the half-stake win still returns more than the full stake (70 against 40), so the bet is a profit. At a shorter price it may not be. At 1.50 a 50% fraction returns 0.75 per unit staked and loses 0.25 per unit.

Each-way and place terms

In an each-way bet the place part pays a fraction of the odds, often one quarter or one fifth, for a finish in the first few places. The dead-heat fraction applies to the place part in the same way, to the stake on that part. How each-way terms work is in the each-way article. The two reductions combine: the place part then pays on half its stake at a quarter of the odds.

Rules that differ

• Some markets pay every tied player in full at the cutoff, which is a different rule from dead heat.
• Some settle golf placing markets on the position after a playoff or on a count-back, and some do not.
• Withdrawals, disqualifications and missed cuts have their own rules in the market terms.

The general rule is explained in the dead-heat article.

Check a tie. Enter the paying places, the tied position and the number tied into the dead heat calculator to get the fraction and the return.