A push, and what happens to your money

A push is a tie against the line: the result lands exactly on the number, so neither side wins. The stake is returned in full and the profit is zero. It is not a win, not a loss, and it is only possible where the line is a whole number.

A line is a threshold, and a threshold with a whole number on it has a third possible outcome — landing precisely on it. The book cannot pay both sides and will not keep both stakes, so the transaction is unwound. Half points exist specifically to remove this third outcome, which is why so many lines carry one.

Inside a multi-leg bet, a pushed leg is normally removed and the remaining legs are repriced, so a three-leg parlay with one push pays as a two-leg parlay rather than losing. The exact treatment is in the terms and is not identical everywhere.

What follows from that is less comfortable. A push is quietly counted as a win by people reporting their record, on the reasoning that no money was lost. It is neither, and folding pushes into the win column inflates a strike rate without changing a penny of the money.

What to do with it. Record pushes as a separate category from wins and losses, and check how your book handles a pushed leg inside a multi before placing one.