{"id":2125,"date":"2023-08-27T19:33:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T19:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.top10bettingsites.co.uk\/?page_id=2125"},"modified":"2023-08-25T20:27:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T20:27:26","slug":"dead-heat-in-betting-rules-how-are-dead-heats-settled","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/articles\/dead-heat-in-betting-rules-how-are-dead-heats-settled\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead Heat in Betting Rules: How Are Dead Heats Settled?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DeadOne of the great things about betting on football is that there\u2019s no such thing as a dead heat \u2013 your pick either wins, draws or loses. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n

The same can be said in horse racing \u2013 dead heats in races are as rare as hen\u2019s teeth, so again your selection will usually either win, place or lose.<\/p>\n

But there are scenarios in sports betting where dead heats are a factor for consideration.<\/p>\n

In golf betting, for example, you might have backed a player to win each way with seven places. What happens if they finish joint-sixth on the leaderboard with five others? What happens if they finish tied-seventh? Does your bet win or not?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why an appreciation of the bookies\u2019 rules on dead heats is useful \u2013 it can certainly save you the frustration of thinking you\u2019ve secured a full payout on your bet when, in reality, you might only get a fraction of that.<\/p>\n

What is a Dead Heat in Betting?<\/h2>\n

When two or more participants in an event cannot be separated, that is known as a \u2018dead heat\u2019.<\/p>\n

It can very occasionally happen in horse racing, where two or more horses go to the photo finish and simply cannot be separated.<\/p>\n

But, as mentioned, a dead heat tends to be a weekly occurrence on the various golf tours, with two or more players tied on the same score on the leader board.<\/p>\n

In this scenario, your bookmaker will revise your payout accordingly using the calculation described in the section below.<\/p>\n

How to Calculate Dead Heat Winnings<\/h2>\n

\"CalculatingIf you\u2019re something of a maths buff, you can work out your adjusted return by carrying out a calculation that would make Pythagoras himself scratch his head in wonderment.<\/p>\n

For win only bets with two runners tied, the dead heat calculation is: [(stake\/2) x (odds \u2013 1)] \u2013 (stake\/2).<\/p>\n

And for each way bets and the place part, the dead heat calculation becomes: [(stake x no. of places) \/ no. of tied runners x (odds \u2013 1)] \u2013 [stake x (no. of tied runners \u2013 no. of payouts) \/ no. of tied runners].<\/p>\n

If all that puts your head in a spin and brings back unhappy memories of maths classes at school, the good news is that a Google search for \u2018dead heat betting calculator\u2019 brings up plenty of results that will do the hard yards for you.<\/p>\n

Typing out the equation didn’t half make us feel clever though.<\/p>\n

Dead Heats in Horse Racing<\/h2>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t want the faff of trying to work out your dead heat winnings, imagine it like this: the prize fund is split equally between the number of horses that have won.<\/p>\n

So, if two horses are in a dead heat, you\u2019d win half the pot. If three horses are tied, you\u2019d win a third and so on.<\/p>\n

So if your pick is in a dead heat with another horse, then effectively half your stake would be a winner.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve backed them for \u00a310 on the nose at 6\/1 \u2013 in a dead heat situation, you\u2019d be a half winner so \u00a35 of your stake would be paid at 6\/1 for winnings of \u00a330, rather than the \u00a360 you\u2019d get for an outright victory.<\/p>\n

If your horse finishes in the places in a dead heat, you\u2019ll need to do some of the maths outlined in the next section.<\/p>\n

Dead Heats in Golf<\/h2>\n

\"Golf\"<\/p>\n

When you place win only bets on the golf, the good news is that you don\u2019t have to worry about dead heats \u2013 your player either wins or they don\u2019t. Even when a tournament goes to a play-off, winning bets are settled on the champion while the player that loses is considered to have placed instead.<\/p>\n

The challenge comes when you back players each way and they finish in the places, albeit tied with a handful of others.<\/p>\n

How do you calculate your winnings?<\/p>\n

To work it out, you need to know four things:<\/p>\n