There’s something simultaneously satisfying and irritating about a bet that you’ve placed winning but only doing so because of a tie. On the one hand, you’ll have won some money as a result of it, but on the other hand the money is less than it would have been if your selection had won outright. That’s what happens when an event ends in a dead heat, such as two horses crossing the finish line at exactly the same moment.
Whilst horse racing is the sport that most clearly demonstrates what a Dead Heat is, it’s not the only one where it can apply. When it happens, the amount that you get paid out on your winning bet depends entirely on how many entries finish tied for the lead. That’s because your stake will be divided by the number of winners, then multiplied by the odds to provide you with your payout amount.
What Is A Dead Heat
There are numerous different things in betting that are actually surprisingly hard to explain, but a Dead Heat isn’t one of them. In short, a Dead Heat occurs when two or more participants in a sporting event finish level for the lead and there’s absolutely nothing that can separate them. Horse racing is the typical sport that is used to explain a Dead Heat, because it’s easy to picture two horses crossing the finish line at exactly the same time.
When nothing can separate the horses, not even a photo finish that looks in on the horses in minute detail, the race is said to have finished in a Dead Heat and both horses are declared to be winners. It can happen in all sorts of sports aside from horse racing, with the likes of sprinting and golf being two good examples. As long as there’s nothing separating the participants, the event will be paid out according to Dead Heat rules.
Dead Heats also apply to places not only winners. If you back a selection each-way, or to place, and there is a dead heat that means more horses place than there are places, this results in a lower payout too.
How Bookies Pay Out On Dead Heats
Excluding bookmakers that offer some sort of promotion when Dead Heats occur, virtually all of them follow the same rules when it comes to paying out on events that end in a Dead Heat. .
In short, your stake will be divided by the number of participants that are ‘winners’ in the event that you’re betting on. If you wagered £10 and there are two participants tied for first then your stake will be reduced to £5. Here’s how it looks in theory:
- £10 stake at odds of 20/1
- 2 participants tied for first place
- £10 divided by 2 = £5
- £5 at 20/1 = 5 x 20 = £100
- Payout is £105
Instead of getting £210 back, which would be your winnings plus your stake, you get £105 paid into your account. Obviously that is a simple explanation, but it works the same regardless of your stake and the number of ‘winners’. If three runners crossed the finish line at the same time as each other and a 100 metre race and you’ve bet £10 on one of them, your payout would be your stake multiplied by 10/3, or 3.33.
What Happens With Each-Way Bets
Where Dead Heat bets become slightly more complicated is when you’ve placed an Each-Way wager. Let’s imagine that you’ve placed an Each-Way bet on Golfer A to win the British Open. You’ve bet £30 and the odds were 40/1, with the bookmaker paying out at 1/4 odds for the first three places on Each-Way wagers. Golfer A finishes third and is tied with two other players for third place. Here’s how your payout works:
- £30 stake is split in half to cover Win and Each Way part of wager
- Win part is a loser, so stake is reduced to £15
- £15 is divided by three = £5
- Odds are paid out at a quarter, so 40/1 = 10/1
- 10/1 multiplied by £5 = £50
- Your Payout is £55
If the player were to finish tied-second and the Each-Way rules of your bookmaker of choice pays for the top four finished then your wager is essentially the same. This is because your horse finished both second and third, which are both paid out as part of the Each-Way rules, so the maths means that you’re basically just paid 1/4 odds for your selection and nothing happens to the stake.
The good news is that you don’t need to worry too much about all of this as the bookmaker does it all for you, but it’s handy to know why you’ve been paid less than you might have been expecting, giving you the chance to work it out for yourself. It is complicated, so if you’re not someone that finds maths very easy then don’t beat yourself up about not being able to work out how much you should be getting paid.
Sports That Can Involve Dead Heat Rules
We’ve mentioned horse racing through in this piece, simply for the reason that it’s the best sport to make clear how Dead Heat rules work. It’s not the only sport where Dead Heat rules can come into play, however. Any other race is another obvious example, such as 100 metre sprints or hurdling races. Golf is a sport we’ve used an example too, thanks to the manner in which players can finish tied for a place.
Football might not seem like a sport that can involve Dead Heats, but it depends what you’re betting on. A wager on the Top Scorer in a given tournament, such as the Champions League or League One, is prone to Dead Heat scenarios. That’s because footballers can often finish the season or competition period having scored the same number of goals as each other, therefore resulting in a Dead Heat.
One thing to be aware of on that front is what you’re betting on. There is a difference, for example, between a bet on the Top Scorer of a competition and the winner of the Golden Boot. Some competitions, such as the World Cup, might have extra rules in place to determined the winner of the Golden Boot in the event that two or more players score the same number of goals. The likes of assists can also come in to play in that instance.
From test cricket to motor racing, there are a wealth of sports that can end in a Dead Heat, even if it’s incredibly rare for that to happen. That’s why it’s really important for you to make sure that you know the Dead Heat rules of your bookmaker of choice, so that when it happens you’re not overly confused about why your payout is lower than expected. Regardless of the sport, your stake will be divided by the number of participants tied for the same spot.