Understanding Dead Heat Rules in Betting

If you want to have a great time at the best online sports betting sites, you need to know about dead heat rules.

While they don’t appear very often, a dead heat in betting is important to understand if you like to wager on sports like horse racing, golf and Formula 1.

Today, we’ll explain dead heat rules with some examples, and tell you how to bet strategically to avoid losing out on a bet due to a dead heat.

Ready to learn more? Let’s get started. 

What is a Dead Heat in Betting? 

Simply put, a ‘dead heat’ is what happens in sports betting when the event ends in a tie where no clear winner can be established.

Some sports make it impossible for a dead heat to occur. These are usually team sports like soccer or hockey, where you can bet on a tie and still win your bet.

However, in sports like Formula 1, horse racing and golf, where you have individual competitors fighting to win, a dead heat can occur and nullify your bet.

For instance, if two horses cross the finish line of a race at the same time, you get what is known as a ‘photo finish’. If the photo finish is analysed and no clear winner can be determined, the race will end in a dead heat. This also happens in other racing events, such as Formula 1 and greyhound racing.

In competitions like golf, where you have individual competitors, if two golfers end the tournament with the same score a dead heat is declared and your bet may not be valid.

However, because dead heat can occur in multiple sports, online betting platforms have developed dead heat rules that apply to these types of scenarios.
 

Dead Heat Rules Explained 

These days, dead heat betting rules are common practice at the leading online bookmaker sites. These rules are put in place to safeguard both the sportsbook and its customers against a tie so that the wager can be settled fairly.

To understand this better, here is a quick rundown of how dead heat rules work:

●    Reducing the stake: Usually, when a dead heat occurs, the bookmaker will divide the stake by the number of competitors who tied in the event. For example, two horses tying in a race will result in the stake being split equally 50/50

●    Paying out the bet: After the stake has been split, the sportsbook will then multiply the reduced stake by the original odds of the bet to determine the final payout

Common Sports Where Dead Heat Rules Apply 

As mentioned, dead heat rules can apply to a lot of sports, but certainly not all of them. Dead heats are most common in competitions like racing and other tournaments where you have individual competitors.

The most common sports affected by dead heat rules include:

Horse Racing: One of the most well-known sports for dead heats, horse racing can result in ties when two or more horses cross the finish line at the same time 

Golf: In golf, dead heat rules are frequently applied to tournaments, especially in betting markets like the top 5, top 10, or outright winner

Athletics: In track and field events, athletes may finish in a dead heat if they cross the finish line at the same time.

Greyhound Racing: Similar to horse racing, greyhound races can also end in a dead heat when two or more dogs finish together.

Fishing: In competitive fishing, dead heats can occur when two or more participants catch fish of the same size and weight.

Motor Racing: While less common, motor racing can also experience dead heats, especially in cases where race positions are decided by fractions of a second.

Boxing and MMA: In combat sports like boxing and MMA a match can result in a draw, which can be considered a form of dead heat.

Examples of Dead Heat Rules in Action 

Now that you know all about dead heat rules and how they work, it's time to look at a couple of examples.

Example of a Dead Heat in MMA

Let's say Islam Makhachev and Brandon Royal go head-to-head in a UFC fight but land the same amount of strikes and no winner is declared. The referees analyse the result but both fighters end up with the exact same score. Dead heat rules will now apply.

Now let's say you placed a $100 win bet on Makhachev to win at odds of 4.00. With a dead heat, the bookmaker will split the stake, effectively meaning that you bet $50 instead of $100.

They will now multiply this reduced stake by the original odds of 4.00, giving you $200 profit instead of the original $400 you would have got if Makhachev had won outright.

Example of a Dead Heat in Formula 1

Imagine that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen finish a Grand Prix in the exact same position.

The FIA stewards will analyse the time, and if the finishing time is exactly the same for both drivers, dead heat rules will apply and the stake will be halved and multiplied by the original odds, as in the horse racing example above.