Most sports bettors have come across the betting term “push” while gambling online. Whether you’ve read it in the bonus rules of your Spread Booster or the terms of your preferred online sportsbook site, “push” always has the same meaning – the selected outcome neither won nor lost.
A push can occur in virtually all sports betting categories where matches don’t necessarily need to be played until a conclusion is reached. For example, it’s a “tie” in classic single bets or when the player in your chosen prop hits the exact number of points your sportsbook predicted when you’re betting on “over/under”.
In this article, I’ll guide you through the ins and outs of the push betting concept, explain where it can be applied, and help you learn which push betting strategies can be viable options, so let’s start from the top.
The Two Types of “Push” in Sports Betting
Players can “push a bet” by placing wagers on special outcomes like ties or round-numbered spreads.
However, games that result in a push can impact other types of wagers. For example, suppose you’ve placed a parlay wager, your individual bets are required to win. However, one game results in a push, which is neither a loss nor a win.
In that case, some sports betting sites won’t fail your parlay if one game results in a push, but the combined wager will drop by one leg (e.g. a 5-game parlay will become a 4-game parlay with changed odds).
Push as a Consequence & Important Rules
As I mentioned, it is possible to have push outcomes impact other types of active bets. These situations typically have different consequences depending on the type of wager that was affected by a push.
Pushed totals, singles, spreads, and props are typically refunded while multi-bets are usually recalculated after the pushed outcome is removed from the equation.
It is important to note that certain games can never be pushed. For example, hockey or football games will continue until a definite winner is declared.
Push in Singles
The simplest form of push betting revolves around placing wagers on “tie” moneylines. This is only feasible if games are not played until a winner is declared (e.g. with overtime or shootouts).
For example, Team A is playing against Team B, and all you have to do is place a “Tie” bet to push this outcome. You would win if neither team scores a single point, or if they’re evenly scored (e.g. 1:1, 2:2, 3:3) as long as the match ends when the time is up.
Push in Spreads
In spread betting, favorites and underdogs must cover the spread by winning or losing by a certain number of points.
Some sportsbooks assign point spreads in round numbers (e.g. +6 or -7) on certain matches. These spread outcomes can be pushed and won if the game is won/lost by the exact number defined by the spread. For example, Team A has a -5 spread, and they win by precisely five points. If you bet on the favorite, you’d simply get a refund.
Many online sports betting platforms, however, are clever enough to avoid pushed spreads, so they assign them in decimals (e.g. +6.5 or -7.5). These outcomes cannot be pushed, as all games are scored in rounded numbers.
Push in Totals
Total betting revolves around wagering on total points being over or under the defined threshold. For example, if you bet on a team scoring over 5 points (total), it wouldn’t matter if they earned 6 or 66 points; all that matters is that the total has been covered.
Similar to spread betting, sportsbooks will usually assign totals in decimals to avoid pushed outcomes.
Push in Parlays
There are two ways sportsbooks that offer parlays regulate push events in multi-bets, including:
- All outcomes in multi-bets are required to win exclusively, meaning that pushed games are considered lost. The combined wager is then lost;
- Pushed outcomes in multi-bets are excluded, and the total odds, price, and potential payout will be recalculated to reflect the new situation.
Fortunately, most sportsbooks understand that multi-bets like teasers and parlays are risky, so they incentivize players to place these wagers by offering a second chance of winning when pushed outcomes come into play.
It would be unfair to pay the full sum of a multi-bet if not all of the outcomes won. Usually, sportsbooks will simply remove the pushed game from the bet, recalculate the odds, and allow you to continue.
This is done by emulating a situation in which you never wagered on the pushed outcome. From my example above, a 5-game parlay was initially placed, but with one game being pushed, it devolves to a 4-game parlay with reduced odds.
