If you believe in the saying “time is money” then watching a three-hour football game only to get your money back is one of the most frustrating things to do. However, depending on how that result came to be, a push could be a positive result if your team pulled off the back-door cover.

Over Under Betting is the second most popular type of NFL betting, just behind spread betting. Over Under Betting is also known as “Game Total Betting” and you will often see it be referred to as either term. Beginner NFL bettors may be confused by Over Under Betting. Push bets can also occur in sports betting where there is a possibility of there being a tied result. Spread bets are one of the main places where pushed bets can occur. For example, in a match between the New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts, the spread is set at 10 in favour of the Colts. If Bob places a spread bet.

1. A bet could push if you bet on a point spread or total that hit exactly. For example, if the New York Knicks were +8 against the Los Angeles Lakers and lost by exactly 8 points, that would be a push. Parlay Payouts Chart. Number of Bets in Parlay Fair Payout (-110 Odds) Fractional Odds Fair Payout on a $10 Bet.
2. A team favored by -7 must win the game by eight or more points to win the bet. If the team wins by seven, the result is a “push” and the bet is refunded. A spread of +7 means the team must win the game.

What Does Push Mean?

When you hear someone use the term “push” they are referring to the result of game or event that ends right on the listed point spread or finishes in a draw. Pushes are the most common in sports that use the point spread like basketball and football. However, a push can also happen when betting on certain run lines in baseball or spreads in soccer.

How Does a Push Work?

A push isn’t the worse thing in the world since you get your money back if your game happens to land right on the listed point spread. The most frustrating thing about a push is the time spending watching the game only to break even. Fortunately for bettors, sportsbooks don’t penalise you for making a bet that “pushes”, so you do receive all of your wager back.

Let’s use an NCAA basketball game as the first example. If your looking over the card and decide to bet the Baylor Bears -2 over the Oklahoma Sooners, this means that in order for you to cash your ticket, the Bears would need to win by three or more points. A 52-49 win would be just as good as a 90-87 win. If the Bears won by a mere two points (90-88, 52-50, etc.), your bet would be a push and you would receive your money back. If you like the underdog Sooners, a two-point loss would result in a push as well.

The second example comes in the form of a parlay. Obviously if you bet more than one game with a listed spread as a whole number, the chances of more than one game pushing are high. This is where you need to be careful and do your due diligence to understand how sportsbooks treat “pushes” on a parlay.

Some books simple reduces the number of teams in a parlay when there is a push – say you have a four-team parlay and one game pushes, your parlay simply becomes a three-team parlay that’s still in play. Other sportsbooks will treat that entire parlay as a loss.

Knowing how sportsbooks operate and understanding their unique set of rules is crucial to avoiding costly and unexpected losses.

How to Avoid a Push

One way to avoid the possibility of a push is to bet lines with a hook. A hook is the extra half point sportsbooks add to ensure there is a winner and a loser on both sides (also to attract balanced action). Another way to avoid a “push” is to move the line buy buying a half point up or down depending on which side you are backing. In football, moving a line from -3 to -2.5 has the ability to win you more money over time should the favorite actually win the game. The best times to move the line in football to avoid the push is when the point spread is -3, -4 or -7. These are the three most common margins of victory so getting a half point either way will turn your pushes into potential wins.

Doc's Sports is offering $60 worth of handicapper picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit any way you please for any handicapper and any sport on Doc's Sports Advisory Board list of expert sports handicappers. Click here for more details and take advantage of this free $60 picks credit today .

A ‘push’ occurs when the result of a sporting event ends in a tie between the sports bettor and the Sportsbook.

Neither party wins or loses. So, the original wager is refunded back to the sports bettor.

Pushes in sports betting is not the worst thing in the world. What’s annoying is that you can spend your time watching the entire game, only to break even.

Nevertheless, sports bettors are not punished by Sportsbook’s for push bets. The full wager is always refunded.

Pushes are most common in sports that use the point spread, like Basketball and Football, but they can also be used in sports like Ice Hockey and Baseball in over/under betting.

Example

Imagine there was an upcoming NHL game between the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames, and the sports bettor was to bet that both teams would combine to score more than 5 goals.

The push comes into play if, at the end of the game, exactly 5 goals were scored.

If the bet was made and exactly 5 goals were scored, the bet pushes and the bettor would receive 100% of their wager back.

Parlay Push

If a bettor is making a parlay, every event in the parlay must win in order for the bet to win. But what if one of these events is a push? Does the parlay become void?

In most Sportsbooks, the answer is no. If a push occurs on one of the events in the parlay, that event is dropped from the parlay entirely.

In essence, it’s as if that event was never selected in the parlay at all.

After the event is removed from the parlay, the payout multiplier is adjusted, meaning that the new payout potential is also adjusted.

However, this is not always the case. Some Sportsbooks will count a push as a loss so it’s important to be aware of that sportsbook’s rules and T&C’s before making the play.

Half Points

Most betting lines on offer do not use whole numbers. Instead, they use half numbers. These betting lines do not have a push as an option as half points cannot be scored in any sport.

Going back to the previous example, imagine the total goals scored was over/under 5.5 instead of 5 and let’s say the bettor wagered on the over.

If 6 or more goals are scored, the bet wins. If 5 or fewer goals are scored, the bet loses. Half points are a way for Sportsbooks to avoid pushes.

At the end of the day, they are in the business of making money and pushes prevent them from doing so.

Avoiding A Push

While Sportsbooks look to avoid pushes, bettors benefit from not using them too. While pushes avoid losses, they also prevent wins.

For example, in American Football, the most common margin of victories are 3 points, 4 points and 7 points. This means that getting a half point on either side of the line can turn a push into a win.

What Is A Betting Line

Inside Trademate Push = Void

Inside the Trademate Sports products, we classify bets which end as a push as voided.

The reason for this is that the outcome of both these instances are the same. That the original wager is refunded to the sports bettor. So instead of having to different classifications it’s simpler to just count them both as void.

This Article was written by Ghostbettingtips!

Do you know the different odds types?

What Is A Push In Betting Over Under

We have written articles explaining them: