What Does Push Mean In Betting? | Guide on ‘Betting Push’ in Sports
We are sure that you have heard the term “push” before, so do you know what does push mean in betting? If not, don’t worry: Betting push does not happen very often and when it does, you get your money back.
So it is not a total loss but it is not a win either: Ideally, you should try to avoid push situations as long as possible. And in order to do that, you must know what is a push in betting. Below, we explain the push betting term meaning with several examples but let’s start with the push betting definition.
What is a push in sports betting?
Best Online Sports Betting Sites in 28 September 2023 – Updated List
What do you get out in case of a push?
Push bet examples
Let’s continue answering the what does push mean in betting question by giving actual examples: This way, you can understand what we are talking about and learn the sports betting push rules.
1. Moneyline push gambling
Moneyline betting is the simplest form of sports betting: You bet on who will win or who will lose the match. In other words, you don’t bet on a tie: Your bet is about which team will win (or lose) the event. This type of straight betting can still end with a tie, and if your bet does not include this outcome (*), betting push happens. For example:
Moneyline bets are quite common in sports betting, especially soccer betting (which is probably the easiest sport to bet on) so you can expect to see football push situations more than often. However, as we will explain below, gambling push can happen in any sports and any kind of sports betting.
(*) Some moneyline bets are called “three-way”, which means you can also bet on the tie result, not just who will win or lose. If this is the situation and the match ends with a tie, betting push does not happen, of course: After all, the bookmaker offers a chance to place a bet on this outcome.
2. Push in point spread betting
Point spread betting gives “+” and “-“ points to teams based on their performance and expectations: The “-“ team is the favorite and the “+” team is the underdog. In order to win these bets, the event result must match these points.
For example, if a team is listed as “+1”, this means it starts the match with an extra goal and as long as the match result is not “lose by 2 points”, you win this bet. And, as can be predicted, if the margin of the final score is the same as the spread, betting push happens in sports betting. Here is an example:
If these points (and spread bets, in general) look weird to you, take a look at our other articles, especially how to read soccer odds, clean sheet in soccer, and soccer spread betting guides.
3. Push on an over/under bet
In over/ under betting, your bet is about whether the result of that event will be over or under a specific figure. For example, you can bet that the final score difference will be over 50 points or under 5 points. It is easy to understand how over under push can occur: If the result is neither over nor under the offered figures, there will be a “tie” and betting push will be the actual result. Here are some examples:
Betting push result is quite common in over/under bets, especially in hockey and baseball. To learn more about these sports and their specific bets, make sure to visit our betting guide section and take a look at runlines in baseball or puck line in hockey betting.
Parlay push conditions
In parlay betting (and teaser betting) you bet on multiple outcomes, between 2 and 10 (*). To win the bet, all of your selections must win – if you lose even a single one, you lose the whole bet. So, what happens if one of these selections ends with a tie? What is the rule for team parlay bets? According to parlay push rules, you don’t get your money back, but the bet reverts to a lower payout.
(*) You can increase this number even higher at some bookmakers, especially for popular sports such as American football, basketball, and NFL football betting.
Can you avoid push in sports betting?
Betting push is a situation that can happen in any sport, maybe even in financial betting, as long as there is a tie between you and the bookmaker. Note that we are not saying “the match ends with a tie”. Even if the match result is not a tie, betting push can still happen in sports betting, as can be seen in the examples we shared above. However, there are still some things you can do to minimize the chances to push a bet. Also, our sports betting guide on “why was my bet cancelled?” can be of help.
Tip
👉 The same goes for the alternative goal line bets. These bets do not cover the tie outcome but you can still win, lose, or get a refund if the result is a tie.
👉 You can also move the line by half a point up or down: Instead of “+1”, try “+1.5”: Doing so will greatly reduce the possibility of a push happening. Consider the main key numbers in sports betting when buying points.
Bookmakers try to avoid a push too
Sports betting push pros and cons
PROS
- You get your money back
- There are no “cuts” on the refund, you get exactly what you paid
CONS
- You don’t make a profit so you don’t actually win anything
- Some sports and bet types are more prone to push betting
FAQ about sports betting push
This term is not related to sports betting. It means pushing the boundaries of something (i.e., your chances). We explained push in sports betting above: These terms are not related.
The match that caused the push gets removed from the slip and the payouts are reduced accordingly. If that was a parlay bet with 5 outcomes, for example, it becomes a parlay bet with 4 outcomes.
In this sports betting scenario, the bet is void and you get your money back. It does not make any difference whether the push happened over or under.
Teaser bets are very similar to parlay bets and the same result applies also to them: The bet that caused the push gets removed (push dropped) from the slip, the bet is still valid.
No. You don’t make any profit; you just get your initial wager back. There is also no push as a loss but we cannot call this a “win”: It is more like a “reset”.
Some types of bets (for example, three-way moneyline) are unlikely to result in sports betting a push. The same applies to bets that have a payout for the tie outcome or that include this outcome.
Avoid push bets, aim for the win
You have learned what does push means in betting and how to avoid it in sports betting: Now it is time to use these tactics to place a bet and win. Pick one of our recommended bookmakers, place your first bet, and try to avoid betting push: We are sure that you will start winning in no time. As long as you know what is a push in betting, you can avoid this outcome easily, so make sure to read our other guides too. Good luck out there!
