Golf Dead Heat Rules:
How Ties Pay (With Calculator)

What does dead heat mean in golf betting?

Golf has no tiebreak for most finishing spots. Only the winner gets a playoff. If three guys finish T9, they are all listed as 9th.

That's fine until the tie spills past your cutoff. Say you bet a player to finish top 10 and he ends T9 with three other players. Four players are tied, but only two spots are left inside the top 10 (9th and 10th). Four guys, two spots. The book can't pay all four bets in full, so it splits them.

That split is the dead heat. PGATour.com describes it the same way: your stake gets cut down, winnings are figured on the smaller stake, and the rest is graded a loss.

Try your own bet in the calculator below. Plug in your stake, your odds, the spots left and the number of players tied.

DEAD HEAT CALCULATOR

Stake ($)OddsPaid spots leftPlayers tied

PAID AT FULL ODDS$5.00

YOU GET BACK$20.00

PROFIT+$10.00

WITH NO TIE+$30.00

Example: your player ties for 9th with 3 others and only 2 top 10 spots are left. Change any number.

How is a dead heat calculated?

Here is the whole formula in three steps.

1. Find the spots left. Spots left = your cutoff, minus the tied position, plus 1. A T9 in a top 10 bet: 10 minus 9 plus 1 = 2 spots.
2. Find your paid stake. Paid stake = stake x spots left / players tied.
3. Pay that part at full odds. The rest of your stake loses.

Quick check on the T9 example. You bet $100 at +300 on a top 10. Four players tie for 9th, so 2 spots are left.

• Paid stake: $100 x 2 / 4 = $50.
• $50 at +300 wins $150 profit. You get back $200 ($150 plus the $50).
• The other $50 loses.
• Net result: +$100, not the +$300 you were dreaming about.

Some books, like DraftKings, describe it as cutting the decimal odds by the number of players tied instead of cutting the stake. Sports Betting Dime gives the example: $100 at +200 (3.0 in decimal) in a two-way tie becomes 1.5, so you get back $150. That is the exact same money as a stake cut: $50 at +200 also returns $150.

What do dead heats look like in real bets?

Five examples, one for each market where ties come up most.

Top 10 tie

$100 on a top 10 at +300. Your player finishes T9 with three others (4 tied, 2 spots left).

• Paid stake: $100 x 2 / 4 = $50.
• Return: $50 + ($50 x 3) = $200.
• Net: +$100.

Top 20 tie on a short price

$60 on a top 20 at -120. Your player finishes T20 with two others (3 tied, 1 spot left).

• Paid stake: $60 x 1 / 3 = $20.
• At -120 you win $1 for every $1.20. $20 wins $16.67.
• Return: $20 + $16.67 = $36.67.
• Net: -$23.33. The ticket says "win." Your balance says you lost money.

First round leader 3-way tie

$10 on a first round leader at +4000. Three players share the lead after Round 1 (3 tied, 1 spot).

• Paid stake: $10 x 1 / 3 = $3.33.
• Profit on $3.33 at +4000: $133.33.
• Return: $136.67.
• Net: +$126.67 instead of +$400.

This happens. At the 2020 Masters, three players shared the first round lead. Action Network figured their pre-round prices of 30-1, 60-1 and 150-1 paid roughly 10-1, 20-1 and 50-1 after the split. With a stake cut, the exact numbers are a bit lower: about 9.3-1, 19.3-1 and 49.3-1.

3-ball tie for low

$30 on a 3-ball at +150. Your player ties one other player for low score (2 tied, 1 spot).

• Paid stake: $30 x 1 / 2 = $15.
• Profit on $15 at +150: $22.50.
• Return: $37.50.
• Net: +$7.50.

Action Network says most books handle 3-ball ties this way: half the stake loses and the other half pays at your odds. If all three players tie, your paid stake drops to one third.

Matchup tie that pushes

$55 on a head-to-head matchup at -110. Both players shoot the same score.

• Many books grade this as a push. Per Action Network, a two-way tie in a 2-ball is a push.
• You get your $55 back. Net: $0.
• If a book used dead heat here instead, you would have $27.50 paid at -110. That returns $52.50. Net: -$2.50. DraftKings' house rules work this way when no "Tie" option is offered (more below).

A push is better for you than a dead heat at any price shorter than +100. More on matchups below.

All five at a glance

Which golf bets use dead heat rules?

Dead heats hit any bet where a tie can cross your line.

• Top 5, top 10, top 20 and other finishing spots. This is where most dead heats happen. Our top 10 and top 20 guide covers these bets in full.
• First round leader. Lots of players bunch near the lead after 18 holes, so splits are common.
• 3-balls. A tie for low between two of the three players splits your stake.
• Each way place part. The place half of an each way bet is a finishing position bet, so check how your book settles a tie at the last paid spot.

Outrights to win almost never dead heat in regular events. A playoff decides the winner, as Sports Betting Dime notes. The playoff only settles first place. Every other spot stays tied.

Do golf matchups use dead heat rules?

It depends on the book. Many head-to-head matchups void or push on a tie, or the book lists "Tie" as its own option at a price. FanDuel's house rules void a tied 2-ball when no tie price is offered and refund a tied tournament matchup. If the book offers a tie option, read the slip closely. A tie may grade your player as a loss.

DraftKings is the big exception. Its house rules apply dead heat to any golf tie unless "Tie" is offered as a pick, the bet says "(Inc. ties)", or a playoff settles it. So a tied matchup there with no tie option pays half, not a refund.

Rules change by book and by market (18-hole 2-ball vs. 72-hole tournament matchup), so read the bet slip and your book's golf rules before you bet. Our matchups guide walks through the common setups.

How do DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM handle golf ties?

Books differ in two ways: what they cut, and whether they cut at all.

Stake cut vs. odds cut. Most books cut your stake. A few have cut the American odds (your profit) instead, which is kinder to you. That is not the same as the DraftKings decimal odds cut above, which pays the same as a stake cut. Action Network's example: $100 on a top 20 at +200 with a two-way tie for 20th.

• Stake cut: $50 at +200 returns $150.
• American odds cut: $100 at +100 returns $200.

Same tie, $50 more for you with the odds cut. Action Network's data lists PointsBet as an odds-cut book in 2020. That was then. Check any book's current rule before you count on it.

What each big book does (as reported):

These are reports from betting sites, not the books' own rule pages. Books change rules. Treat this table as a starting point and check your book's house rules.

"Ties included" markets. Action Network says DraftKings, bet365 and BetMGM have offered finishing position bets that pay ties in full, at a worse price. Their example: a +400 that drops to about +315 with ties included. You are paying for tie insurance. Sometimes it is worth it. Often it is not.

How do dead heats change the value of a bet?

Here is the part most bettors skip. A dead heat can turn a winning ticket into a losing day.

A tied bet only makes money if the paid share times the decimal odds is more than 1. In plain words, your odds have to be long enough to cover the part of your stake that got thrown away.

If your odds are shorter than the break-even price, the "win" loses money. If they are longer, you still make a profit.

Quick proof on the 1/3 row: $90 at +200, 3 tied for 1 spot. Paid stake $30. Profit $60. Return $90. Net $0.

That's why short-priced top 20s are so fragile. At -150, any tie that pays half or less loses you money. Favorites at the cutoff get squeezed the hardest.

It also means the sticker price lies a little. A top 20 at +150 is not really a +150 bet. Some of the time it lands in a tie and pays less. So a book with a slightly longer price and dead heat rules can still beat a book with full tie pay at a much shorter price. Compare after ties, not before.

Tips for betting around dead heat rules

• Shop the price every time. A few cents of better odds is your cushion when a tie hits. Our how to bet on golf guide covers line shopping.
• Be careful with short prices on finishing bets. As the table shows, a tie turns a short price like -120 into a loss much more easily.
• Know your book's rule before you bet. Stake cut, odds cut, or ties paid in full. Read the golf section of the house rules.
• Think about where the pack will be. Easy courses and soft fields bunch scores together. More bunching means more ties at the line.
• Run the math before you celebrate. Use the calculator above. Your player finishing T20 is not the same as cashing a top 20.
• Take ties-included markets only at a fair price. Taking +315 instead of +400 gives up about a fifth of your profit on every win. Ties have to happen a lot to make that worth it.

Golf betting has long odds and cold stretches. Dead heats add one more source of swing. Bet sizes that let you survive a bad month matter more than any one tie. Only bet with licensed, legal sportsbooks, and you must be 21 or older.

Every official Fairway Insider pick is graded in units, win or lose, ties and all. Judge it on the record.