Push
A bet that ends in a tie against the spread or total, where your stake comes right back to you.
A push happens when the final result of a game lands exactly on the point spread or total the sportsbook set. When that happens, nobody wins the bet and your original stake is returned in full. Think of a push as neither a win nor a loss — it’s basically a tie between you and the book.
Pushes can only happen when the spread or total is a whole number. For instance, if a football team is favored by exactly 3 points and wins by exactly 3, that’s a push. If the total for a basketball game is 210 and the combined final score comes out to exactly 210, everyone betting over and under simply gets their money back. That’s exactly why sportsbooks so often use half-point lines (like -3.5 or a total of 210.5) — the half point rules out a push and guarantees a clear result on every bet.
When a push lands on one leg of a parlay, that leg usually drops off and the parlay is recalculated with fewer legs. So a four-team parlay with one push simply becomes a three-team parlay.
Example
The Green Bay Packers are favored by 7 points (-7) against the Chicago Bears. You put $100 on the Packers at -110 odds. The final score is Packers 24, Bears 17 — a margin of exactly 7 points. Since the winning margin matches the spread to the dot, the bet grades out as a push. Your $100 stake goes back into your account, with no profit and no loss recorded.
If the Packers had won 25-17 (an 8-point margin), your bet would have won. If they’d won 23-17 (a 6-point margin), the Bears would have covered and your bet would have lost.
Key Points
- Pushes only occur on whole-number lines: If the spread or total has a half point (like -3.5 or 220.5), a push can’t happen. That half point guarantees a winner every time.
- Your stake is fully refunded: A push costs you nothing. You get your entire wager back as if the bet had never happened.
- Key numbers increase push frequency: In football, spreads of 3 and 7 lead to more pushes because games so often end on those exact margins. Both bettors and books watch these numbers closely.
- Parlays are adjusted, not voided: If one leg of a parlay pushes, the parlay doesn’t lose. That leg drops out and the remaining legs set the payout at adjusted odds.
- Buying half points can avoid pushes: Some sportsbooks let you buy a half point (for example, moving a spread from -3 to -2.5) for slightly worse odds, specifically to dodge landing on a push.