Betting · Dead-Heat Rules

DEAD-HEAT CALCULATOR

The most overlooked tax in golf betting. When players tie across the boundary of a Top-5 / 10 / 20 market, the book settles your bet at a reduced stake — so a "winning" ticket can pay a fraction of what you expected. Here's exactly how it works, and what your real payout would be.

The Rule

If your player ties for a position that straddles the cutoff, the book divides the available paying places among everyone tied:

reduction = places available at the tie ÷ players tied

payout = stake × reduction × decimal odds

The "losing" fraction of your stake (1 − reduction) is gone. Outright win bets are never dead-heated — only place / top-finish markets.

Worked Example

You back a player Top 5 at +450 (5.5 decimal) for $100. He finishes in a 3-way tie for 4th (positions 4–5–6). Only two of those positions (4th, 5th) pay.

reduction = 2 ÷ 3 = 0.667
payout = 100 × 0.667 × 5.5 = $366.67
vs a clean win of $550 — a $183 haircut.

Your Payout

enter the situation

Market (places paid)

Tied for position

Players tied

Your odds

Stake ($)

Dead-Heat Risk · The Memorial Tournament

model probability mass right at each Top-N cutoff

These players sit closest to a paying boundary in our simulation, so they're the most likely to land in a straddling tie. On thin top-finish prices, factor the dead-heat haircut into your expected value before you bet.