A lot of terms get bandied about in the world of sports betting. And this one comes up super often. A push is something that happens to every single sports bettor at one point or another.

And if you don't really know what a push is, we're here to give you a little push to understand it for once and for all. Then the next time it pops up on bet365 or even next time you're chatting sports wagers with your friends, you're going to know the full skinny.

What does push mean in betting?

A push is simply when you don't win or lose a bet. Your stake is just refunded to you. Pretty anticlimactic, right? When you're placing a wager, your flirting with danger a little. You want a win, ideally. But getting a refund? Well that's not really any fun, is it?

And it's not good for the sportsbook either. As we know, they need an overround to make a profit. Refunding a stake doesn't fulfil that either.

So a push is pretty meh really. But it happens. And we're going to tell you when, why and how it does.

A push is possible when…

There are a few occasions in sports betting when a push is possible. As a rule of thumb, they can happen during point spread bets, moneyline bets or over/under bets. You might also get a push happening when something like an injury or a postponement happens. No one can control it, so bookmakers like bet365 tend to refund stakes when things like that happen.

And here are some examples

Alright, so imagine you've got an over/under bet on your favourite soccer team scoring over 2 goals during the next match. They score exactly two goals. That's neither over or under, so your stake is refunded. Of course, for the eagle-eyed bettors among us, you might note that the vast majority of the time, those over/under goal bets are set at 2.5 so there's always a winner or loser. But the odd time, you might spot this happening.

In the case of point spread, there could be a spread of +/- 5 points in say a basketball match. The final score ends up at 50-45 and what happens? Yes, it's a push.

Meanwhile, in moneyline markets, you can get a push if there's a draw and you weren't able to select that option. Having said that, the vast majority of sportsbooks avoid that scenario entirely by giving a draw as an option.

Help! I've got an accumulator and there's a push bet smack bang in the middle of it

Ah accumulators. They've gotten so darn popular the Wall Street Journal even have a podcast about them. But what does happen if a push is part of your carefully chosen multiple selections? It's simple really. That selection is just going to be voided and the rest of your acca will play out without it.

Of course, your odds will change a little as a result and your potential winnings too, but at least your other carefully picked options can play out.

Pushes = ties = draws?

Do all of these things mean the same thing? Actually no, even though they are very very similar.

So with a push, you don't win and neither does the bookmaker.

If there's a tie on a bet, both teams have the same result at the end of the match and your stake is refunded. Having said that, that only applies if there's no option to bet on a tied result.

Meanwhile, a draw is when the game actually doesn't finish. No finish, means no valid result. And that means your bet goes straight back into your account.

Using push bets to minimise losses

Some people think push bets help minimise losses. And they do, actually. But what you have to remember is that you can't bet on a push bet. Sure you can bet on markets where a push is possible, but it might not turn out that way. Our advice? Do the research, bet on the markets that take your fancy, whether that's for fun or because you really think you're on to something.

But when it comes to minimising losses, the best way to do that is to stick to your gambling budget and make sure you set good deposit limits. And of course never, ever gamble with money you can't afford or aren't prepared to lose.

A closer look at push bets on bet365

Like many of us, you might be a bet365 punter. Or perhaps you're thinking about joining (here's a bet365 bonus code that you can use when you sign up). Either way, it can be useful to see exactly what they talk about when it comes to push betting.

On bet365, they say a push can happen when a game is tied after the handicap or total is taken on board. So like the example we used above, if you've got a -5.0 spread on a team that wins by 5 points, your stake is refunded because that means the score is tied after your handicap is applied. You can read more about it here.

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