A betting market that removes the result of a draw in three-way markets is Draw No Bet, allowing punters to bet on either a home or away win. This feature explains what a Draw No Bet is, shows examples of bets, and describes how to calculate your Draw No Bet odds on 1X2 markets.

Draw No Bet is increasingly popular with savvy punters and risk-averse traders as a low-margin two-way market. Many punters underestimate the likelihood of a draw. However, looking back over five Premier League seasons (2012/13-2016/17), an average of 25% of all matches ended in a draw.

Draw No Bet is a way for punters to reduce the likelihood of a losing bet and can be used to:

• Back an outsider with the safety of the Draw
• Hed your bet if you think there is a reasonable chance of a draw
• Change a big favorite during the game when they are losing

Draw No Bet, meaning

A draw no bet removes the draw option from the stake and allows bettors to bet on a home or away win.

If your selection is successful, your bet wins. If the match finishes in a draw, your wager will return to you. In other words, neither win nor lose. If the team you support loses, your bet is lost.

By comparison, if you bet on a three-way market instead of a draw no bet, and the match ends in a tie, you lose your bet.

As a result of removing the draw option, the Draw no bet market odds are lower than the three-way market odds.

Draw No Bet Explained

The Draw No bet market is provided by bookmakers and betting exchanges. However, if no markets are available, you can create your Draw no bet odds using 1X2 odds.

How to bet on the Draw no bet market

Betting on the Draw no bet market is straightforward. Let’s say you want to bet on Arsenal playing SC Freiburg in the Champions League qualifiers. Arsenal was leading 2–1 on aggregate, and the first game was close.

At odds of 1X2, Arsenal would win the game at 1.68, while the Draw no bet odds are shown below.

• Arsenal win: 1.28
• SC Freiburg win: 4.3

If you bet $200 on Arsenal at odds of 1.28 on the Draw no bet market, your profit would be:

Result	Profit
Arsenal win	+ $56
Draw	$0 ($200 stake returned)
SC Freiburg win	– $200

 

Make Your Draw No Bet Odds on 1X2 Markets

By combining the odds posted on the 1X2 market, we can calculate the true odds of a draw no bet. It works by distributing the stakes on either home wins and draws or away wins and draws; if the game ends in a Draw, the stakes will return to you.

You can calculate your draw no bet odds from the 1X2 market by following two easy steps:

• Convert 1X2 odds to draw no bet odds
• Calculate the Draw no bet stakes

Using the Arsenal-SC Freiburg match as an example, you want to bet $200 on Arsenal. The 1X2 odds are displayed below.

• Arsenal win: 1.68
• Draw: 4.4
• SC Freiburg win: 5.6

Convert 1X2 odds to draw no bet odds

First, we must convert the 1X2 odds to draw no bet odds. The formula below shows how it works for both home and away teams.

Home Draw No Bet Odds = (1- (1/1X2 Draw Odds)) * 1X2 Home odds

Away Draw No Bet Odds = (1- (1/1X2 Draw Odds)) * 1X2 Away odds

In this example, we need to calculate the home team Arsenal draw no bet odds.

Arsenal Draw No Bet Odds = (1- (1 / 4.4)) * 1.68 = 1.30

It shows that the total draw no bet odds on the 1X2 market is 1.30 compared to 1.28 on the actual Draw no bet market.

Draw No Bet Stake Calculation

The formula below explains calculating the $200 amount you need to bet on each outcome to equate to a draw no bet market.

Draw Stake = (Total Stake/Draw Odds)

In this example: Draw Stake = (200/4.4) = $45.45

The calculation for home or away wins as follows:

Home Win = (Total Stake – Tie Stake) = Home Stake

Example: Arsenal stake = (200 – 45.45) = $154.55

Now you must bet $154.55 on Arsenal and $45.45 on a draw.

Note: When calculating your draw no bet odds on a betting exchange, you must convert the odds offered and factor your commission into the odds during the staking phase. This article explains how to calculate betting exchange fees into odds.

Profit calculation

The formula below shows how to calculate the payout for your draw no bet market.

Home Win = (Home Stake * (Home Odds – 1) – Draw Stake)

Example: (154.55 * (1.68-1) – 45.45) = 59.64

Draw = (Tie Stake * (Tie Odds -1) – Home Stake)

Example: (45.45 * (4.4 -1) – 154.55 = -0.02)

Result	Profit
Arsenal win	+ $59.64
Draw	-$0.02 ($154.53 returned)
SC Freiburg win	– $200

 

Betting on the draw no bet market vs. calculating your odds

After calculating your draw no bet odds, you will know if you prefer to do so yourself or bet directly on the draw no bet market.

This example shows a 6.5% increase in profit by calculating your odds from the 1X2 market compared to the draw no bet offered. Since betting is about getting value, in this example, we will create our Draw no bet odds from the 1X2 market to make more money.

Asian Handicap as a Substitute to Draw No Bet Betting

You can also use the Level Asia Handicap Betting Market, which shows the handicap as 0. If the game finishes in a draw, they will refund the stake. Effectively the same result as a draw, no bet.

However, Draw No Bet offers bettors the ability to calculate their Draw No Bet odds using two different bookmakers or betting exchanges. It can add more value to your bet, something that the level Asian Handicap does not offer.

Apply this to betting

Now that you know what a draw no bet means and how to calculate your Draw no bet odds from the 1X2 market, you can identify better value odds. A Draw No Bet is a game that has a high probability of a Draw and also offers the option of a more risk-averse betting strategy.