How Draw No Bet Works and When to Use It in Football Betting

Football is the only major sport where a draw is a routine result. Around a quarter of all matches end level, which means backing a team to win on the standard market carries a risk that does not exist in most other sports. 

Draw no bet eliminates that risk entirely. Back a team, and if the match finishes level your stake is refunded in full.

It is one of the most practical markets on Jackpot.bet's sportsbook for football bettors who have a clear read on a team but do not want a late equaliser to end the bet.

What Is Draw No Bet

Draw no bet, or simply DNB, is a football betting market that removes the draw as a possible outcome. 

You back either the home team or the away team to win. If the match ends in a draw, your stake is refunded in full. If the team you backed loses, you lose your bet.

It reduces a three-way market down to two outcomes, unlike a spread bet where the margin of victory matters. A win pays out at the odds you took. A loss costs you your stake. A draw returns it.

The market settles on 90 minutes plus stoppage time only. Extra time does not count, even in knockout fixtures where the game continues beyond normal time. 

A match that finishes 1-1 after 90 minutes settles as a draw regardless of what happens in extra time or penalties.

Jackpot.bet lists this market as "Draw no pick" on the sportsbook, but it operates on exactly the same terms.

How Draw No Bet Odds Work

Because the draw has been removed as a losing outcome, the odds in a draw no bet market are always lower than the standard match result. 

The sportsbook is taking on less risk by refunding draw outcomes, and that reduced risk is reflected in the price you receive.

Take a Premier League example. Chelsea at home to Crystal Palace might be priced at 1.60 to win in the standard 1X2 market. 

The same selection in the draw no bet market could drop to 1.35 or 1.40. The gap between those two prices represents the cost of the protection you are getting.

That tradeoff is the central question with draw no bet. If you back a team at 1.35 DNB and they draw frequently, the refunds add value over time. 

If draws are unlikely in the fixture type you are targeting, the reduced odds may not be worth it compared to simply taking the standard win price.

Draw No Bet vs Double Chance

Both markets reduce risk in football betting, but they work in different ways and suit different situations.

Double chance lets you cover two of the three possible outcomes in a single bet. You can back a team to win or draw, which means only a loss eliminates your bet. 

The tradeoff is that the odds are lower than both the standard match result and draw no bet, because you are covering more ground.

Draw no bet covers only a win, with the draw returning your stake rather than paying out. The odds sit between the double chance price and the standard win price, lower than backing the win outright, but higher than double chance.

The practical difference comes down to what you are trying to protect against. Double chance suits situations where you think a draw is a realistic outcome but still want a return if it happens.

Draw no bet suits situations where you expect a win but want insurance against an unexpected draw without sacrificing too much on the odds.

Draw No Bet in Accumulators

Draw no bet works in accumulators, but it behaves differently from a standard win selection.

In a standard accumulator, a draw on any leg loses the entire bet. With a draw no bet leg, a draw voids that selection and removes it from the accumulator, the bet continues with the remaining legs, but at reduced odds. 

If you had five teams in an acca and one leg ends in a draw, you effectively have a four-team acca at lower odds rather than a losing ticket.

That makes draw no bet a practical option for accumulators involving tight fixtures.

Rather than avoiding those matches entirely, you can include them as DNB legs and protect the overall bet from collapsing on a single equaliser.

The tradeoff is the same as in singles, you are accepting lower odds on each DNB leg in exchange for that protection. 

Over a long accumulator with several DNB legs, the compounded reduction in odds can be significant, so it is worth being selective about which legs genuinely need the cover.

When Draw No Bet Makes Sense

Draw no bet is not a market to use on every fixture. It works best in specific situations where the odds reduction is justified by the genuine risk of a draw.

The most natural fit is backing a marginal favourite in a competitive fixture. A team in good form playing away from home against a defensively solid side is a classic example, similar situations where handicap betting is also worth considering, you back them to win, but the away nature of the game makes a draw plausible. DNB lets you hold that position without the draw killing the bet.

It also makes sense when backing a team mid-season that is underperforming relative to their quality. Good teams in poor runs often draw rather than lose. 

The underlying quality is there but the results are not fully reflecting it yet, which makes the draw a more likely outcome than usual.

The market is less useful when backing heavy favourites. At already short odds, the DNB price can drop to a level where the return barely justifies the stake.

In those cases, the standard win market or a double chance may serve better depending on what you are trying to achieve.

Conclusion 

Draw no bet gives you a practical way to back a team without a draw costing you the bet. 

The odds are lower than the standard market, but in the right fixture, a tight away game, a marginal favourite, a team in inconsistent form, that tradeoff makes sense. 

Used selectively on Jackpot.bet's sportsbook, it is a tool that adds flexibility to how you approach football betting rather than a blanket solution for every match.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does draw no bet mean? 

Draw no bet is a market where you back a team to win and receive your stake back if the match ends in a draw. Only a loss for the team you backed results in a lost bet.

How is draw no bet different from double chance? 

Double chance covers two outcomes, a win and a draw, and pays out on both. Draw no bet only pays out on a win but refunds your stake on a draw rather than counting it as a loss.

Can you use draw no bet in an accumulator? 

Yes. If a draw no bet leg ends in a draw, that selection is voided and removed from the accumulator. The bet continues with the remaining legs at reduced odds rather than losing the entire ticket.

Does draw no bet apply to extra time? 

No. The market settles on 90 minutes plus stoppage time only. A match that finishes level after normal time settles as a draw regardless of what happens in extra time or penalties.