What is draw no bet?

Last updated: November 9, 2026

Short answer: draw no bet (DNB) is a football market where you pick one team and the draw is taken off the table. If that team wins, the selection pays at its price; if the match ends level, it is refunded in full; if the other team wins, it loses. It sits between a straight win and double chance.

The idea is simple, but the real understanding lies in the price. A refund on the draw is not free: it is paid for with a lower price than the straight win. Seeing exactly how much lower, and why, tells you when the market is a sensible way to describe a match and when it only feels safer.

How it settles in each of the three outcomes

Full-time result	DNB on the home team	DNB on the away team
Home win	Wins, paid at the DNB price	Loses
Draw	Refunded (void)	Refunded (void)
Away win	Loses	Wins, paid at the DNB price

Two details matter. First, "refunded" means the selection is treated as if it never existed: it is neither a win nor a loss. Second, the market is usually settled on regular time only, stoppage time included. Extra time and penalties in a cup tie normally do not count, so a 1-1 after 90 minutes is a draw for DNB purposes even if one side goes through later. Settlement rules can vary, so it is worth checking the definition being used.

Where the price comes from

Take a purely hypothetical fixture with these 1X2 prices: home win 2.10, draw 3.40, away win 3.60. Dividing 1 by each price gives the implied probabilities: about 47.6%, 29.4% and 27.8%. They add up to roughly 104.8%; the extra 4.8 points are the margin built into any odds list, which we cover in our guide to reading football odds.

A DNB line on the home side can be rebuilt from two of those prices. Split one unit so that about 0.294 sits on the draw and about 0.706 on the home win. If the match is drawn, 0.294 × 3.40 brings back roughly 1.00, which is exactly the refund. If the home side wins, 0.706 × 2.10 brings back roughly 1.48. So the DNB price implied by these numbers is:

home win price × (1 − 1 ÷ draw price) = 2.10 × (1 − 1 ÷ 3.40) ≈ 2.10 × 0.706 ≈ 1.48

For comparison, double chance 1X covers the home win and the draw together, and its price works out at 1 ÷ (0.476 + 0.294) ≈ 1.30. That gives a clear ladder for the home side: 1X at 1.30, DNB at 1.48, straight win at 2.10. Each step down the ladder gives up some price in exchange for protection against the draw.

A worked example, one unit at a time

Using the hypothetical prices above, here is what each reading of the home side returns per unit in each outcome:

Result	Home win at 2.10	DNB home at 1.48	1X at 1.30
Home win	2.10 back (+1.10)	1.48 back (+0.48)	1.30 back (+0.30)
Draw	0 (−1.00)	1.00 back (0)	1.30 back (+0.30)
Away win	0 (−1.00)	0 (−1.00)	0 (−1.00)

The table shows what DNB really is. It does not protect against the away win at all; that row is identical in every column. What it changes is the draw row, from a loss to a neutral result, and it pays for that by cutting the gain on a home win from 1.10 to 0.48.

When the market is a sensible way to read a match

A team you rate as more likely to win than to lose, with a draw that is genuinely possible. A home side that controls games but struggles to finish its chances, for example, against a visitor that sits deep.
An away favourite at a stubborn ground. When the visiting side is stronger but the hosts rarely lose heavily at home, the draw is the main obstacle, and DNB isolates exactly that question.
Closely matched teams where you lean one way. If the case for one side is real but slim, DNB asks only "who wins, if someone wins", which is often the honest question.

When it adds little

Heavy favourites. With a home win at 1.25 and a draw at 6.00, the formula gives 1.25 × (1 − 1 ÷ 6.00) ≈ 1.04. When the draw is unlikely, removing it leaves almost no price.
Matches where the draw is the most likely story. If you actually expect a tight 0-0 or 1-1, DNB only refunds that scenario; it does not reward it. Double chance, or a goal market such as under 2.5, asks the better question.

Draw no bet, the handicap and double chance

DNB is mathematically the same as an Asian handicap of 0: a win pays, a draw is refunded, a loss loses. Our handicap guide explains the quarter and half lines that sit either side of it. Double chance, by contrast, counts the draw as a success rather than a refund; the double chance guide covers its three options in detail.

Common mistakes

Treating a refund as a win. A draw on a DNB line is neutral. Over many matches, refunds only spread the outcomes; they do not improve the reading.
Ignoring the price ladder. If DNB sits barely above the double chance price, 1X counts the draw as a success for almost no extra cost; if it sits barely below the straight win, the draw was never a big factor.
Forgetting regular time. A cup tie won on penalties after a 1-1 is still a draw for this market.

In short

Draw no bet narrows the question to "if this match has a winner, who is it?" Its price can be rebuilt from the home and draw prices, and it always lands between double chance and the straight win. Whether it suits a fixture depends on how big a role the draw plays, which still comes down to reading the teams: home and away form kept separate, goal production, squad news and what each side needs from the game.

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