Double chance and draw no bet
Double chance is one bet on two of the three results of a game: home or draw, away or draw, or either team. Draw no bet, also called tie no bet, is a bet on a team where a draw refunds your stake. Both are built from the three-way line, and you can build them yourself to check what the book charges.
Where they come from
In soccer, and in any sport that can end level, the basic bet is the three-way moneyline: home, draw or away, and one of the three wins. Bet a team on that line and a draw beats you. Double chance and draw no bet are the two ways the book sells you protection against the draw. They are not new opinions of the game. They are the same three prices, combined.
Take one match, priced like this.
| Result | Price | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|
| Home | +150 | 40.00% |
| Draw | +230 | 30.30% |
| Away | +190 | 34.48% |
The three add up to 104.78 percent, so the book's cut on this line is 4.78 over a hundred. I'd always add up the three like this before betting any of them. Every price below is worked from these three, and the method for turning a price into a percentage is on the implied probability page.
Double chance
A double chance bet wins if either of your two results happens. Home or draw is written 1X, away or draw is X2, and home or away is 12. Because it covers two results, it is a short price.
To build one yourself, split your money so that both results pay the same. For home or draw with $100, put $56.90 on the home team at +150 and $43.10 on the draw at +230. A home win returns $142.24, and so does a draw. Either way you are up $42.24, which is double chance home or draw at about -237.
Do the same for the other two and the three-way line gives you these.
| Double chance | Built from the three-way line | Needs to win |
|---|---|---|
| Home or draw (1X) | -237 | 70.30% |
| Away or draw (X2) | -184 | 64.79% |
| Home or away (12) | -292 | 74.48% |
Now look at the book's own double chance price. If it lists home or draw at -250, that needs 71.43 percent, and you'd be paying more for the book's version than for the one you can build from its own prices. If it lists -220, take theirs.
I rarely bet double chance. At -237 you risk $237 to win $100, and one bad result takes more than two good ones gave you. It suits a player whose view is exactly that a team won't lose, and away or draw is the way to say that about an underdog. But a short price on two outcomes is still a short price, and the margin is in it.
Draw no bet
Draw no bet backs one team. If it wins, you are paid. If the game is drawn, your stake comes back. If the other team wins, you lose. American books often call it tie no bet, and in Asian handicap terms it is the same bet as a handicap of 0.
The build is a stake on the draw big enough to return your whole stake if the game is drawn, and the rest on the team. With $100 on the home team, put $30.30 on the draw at +230, which returns $100 on a draw. Put the other $69.70 on home at +150, which returns $174.24 if home wins.
| Result | Home bet | Draw bet | You finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home wins | $174.24 back | $0 | Up $74.24 |
| Draw | $0 | $100.00 back | Even |
| Away wins | $0 | $0 | Down $100.00 |
That is draw no bet on the home team at -135. The same build for the away team, $69.70 at +190, returns $202.12 on an away win, which is about +102.
Draw no bet is the soccer bet I'd point most American bettors to first, because it behaves like the two-way moneyline they already know. The draw stops being a loss and becomes a push. I'd always make the build before betting it, because the book's draw no bet price and the one its three-way line implies are not always the same, and when they differ there is no reason to take the dearer one.
Rules worth reading
Most books settle these soccer markets on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, the same as the three-way line. Extra time and penalties usually don't count, so in a cup game a draw no bet on a team that wins on penalties is refunded, not paid. If you want the team that goes through, that is a separate "to advance" market.
I'd read that rule at your book before the knockout rounds, not after. Hockey has the same structure on its 60-minute line, where overtime and the shootout don't count, and books often offer tie no bet and double chance on that line too. The soccer guide covers the rest of the menu on a match.
Whichever you pick, a short price on a likely outcome is still a bet you can lose, and at -237 one loss erases two wins. Stake it like any other bet, a small, fixed share of your bankroll, not more because it feels safe.