How the worst case is worked out
A Nassau is three bets: the front nine, the back nine and the overall eighteen. Presses add new bets as the round goes on, and that is where the real money is. The calculator assumes the harshest realistic case: one side loses every single hole.
With an automatic press at 2 down, the losing side is 2 down after two holes, so a press starts on hole 3. That press is 2 down two holes later, so another starts on hole 5, then 7, then 9. On the front nine you lose the original bet and four presses: five bets in all. The back nine works the same way, and the eighteen hole bet gets a press on holes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17, so nine bets.
For the common 5/5/10 game that is 5 x 5 on the front, 5 x 5 on the back and 10 x 9 on the overall: 25 + 25 + 90 = 140, against a headline of 20. The calculator shows that number first and then breaks it down by bet.
Why presses matter more than the stake
The headline stake tells you very little about how much a Nassau can cost. The press rules decide it. Allowing a press to be pressed, pressing at 1 down instead of 2, and doubling the stake of each press all multiply the exposure. A press limit is the simplest fix: limiting presses to two per bet, for example, brings the 5/5/10 worst case down to 60.
What this does not tell you
It is a worst case, not a forecast. In a real round the losing side wins some holes and presses get won back, so most rounds end far from the maximum. It also leaves out an extra one-hole press on the last hole of each nine, which some groups add. If you play that rule, add one press stake per bet.
How to use it
- Agree your press rules on the first tee and put the number from this page on the card.
- If anyone in the group is uneasy about the worst case, change one setting, such as a press limit, and look again.
- For a group of three or five, every pair plays its own Nassau, so work out one pairing and multiply by the number of opponents.
This calculator does arithmetic only. It never holds, moves or takes a share of money; players settle among themselves.