Previous data point to neutral outcomes (draws) being subjectively assigned negative rather than positive value. The combined observations of faster rather than slower reaction times, subsequent actions defined by shift rather than stay behaviour, reduced flexibility, and, larger rather than smaller deviations from optimal performance all align with consequences of explicitly negative outcomes such as losses. We further tested the negative interpretation of draws via a value manipulation by assigning draws in a zero-sum game to +1, 0 or -1. If draws are inherently negative then the difference in behavioural profile comparisons should be greater when draw values are changed to a positive (+1) rather than negative (-1) value. Despite the observations of post-draw speeding and bias towards draw-shift behaviour, the degree of shift behaviour was equivalent between draw values of 0 and +1 and approached an approximation of optimal mixed-strategy performance. This was in contrast to draw values of -1 significantly increasing the degree of shift behaviour. This modification of draw behaviour was weaker when the same value modifications were applied to win or lose trials. Rather than viewing draws as neutral and valence-free outcomes, the processing cascade generated by stalemate produces a complex behavioural profile containing elements found in response to both explicitly positive and explicitly negative results.