How bonus bets work
A bonus bet is a stake the sportsbook gives you. Some books call it a free bet or bet credit. If it wins, you get the winnings. You don’t get the stake back. That one rule decides how you should use it.
Why a $100 bonus bet isn’t worth $100
A $100 cash bet at +400 pays $500 if it wins: $400 of winnings plus your $100 back. A $100 bonus bet at the same price pays $400. The $100 was never yours, so it doesn’t come back.
You also can’t withdraw a bonus bet. You have to bet it, usually within a week or two, and some come with minimum odds. Read the terms on yours before you use it.
Turn it into cash with a hedge
Place the bonus bet on one side of a game. Then bet the other side with cash at a different book, sized so you end up with the same amount whoever wins.
Say you have a $100 bonus bet. One book has a team at +400 and another book has the other side at −450.
If the bonus wins, you collect $400 and lose the $327.27 hedge. If the hedge wins, it returns $400.00 on the $327.27 you put in. Either way you’re up $72.73. That’s a 72.7% conversion. It’s locked in only if both bets stand, so check that the odds haven’t moved before you place the second one.
Hedge = bonus × (bonus decimal odds − 1) ÷ hedge decimal odds Cash kept = bonus × (bonus decimal odds − 1) − hedge
Which odds convert best
The usual advice is to use a bonus bet on long odds. That’s only half right. Longer odds raise the winnings you’re protecting, but they also multiply the vig you pay on the hedge. In a normal market, conversion peaks around +400 and falls off after that.
| Bonus at | Hedge at | Cash kept | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| −200 | +164 | $31.08 | 31.1% |
| +100 | −120 | $45.50 | 45.5% |
| +200 | −247 | $57.67 | 57.7% |
| +300 | −388 | $61.50 | 61.5% |
| +400 | −545 | $62.00 | 62% |
| +500 | −722 | $60.83 | 60.8% |
| +700 | −1150 | $56.00 | 56% |
| +1000 | −2078 | $45.91 | 45.9% |
$100 bonus bet. Assumes the two sides make a market with a 4.5% hold (what −110 on both sides works out to), the same at every price. Longshot markets usually hold more, so long odds do even worse in real life.
At −200 you keep 31.1%, because the winnings are small. At +1000 you keep 45.9%, because the hedge side is so expensive.
So why did the example above reach 72.7%? Because +400 at one book and −450 at another add up to only a 1.8% hold. The real trick is shopping the hedge across books. A better hedge price is worth more than picking +400 over +300.
What counts as a good conversion
Turning 70% or more of a bonus bet into cash is solid. Above 75% is very good. If the best you can find is in the 50s, compare a few more books or wait for prices to move.
Mistakes that cost money
- Betting a bonus bet on a heavy favorite. At −200 you keep about a third of it.
- Hedging at the same book. Its own two prices carry its full margin, so you keep less.
- Letting it expire. An unused bonus bet is worth nothing.
- Rounding the hedge carelessly. A few dollars off on a big hedge leaves you better off on one side and worse on the other.
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