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Cashing out your bets early might seem a great solution to avoid taking further risks. It allows you to recover a part of your stakes or even profits when the odds are in your favor.
In this article, you will find out the scenarios when you should or should not cash out your bets.
It can significantly impact your long-term profitability when using this feature in the wrong case.
What does it mean to cash out your bet?
Cashing out a bet in sports betting means closing a bet by asking for a payout before the market/event is finished and evaluated automatically.
This tool offered by sportsbooks has the role of reducing losses or taking an early profit depending on the odds movement after you place your initial bet.
The cash-out amount in sports betting is always smaller than the potential maximum winnings.
This option means that a bettor is excluding the future risks or possibilities of odds movements and asks for a payout based on the current stage of the event.
A cash out option in sports betting is not offered by every sportsbook and should be used in very few cases only.
Using it results in ignoring the potential changes in sports events both in favorable or unlucky directions.
Cashing out a bet can result in lower overall profits for several reasons, including losing a part of the positive EV (expected value) of the odds.
Check my relevant article on positive EV betting tools.
When to cash out your bets?
To cash out a bet in sports betting in a smart way bettors need to take into consideration factors such as the risk tolerance, expected value of odds, and the strategy.
Generally speaking, cashing out a bet results in a lower long-term ROI because bookies tend to offer a lower amount than the actual odds would indicate.
There are only a few cases when cashing out is indicated or almost inevitable such as parlay bets with high.
In this case, the potential winnings are significantly higher compared to the risk level of losing the whole amount.
An example of such a situation would be betting $15 on a parlay, and the potential cash out amount is $500 while there is one sports event unfinished.
You can also check my relevant article on hedging a parlay bet.
When talking about cashing out as a value bettor, the role of this option changes. Generally speaking, a value bettor should not use the option of cashing out.
In the majority of cases, using this option would result in losing a big part of the positive EV on your bets. Locking in such lower profits will lower the chance of being profitable in the long run.
Another scenario when cashing out a bet is a possible solution is when a bettor has to correct a bad decision.
Such cases can be betting on the wrong markets, using too high stakes.
These mistakes can cause damage to the betting balance or have a great emotional impact. Cashing out in this situation can eliminate the risk of a big loss and psychological burden.
Should I cash out a bet when value betting?
Using the cash out option as a value bettor can be useful when the bookie offers overpriced odds on the market you have a bet on. In this case, the amount they pay out is also higher and has a positive EV.
Using a cash out option as an arbitrage bettor also has some benefits. In some cases, bettors can’t hedge their initial bets at another bookie, which is an essential part of sure betting.
In such a situation locking in a guaranteed small profit can be a wise and indicated decision.
Another reason to use the cash out option is when a bettor has a specific strategy focused entirely on this tool.
Betting techniques based on cashing out have the serious disadvantage of getting account limited very fast.
When to never cash out a bet?
Cashing out a bet should be the last solution for the majority of bettors who want an early payout.
It is well known that many bookies offer a not-so-favorable payout amount with the cash out option.
This tool was designed to increase the amounts of profits a bookmaker can make. Cashing out is not a tool that helps average bettors, in contrary.
In almost every case, asking for an early payout of your bet will result in locking in a smaller profit compared to the potential value of your bet.
The cash out amounts have the downside of being priced in a way to not offer a fair value for the bettors. It always has a large house edge applied and results in lower long-term winnings.
A bettor should never use the cash out option when there is the possibility to cover the other outcome at another bookie.
Hedging a bet at an exchange, a sharp betting site, or even at a regular bookie will almost always result in more overall profits compared to using the cash-out.
You can find bookies that have higher odds for the opposite outcome of your initial bet. With the help of a sure bet calculator, you can find out the right stakes and lock in a greater profit than you would get by cashing out.
Is cashing out worth it?
Cashing out a bet is worth it only in a small number of situations. These can be such as not being able to cover the other outcomes on better odds at another bookie.
Another situation that is worth cashing out is when the steps of covering each remaining outcome of a parlay bet would be complicated.
In every other case cashing out a bet is not essential and probably not worth it when considering only mathematical or tactical decisions.
When you take emotions and risk/profit ratio into consideration, cashing out has a different role.
Cashing out can be worth it even if the odds are unfavorable when the risk of losing is too high or the potential winnings are significant.
What are the alternatives to cashing out your bet?
1. Hedging instead of cash out
Hedging is the most common and most profitable alternative to cashing out a bet. It involves placing a bet on the opposite outcome at a different sportsbook, exchange, or betting agent platform.
The main advantage of hedging over cashing out is the additional profits a bettor can take in almost every case.
Shopping around and finding at least significantly higher odds for the same outcome is almost every time possible.
This solution will result in more profits both on this bet and in the long term.
2. Not cashing out at all
Letting the sports event finish is a better decision in almost every case. Bettors with a focus on the long-term results would decrease their expected value on almost every bet that was cashed out.
This alternative of early payout has the most benefits when the bettor is focusing on strategies based on value betting.
Sure bettors, matched bettors and many other types of strategies should not let bets conclude without cashing out/hedging a bet.
3. Partial Cash Out
Partial cash out is offered only at some bookmakers which allows the option to partially pay out a bet.
It can help you decrease your risked stakes while realizing a part of your bet as winnings/losses.
Like its name says it’s a partial solution. I would advise using it when you had a too significant stake or the odds moved in your favor on a parlay bet with big profits.
4. Laying the bet at betting exchanges
Laying a bet at a sports betting exchange is a great alternative to cash out and it’s almost identical to hedging. It can offer a greater value and higher payouts compared to a simple cash out.
How is a cash out of a bet calculated?
Bookies calculate the amount of cash out based on the statistical probability of your bet winning.
This calculation includes other factors such as the odds you placed the bet on, the stake, and the present odds of that outcome.
If the odds of your bet have increased, the cash out amount will be lower than your initial stakes.
On the other hand, if the odds are smaller compared to your initial betting the cash out amount will increase.
The cash out amount is always lower than the maximum profits you could win without using this option.
Why do betting sites offer the cash out option?
Betting sites offer the cash out option as a way to give bettors additional control over their bets.
Sportsbooks implement cash out and partial cash out options to allow bettors to lock in early profits. This tool can increase user engagement and make their customers more satisfied and have an overall better experience.
Another main reason why betting sites allow bettors to cash out early is to increase their (the sportsbook) profits with the help of higher house edges.
You can also check my relevant article on crypto betting sites.
What is an example of cashing out a bet?
Here’s an example of cashing out a bet:
You place a $100 bet on a tennis player to win at decimal odds of 3,0. If the player wins the match, your profit would be $200 ($300 winnings minus your original $100 stake).
Your player has a great start and the odds drop, move in your favor. The betting site offers a cash-out option of $230. By cashing out, you can lock in a $130 profit and you exclude the potential of winning $300 or losing the whole $100 initial stake.
Can you cash out on any bet?
At bookmakers which offer the cash out option, there are certain moments when you can’t cash out any bet.
Such occasions are critical points of an event such as a fault that could result in a penalty (soccer), or a serious injury to a tennis player.
In these moments the odds are not available and the cash out option is also disabled.
FAQ
Cashing out a bet means requesting a payout before the event concludes, based on current odds, to reduce losses or take early profit. The cash-out amount is usually less than the potential maximum winnings.
Cashing out should be considered based on risk tolerance, expected value of odds, and strategy. It often results in a lower long-term ROI but can be useful in high-risk situations like parlays.
Avoid cashing out if better outcomes can be achieved via hedging or finding higher odds at another bookie, exchange, or betting agent. This can result in higher returns.
The recommended alternatives for cashing out a bet are hedging the other outcome at another betting site or laying your initial bet at a betting exchange.
