Profit Boosts, Bonus Bets, Bet & Gets: What Promos Are Really Worth

Sportsbooks hand out promos because they bring you back to bet more. That's fine, as long as you know what each one is actually worth and use it on a bet you'd make anyway. Used well, a promo is the easiest edge in sports betting. Used badly, it's just a nudge to bet more.

The one tool you need: every price is a percentage in disguise. If that's new, start with how to find a parlay's fair odds.

Profit boosts#

A profit boost multiplies the profit on a winning bet, not the stake.

Example: a same-game parlay at +375 pays $3.75 profit per $1. A 50% profit boost makes that $5.63, so the ticket pays +563.

What it's worth depends on the bet. The simplest way to see it is the break-even: how often the bet needs to hit to not lose money.

| | Pays | Needs to hit | |---|---|---| | Before the boost | +375 | 21.1% | | With a 50% boost | +563 | 15.1% |

Use boosts on: bets you already like, especially parlays, where the book's cut is biggest and the boost cancels most of it. Check the terms: boosts usually have a maximum stake (ours was $250), a minimum number of legs and minimum odds.

Bonus bets (free bets)#

A bonus bet is a bet you place with the book's money. The catch: if it wins, you keep the profit, not the stake. A $10 bonus bet at +300 that wins pays you $30, not $40.

So its value is your chance of winning times the profit:

| $10 bonus bet at | Chance it wins (typical) | Worth, on average | |---|---|---| | −110 | about 50% | $4.55 | | +300 | about 24% | $7.20 | | +500 | about 16% | $8.00 |

(The chances are illustrative: what those prices tend to be worth once you take out the book's cut.)

Use bonus bets on: plus-money odds. Because the stake isn't returned, a bonus bet on a heavy favorite throws away most of its value. Around +200 to +500 keeps the most.

In your tracker: a bonus bet risks none of your cash. On Boom Board's bet tracker, mark it "Free bet" and a loss costs you $0, while a win counts only the profit. That's what it really did to your bankroll.

Bet & get#

"Bet $5, get $200 in bonus bets." You make one qualifying bet, and whatever happens you get bonus bets.

Its value is mostly the bonus bets, at roughly 60–80% of their face value if you use them on plus-money odds, as above. The qualifying bet itself costs you the normal vig, a few cents on the dollar.

Use it on: the smallest qualifying bet the promo allows, on a bet you'd make anyway. Then spread the bonus bets over plus-money plays you actually like.

Second-chance and "no sweat" bets#

"If your first bet loses, we'll refund it in bonus bets." This one is worth less than it sounds: it only pays out when you lose, and it pays in bonus bets, not cash.

Rough value: the chance you lose × the refund × what a bonus bet is worth (60–80% on plus money). On a coin-flip bet with a $50 refund, that's about 0.5 × $50 × 0.7, around $17.50.

Use it on: a bet that's a genuine long shot you like. The more likely you are to lose, the more the refund is worth, and a big win is still yours.

Three rules for every promo#

1. Only on bets you'd make anyway. A promo that talks you into a bad bet is a cost, not a gift.
2. Read the terms. Maximum stake, minimum odds, minimum legs, the expiry and what cash-out does to it.
3. Track it. Log whether each bet used a promo. Over a season, you'll see what your promos were really worth, and whether the bets without one were worth making at all.