The short answer
Cash out is an option some apps offer on an open bet. Instead of waiting for the game to finish, you accept a smaller amount now, and the bet is settled. If you take it, you give up the rest of the bet, both the chance of the full win and the chance of losing the stake.
The offer changes as the game goes on. If your side is doing well, the offer rises toward the full payout. If it is doing badly, the offer falls toward zero. The offer is a price, and like any price it has a margin built in for the app.
How the offer is built
Think of the offer as the current value of your ticket. Take a $50 bet on a team at +130, which would return $115.00 if it wins. Say the game has started well and the team is now priced at -150 to win, which implies a chance of about 60.0%. A fair value for your ticket at that price is its payout divided by the decimal price of the new odds: $115.00 divided by 1.667, which is about $69.00.
The app will not offer you the fair value. It builds in a margin, as it does for every price. Suppose that margin is 5% of the fair value. The offer would then be about $65.55, and you would be giving up about $3.45 compared with the fair value. These are illustrative figures. Real apps do not publish how they set the margin, and it can differ by app and by market.
When taking the offer makes sense
Cash out is neither good nor bad on its own. It is a choice, and it has a cost. Three situations are worth thinking about.
First, when you want to lock in a result because your plans or your comfort with risk changed. A smaller sure amount can be worth more to you than a larger uncertain one, and that is a fair reason, as long as you know the price of the choice.
Second, when new information makes you think the price has moved past what is fair for you. The offer reflects the app's current price. If you believe the real chance is lower than the price implies, taking the offer can make sense. If you believe it is higher, keeping the bet does.
Third, when you hold a large parlay with one leg left. The chance of winning that last leg may be modest, and the offer lets you take part of the payout. The same cost applies, and it is easy to underestimate when the number on the screen is large.
What cash out costs over time
Because the margin is built into every offer, a habit of cashing out early costs more than it appears to. If an offer is 5% below fair value each time, you pay that on every ticket you settle early, on top of the margin already in the original price. A bettor who cashes out most tickets pays the cost again and again. Keeping the bet to the end avoids that second cost, though it brings back the full swing of the result.
The original price on a bet at -110 carries a margin of about 4.76% across the market. A cash out margin comes on top. Compare the two if you can: if the app lets you see a price for betting the other side, you can check the offer against it.
Partial cash out
Some apps let you cash out part of a bet and keep the rest running. If a $50 ticket has an offer of $65.55, a partial cash out might settle half of it and leave the other half live. The same price applies to the part you settle. Partial cash out is a way to reduce the swing without giving up the whole bet, and the rules for it differ by app.
When cash out is not offered
Cash out is not available on every bet. It may be missing on some markets, on bets that are very close to settling, during a pause in play or after a change in the game's status. An app may also suspend it for a moment while prices update. If a ticket you hold shows no offer, that is not an error. Check the app's rules for the market you bet on.
Mistakes with cash out
- Taking the first offer without asking what the fair value might be.
- Cashing out many small tickets and paying the margin each time.
- Treating the offer as a prediction by the app about the result.
- Assuming that cash out is always available when you need it.
- Cashing out a winning ticket and then betting the money again at once, which turns a locked result back into risk.
A checklist before you cash out
- What would the ticket pay if it won, and what are you being offered?
- What chance does the current price imply for your side?
- Are you cashing out because of the price, or because the result is stressful to watch?
- Would you place the same bet again at the current price? If not, the offer may be fair for you.
How the offer moves as the game does
The same $50 ticket at +130 is worth different amounts as the price of your team changes. The table shows the fair value at four prices and the offer if the app keeps 5% of the fair value. Once the team is at +400 the ticket is worth less than your stake, and when it is at -300 it is worth far more.
| Team price now | Implied chance | Fair value | Offer with a 5% margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| -150 | 60.0% | $69.00 | $65.55 |
| -300 | 75.0% | $86.25 | $81.94 |
| +100 | 50.0% | $57.50 | $54.63 |
| +400 | 20.0% | $23.00 | $21.85 |
These figures come from the arithmetic above and are not offers from any app. They show the shape: the offer follows the price, and the gap between fair value and offer grows in dollars as the ticket becomes more valuable.
Cash out versus hedging
Another way to reduce the swing on a ticket is to bet the other side of the game. With the same $50 ticket, if the other team could be backed at -160, a bet of about $70.77 on it would pay out exactly the ticket's total return if it won, and it would cost that much if it lost. Between the two bets, you would lock in a result close to -$5.77 either way, before the margin on that second price is counted. Hedging has the same kind of cost as cash out, because you pay the margin on the second bet. It lets you choose the price and the amount, which cash out does not.
Keeping the bet or taking the offer: the average result
If you believe the current price is fair, keeping the ticket has an average value equal to the fair value, and the offer is lower by the margin. That gap is the average cost of taking the offer. If you believe the price is wrong, the answer changes, but be honest about whether your reason is information or feeling. A belief that comes from watching the game is often just a feeling, and the price already reflects what everyone watching can see.
Reading the cash out screen
The cash out screen usually shows a few numbers: your original stake, the amount the ticket would return if it won, and the offer. Compare the offer with the first two. If the offer is above your stake, taking it settles the ticket at a profit, and if it is below, it settles at a loss. The offer is time-sensitive: it can change between the moment you look at it and the moment you confirm, and the app may ask you to accept a new amount. Take a moment to read the confirmation line, because a settled ticket cannot be reopened.
Practicing without money
You can test your reading of offers without staking anything. Take any ticket you might place, compute its payout with the odds calculator, then compute what it would be worth at a few different prices using the method above. After a few tries, you will recognize quickly when an offer looks far from fair, and you will know what the gap costs. That habit is more useful than any rule about when to cash out.
A note on timing
Offers can be withdrawn without warning, for example when the app suspends a market while it updates prices. If you plan to cash out at a certain point, remember that the option may not be there when you reach it. A plan that depends on cash out being available is a plan that can fail, so decide first what you would do if the button is gone: keep the ticket, or accept the result as it stands.
Words you will meet
- Cash out: settling an open bet early for an amount the app offers.
- Partial cash out: settling part of a bet and leaving the rest live.
- Fair value: the value of a ticket at the current price with no margin.
- Margin: the amount the app builds into a price.
- Open bet: a bet that has not been settled yet.
Keeping it in proportion
Cash out can make a game more tense, because the offer moves with every play. That can push you to bet more or to settle sooner than you planned. Decide your limits before you start, and treat any result as entertainment spending. Should betting stop being fun, the tools and help on the responsible gambling page are there, and you can call 1-800-GAMBLER at any hour. The guide to how sportsbooks make money explains the margin behind every price, including cash out offers.
Frequently asked questions
What does cash out mean in sports betting?
It means settling an open bet early for an amount the app offers, instead of waiting for the result.
Is cash out a good deal?
It is a price with a margin built in. Taking it can suit your goals, but it costs something compared with fair value.
Why does the cash out offer change?
It follows the current price of the bet. As your side gets more likely to win, the offer rises, and as it gets less likely, the offer falls.
Can you cash out part of a bet?
Some apps allow partial cash out. The rules differ by app and market.
Why is there no cash out button on my bet?
Cash out may not be offered on every market, and it can be suspended while prices update or near the end of an event.
Does cash out remove the sportsbook margin?
No. The margin is built into the offer, so it adds a second cost on top of the margin in the original price.