Sportsbook promo guides
Plain-English explanations of how promotions turn into cash. Every figure is calculated with the same engine as the calculators, and each guide states its assumptions.
Place the bonus bet on one side of a market at one sportsbook, then bet cash on the other side at a different sportsbook, sized so both outcomes return the same amount. What you end up with is the bonus bet's calculated result at the prices shown, and it's always less than face value, because a bonus bet never returns its stake.
How much of a bonus bet can you actually turn into cash? The answer is arithmetic, not luck, and it depends mostly on the odds you choose. Here is the formula, a table of what it produces, and the trade-offs.
A second-chance bet (also sold as "no sweat", "bet reset" or "first bet back") refunds your qualifying bet as bonus bets if it loses. Because bonus bets don't return their stake, the refund is worth less than its face value. What the promotion is worth depends on the odds of your qualifying bet and the conversion rate you can get on the refund.
FanCash is the Fanatics loyalty currency. On the sportsbook you can convert it into bonus bets at 1 FanCash = $1 or, on eligible wagers, spend it on a profit boost shown on the bet slip. Converted bonus bets work like any other: the stake isn't returned and they expire 7 days after conversion. Compare the two options per FanCash spent before you redeem.
A profit boost raises the profit on a winning bet by a percentage, and most boosts have a limit: a maximum stake or a maximum on the extra winnings. Once you reach it, betting more adds nothing from the boost, so the usual best stake is the one that exactly reaches the cap.
A bonus bet and a profit boost are both promotions, but they pay out differently, so comparing their face amounts is misleading. Here is how to compare them fairly, with a worked example.