When Should You Cash Out Your Bets: Examples and True Value Explained
Learn when, where and how to use the sports betting feature that enables punters to settle bets before the events in question are over
We’ve put together a short betting guide for those of you that are wondering what Cash Out is all about, and it’s simple really. We’ll not only explain how Cash Out works but provide real examples to make things easy to grasp.
Punters had to Cash Out manually in the old days, but now everything can be done with just one click in a few seconds, and the greatest bit is that cashing out these days doesn’t require extra funds. In other words, you can settle the bet even if you are all-in.
Try out the finest Cash-Out feature on a wide range of sporting events and betting markets!
Nevertheless, this feature has stirred some controversy amongst punters. And we’ll explain why…
Let’s find out when it’s best to close your bets before they’ve run its course and see which bookies offer the best Cash Out feature!
Quickly navigate to your desired topic:
- What Is Cash Out In Betting? Understanding The Cash Out Option
- Betting Sites That Offer Cash Out – 2023 Bookmakers Comparision
- Cash Out Betting Strategy Tips
- Cash Out Will Cost You Money – Is Cash Out Worth It?
What Is Cash Out In Betting? Understanding The Cash Out Option
Cash Out Betting Explained: The Cash Out feature allows the punter to close a bet before the events on the bet slip have been settled, regardless if the matches have started or not. You can close the bet whenever the respective market is not suspended (it tends to happen a few time during live play) unless your bookmaker decides otherwise.
Generally, bettors use this feature for one of two reasons: either to end the excitement and land a profit before the final result is decided or to minimise losses when they foresee failure.
The amount you are offered when using the feature will depend on the likelihood of the bet to win during that point in time.
In-play markets can be pretty volatile during the early stages of the event, hence why many punters have developed a habit to often inspect the Cash Out value during matches.
But let’s take a couple of basic examples to set things clear from the beginning:
Cash Out example #1: You bet on Manchester United to beat Arsenal. United go 1-0 up after 75 minutes, and their chances of winning have drastically increased, as well as the probability of your bet to win, so at this point, the bookmaker will offer you a higher sum of money than your wagered initially. If the Reds go 2-0 up 10 minutes later, then you’ll most likely be able to close the bet and obtain around 95% of the potential winnings.
Cash Out example #2: You bet on Manchester United to beat Arsenal. Arsenal goes 1-0 up after the first 45 minutes, and their chances of turning things around are slim. The odds moved in Arsenal’s favour and the odds against your initial bet. At this point, you might consider cashing out to minimise losses if you don’t feel that the Gooners will perform a comeback in the second half. The sum offered to you at this point to close the bet is based on the difference between the initial and the current odds. Therefore you should be able to recoup a portion of your initial stake even if things go pear-shaped.
Partial Cash Out gives you more control over your bets in the sense that you can select what percentage of your bet you want to cash out and leave the rest to run. Unlike the standard feature, Partial Cash Out allows you to manage the risk/reward ratio
Automatic Cash Out is a great feature that enables you to schedule when the feature will be activated. In other words, you can set a threshold, a sum that you will be satisfied with, and if the match goes your way and the reward matches your setting, the bet will be automatically closed, and the winnings will be instantly delivered to your betting account.
Don’t let yourself be confused by those bookies that call the feature Cash In instead, because it works the same way. Each betting site offers different options and terms to which sports and markets you can use this feature in, so it is advisable you do your research first in order not to be let down by your expectations, which might not match the reality offered by your bookie.
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Betting Sites That Offer Cash Out – 2023 Bookmakers Comparision
Although Value Betting and Cash Out don’t go along together, there are moments when punters can benefit from this controversial feature. We encourage responsible gambling, so we’ve put together a list of top online sportsbooks where Cash Out is available pre-match and during live betting.
These are our preferred Cash Out bookmakers in 2023:
 | Bet365 Most flexbile cash out options: Full, Partial & Auto | See Bet365 Bonus |
 | Betfred Offers Full and Partial Cash Out for most sporting events | See Betfred Free Bet |
 | William Hill They call it 'Cash In My Bet' - Partial cash in is available | See WH Free Bet |
Of course, there are a few more betting sites with Cash Out or Cash In features, such as Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Bet, Leo Vegas & Coral, along with others, but we’ve carefully analysed the UK betting market and preferred the ones featured above.
Our experts believe this is the best bookmaker for Football Accumulators
Cash Out Betting Strategy Tips
Any profitable Cash Out, even if it’s an early one, will help you secure a gain without having to wait until the end of the match, but you can’t be successful in the long run if you are using the feature randomly. That’s why the need for a Cash-Out strategy becomes crucial.
At the same time, cashing out before you lose or minimising your losses can be a good idea, as long as you’re following a plan of course. Basically, you need to figure out a profitable way to introduce Cash Out in your money management strategy.
Yes, it’s true, the Cash Out feature comes at a cost, and we’ll discuss this in detail below, and the function might also take the fun out of your bet, but you can use to your advantage if you do your homework.
To give you an example of how you can profit from this alluring betting feature, let’s think about a six-fold football accumulator bet on a Champions League night that contains only selections on the Over 1.5 Goals betting market.
The average odds for this type of bet should be around 1.20 (1/5), so the average odds of such a bet slip should be approximately 3.00 (2/1).
Now, if half of your games have already had two goals each in the first 60 minutes, you should be able to close the bet for a profit. So basically, you only need three out of six winning selections to be able to land a small profit.
Still, Cash Out can be useful for singles, not only for multiples bets.
Maybe you’ve missed something important while crafting your pre-match analysis. Well, you can close the bet and fix it, and maybe place a different wager with the funds from the cashed out bets.
Also, your team could be leading, but you’re noticing that danger is just around the corner so you’d prefer to take a small profit over nothing (knowing that most goals in football matches are scored in the last 30 minutes). It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Stats can also come in handy when it comes to Cash Out in-play. By studying teams or athletes, you can base your decisions on numbers.
Talking about football betting, imagine how you could use the many Premier League betting stats on how each team performs in various time intervals. Some teams score early, others that concede before half time, and some tend to either score or concede during the last 15 minutes.
All this data will definitely help you put the Cash Out function to better use.
Cash Out Will Cost You Money – Is Cash Out Worth It?
Have you ever wondered why most licensed and regulated online betting companies offer the cash-out option? There is a reason why so many bookmakers have quickly adopted this trend.
It simply couldn’t be about helping punters increase their revenue. Could it?
Obviously, there’s a catch.
If you are a fan of using the feature, then you should be wondering how Cash Out is calculated. An exact cash out formula can be way too complicated, so we won't get into that.
What you need to know is how it works: Each time you choose to Cash Out you are basically placing a contradictory wager to your initial bet, which means that you are paying the bookie’s juice (profit margin) twice.
In other words, if the initial and second bet both had a 95% payout, you’ve lost 10% value when closing the bet. However, in some cases the cash out option has a higher percentage of overround calculated into it, meaning that you’re losing even more. And that’s the math for single bets! If we’re looking at footy acca’s, then we’ll see that things are even worse for the punter, hence why most pro punters only place single bets.
So, you’d better think twice before clicking the Cash Out button next time!
The truth is that Cash Out pays less than fair value and you would be better off if you would place an opposite bet with another bookie that’s got better odds for the corresponding selection – this is where odds comparison tools come handy.
In the end, we’re not telling you not to use this feature, but to plan to make sure you only use it to your advantage. One thing is for sure: You are doing it wrong if you are continuously considering whether to close the bet or not. The Cash Out feature can be addictive… don’t fall for it. Online gambling should be fun, so make sure you keep things that way!