Bonus bet calculator: what a free bet is worth in cash

The bonus bet calculator prices a free bet. Enter the bonus amount, the odds and whether the stake comes back with a win. It prints the payout and, if you add the opposing price, the cash stake that equalises both outcomes and the conversion rate: the cash value divided by the bonus. A losing bonus bet costs nothing.

Payout if the bonus bet wins

$150.00

Cash hedge on the other side

$116.67

Cash result either way

$33.33

Conversion rate

66.7%

A $50.00 bonus bet at +300 with the stake not returned pays $150.00 if it wins. A cash hedge of $116.67 at -350 leaves $33.33 whichever side wins, a conversion rate of 66.7%.

A hedge is a second bet made with cash, and it needs the funds to place it. Books can limit, void or cancel bets, and bonus terms (minimum odds, expiry, markets) differ and are not checked here. The figures are arithmetic on the prices typed in and assume two outcomes only.

The bonus bet formulas

payout = bonus × (decimal − 1) [stake not returned]

payout = bonus × decimal [stake returned]

hedge = payout ÷ opposing decimal; cash = payout − hedge; conversion = cash ÷ bonus

The decimal price is the total return on a $1 stake, stake included. With a stake-not-returned bonus the stake is never paid back, only the winnings. With a stake-returned bonus the stake comes back with them. A loss costs nothing in both cases. The hedge is the same equal-return condition as on the hedge calculator, applied to the payout.

Worked example

A $50 bonus bet at +300 (4.0 in decimal). Stake not returned, it pays 50 × (4.0 − 1) = $150. Stake returned, it pays 50 × 4.0 = $200. To convert the $150, hedge with cash at -350 (1.2857): 150 ÷ 1.2857 = $116.67 on the other side. If the bonus bet wins, 150 − 116.67 = $33.33. If the hedge wins, 116.67 × 0.2857 = $33.33. The conversion rate is 33.33 ÷ 50 = 66.7%.

Questions

What is the difference between stake returned and stake not returned?

With stake not returned, a winning bonus bet pays only the profit: $50 at +300 pays $150. With stake returned, it pays the profit and the stake: $200. A losing bonus bet costs nothing in both cases. The terms of the bonus say which kind it is.

What is a conversion rate for a bonus bet?

The conversion rate is the cash an equalised hedge leaves divided by the bonus: $33.33 from a $50 bonus is 66.7%. At prices with no margin it is 1 minus the implied probability of the bonus bet, so longer odds convert more. Margin on the two prices lowers it.

Why enter an opposing price?

Without a hedge, a bonus bet is a chance of a payout and a chance of nothing. The opposing price lets the page show the cash result when both outcomes are covered. The hedge needs cash staked on the other side, and it is a second bet with its own limits and risks.

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