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Cash Out in Betting: How It's Calculated & What It Costs

How bookmakers calculate cash out, the 10-20% margin it usually hides, partial cash out, and the cheaper exchange alternative

8 min read
Tom Hill Independent prediction-market educator Follow on X
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Cash out is one of the most profitable products a sportsbook sells. It feels like a service: your bet is winning, the bookmaker offers you money now, you take it. But the offer is almost never the fair value of your bet. In my experience bookmakers typically set it about 10% to 20% below the fair price, and further below on long shots.

This guide shows how cash out is calculated, what the margin costs you, when cashing out still makes sense, and the cheaper way to get out of a position early.

You can check any offer with the cash-out calculator.

How Cash Out Is Calculated

A bet has a fair value at any moment: what it’s worth given the current chance of winning. The formula is simple:

Fair cash-out value = stake × odds you took ÷ current odds

Say you bet $90 at decimal odds of 3.33 on a team. The bet pays $300 if it wins. The team scores early, and its odds drop to 1.67 (a 60% chance).

  • Fair value: $90 × 3.33 ÷ 1.67 = about $180
  • That’s the same as the $300 payout × 60% chance

The bookmaker won’t offer you $180. At 10% to 20% below fair, the offer lands somewhere around $144 to $162. That gap of $18 to $36 is the bookmaker’s margin on the cash out.

Why the Offer Is Lower Than Fair Value

Two cuts stack on top of each other:

  1. The current odds contain vig. The 1.67 the bookmaker shows already has its margin built in. So even a “fair” calculation from the bookmaker’s own price comes out low.
  2. A cash-out margin on top. The bookmaker then takes an extra cut for buying your bet back. This is where the 10% to 20% comes from.

The cut is usually widest on long shots and on fast-moving in-play markets, where the bookmaker carries the most risk and you’re least likely to compare prices.

Some sportsbooks also suspend or withdraw cash out at the exact moments you want it, such as after a goal, a red card or a VAR check, and some don’t offer it at all on limited accounts.

When Cashing Out Still Makes Sense

Paying a margin isn’t always wrong. Cashing out can be reasonable when:

  • The position is bigger than you’re comfortable holding. Reducing risk is worth something.
  • The situation has changed in a way the odds don’t reflect. If you know an injury or lineup change is coming, the “fair value” is already wrong.
  • You need the money now, and the cost is worth the certainty.

If price is all you care about, holding or hedging is almost always better value.

Partial Cash Out

Partial cash out lets you settle part of a bet and leave the rest running. It’s priced the same way, so the same margin applies to the portion you cash out. It’s a useful risk tool, but not a cheaper one.

Hedging Instead of Cashing Out

The alternative to cashing out is a hedge: a second bet on the other side that locks in a result either way. If you can get a good price on the opposite outcome, a hedge often locks in more than the cash-out offer, because you avoid the cash-out margin. The catch is that you need somewhere to place the other side at a good price, and if you’re a winning bettor, your bookmaker may not take it. How to hedge a bet walks through the formula and when a partial hedge is better.

Selling a Position on Polymarket

On an exchange there’s no cash-out offer, because you aren’t selling your bet back to a bookmaker. You’re selling it to another trader at the market price.

Here’s the same bet on Polymarket. You buy 300 shares at $0.30 ($90, the same as odds of 3.33). The team scores and the price moves to $0.60:

  • Market value: 300 × $0.60 = $180
  • Taker fee to sell, on most sports markets: 300 × 0.05 × 0.60 × 0.40 = $3.60
  • You receive about $176, against roughly $144 to $162 from a bookmaker’s cash out

If you post a limit order at $0.60 and wait for a buyer instead, you pay no fee at all. You can sell part of the position, all of it, or buy back in later, in-play or before the game. How to sell on Polymarket covers the mechanics.

There are two things to watch. Selling is only as good as the liquidity in the market: on major games it’s deep, but on player props and niche sports a large sell order can move the price. And a market order in a thin book can fill at a poor average price, so use a limit order when the book is thin.

The Bottom Line

Cash out is convenient and expensive. The fair value of your bet is easy to calculate, and the bookmaker’s offer is usually 10% to 20% below it. If you want the option to get out early without paying that margin, an exchange lets you sell at the market price.

Create a Polymarket account here to compare prices on your next game. Polymarket’s availability depends on where you live, so check your country first.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is cash out calculated?
The fair cash-out value of a bet is your stake multiplied by the odds you took, divided by the current odds: stake × original odds ÷ current odds. A $90 bet at 3.33 on a team now priced at 1.67 has a fair value of about $180. Bookmakers then take a margin off that figure, and their current odds already contain vig, so the offer you see is lower.
Is cash out worth it?
Usually not on price alone. In my experience bookmakers set cash-out offers about 10% to 20% below the fair value of the bet, and further below on long shots. Cashing out can still be the right call if you need to cut risk, but you are paying for the convenience.
Why is my cash out offer so low?
Two reasons stack. The offer is built from the bookmaker's current odds, which include its margin, and the bookmaker then takes an extra cut for providing the cash-out. On long shots and in fast-moving in-play markets the gap is usually widest.
What is partial cash out?
Partial cash out lets you settle part of a bet early and leave the rest running. It is priced the same way as a full cash out, so the same margin applies to the portion you cash out.
Can you cash out on Polymarket?
Polymarket has no cash-out button because it doesn't need one. You own shares, and you can sell any number of them to another trader at the current market price, before or during the game. There is no bookmaker margin, only a small taker fee if your sell order takes liquidity.
Is hedging better than cashing out?
Often, yes. Placing a bet on the other side at a good price can lock in a similar result to cashing out, without the bookmaker's cash-out margin. It needs a second account or exchange with a good price on the opposite outcome.