Cash out explained

Cash out is a feature offered by many bookmakers: while a bet is running, an amount is shown for which you can settle it immediately. If your selection is doing well, the offer is higher than your stake. If things are going badly, you can salvage part of it. Some bookmakers also allow a partial cash out, where only part of the bet is paid out and the rest keeps running.

How the amount is calculated

The bookmaker treats the cash out like a counter-bet at the current odds. Put simply: it estimates what your bet is worth at that moment and deducts a margin.

Fair value = potential payout × current probability of winning

What cash out costs

Because the offer contains a margin, a cash out is on average a worse deal than the running bet. If you use it regularly, you effectively pay the margin twice: when placing the bet and when exiting. Many bookmakers also display the cash out offer at emotional moments, such as just before the end with a narrow lead.

When it can still make sense

• New information: Your team's goalkeeper gets injured and the in-play odds have not yet fully priced it in.
• Bankroll: A single bet has grown so large over time that a loss would hit your budget disproportionately – for example a long accumulator just before the last match.
• Mistake spotted: You realise that your pre-match assessment was wrong.

Exiting out of pure nerves, on the other hand, is usually expensive. A good test: would you place the bet again at the current in-play odds? If so, there is no objective reason to cash out.