A cash out offer on a live NBA bet is the ticket's current win probability times its payout, minus a margin the book keeps, according to sportsbook guides. The check below takes about two minutes per bet.

One rule governs the timing. DraftKings' House Rules say a cash out request can face a delay of a length DraftKings sets, and the request is rejected if odds move during that delay.

What the check requires

  • An open bet that is eligible for cash out

    DraftKings excludes free bets and bonus bets. A November 2024 College Sports Madness article reported that FanDuel limited cash out to sides and totals.

  • The live moneyline on both teams in the same game

    These prices supply the win probability.

  • A phone calculator

    Each step is one multiplication or one division.

  • A second sportsbook account (optional)

    This is used to price a hedge against the cash out offer.

Pricing the offer in six steps

1. Record the offer. On DraftKings, eligible wagers show an amount under the Cash Out tab on the My Bets page, per its help center. The step is complete when a dollar figure is on screen.

2. Convert the live price on the bettor's side to a probability. For negative odds, divide the odds by the odds plus 100. For positive odds, divide 100 by the odds plus 100. The step is complete when there is a percentage.

3. Repeat for the other side and scale out the vig. Divide each side's percentage by the sum of the two. BettingUSA gave a baseball case where a -200 live line equated to roughly -175 in true odds once the margin was taken out. The step is complete when the two sides add up to 100%.

4. Multiply the potential payout by that probability. This is the formula Boyd's Bets gives, before the house margin comes off. The result is the ticket's fair value.

5. Divide the offer by fair value. One minus that result is the haircut. BettingUSA calls a haircut under 2% to 3% convenience pricing and anything above 5% to 7% a meaningful cut. Its own worked example showed about 11%.

6. Price the opposite side live. A forum member on Covers.com argued that books offer cash outs "at less than market price" and that a hedge on the other side returns more. If the hedge locks in more than the cash out, the cash out is the more expensive way to exit.

Worked example, underdog at halftime. Boyd's Bets described a $100 bet at +300, a $400 return. At halftime the underdog led by 15 with an estimated 80% win probability, and the offer was $300. Fair value is $320, so the haircut is about 6%, at the edge of BettingUSA's meaningful-cut range. When the lead fell to 2, the offer fell to about $150. The source gave no probability for that point, so the haircut there cannot be calculated.

Worked example, offer above the bettor's estimate. TonyBet described a $100 Raptors bet at +180, a $280 return, with a $200 offer and a 70% estimated win probability. Seventy percent of $280 is $196, so the offer is above that estimate. TonyBet put expected value at $166. Either figure supports taking the $200. Using the bettor's own estimate in place of the market price is the method covered in calculating expected value.

When the numbers favor taking it. Boyd's Bets lists bankroll preservation as a reason to cash out. A cash out also makes sense when no hedge prices cheaper and the offer sits near fair value.

Is the cash out offer fair?

A cash out offer is the ticket's payout times its chance of winning now, less a cut the book keeps. Type the bet, the live prices and the offer to see the cut, and whether a bet on the other side locks in more.

Your bet

American odds. For a parlay, type its combined odds.

Now

With both sides the book's margin is taken out of the chance. The other side's price is also what a hedge would get.

Fair value of the ticket now ?

Cash out, hedge or let it ride

Profit is against your original stake. A hedge is a second bet at the other side's live price, so it pays that market's margin too; a cash out request can also be delayed and rejected if the odds move meanwhile, under DraftKings' house rules. Letting it ride is the average over many such bets at the chance above, not what this one will do.

The haircut bands, partial cash outs and the hedge worked throughOpen the full calculator

Partial and auto cash out

Partial cash out settles part of a ticket and leaves the rest running. Odds Assist and Attack The Culture both mention it, the second for the final live leg of a parlay. The same haircut check applies to the part being sold.

AceOdds reports that bet365's US Auto Cashout settles a bet automatically when a set threshold is reached. None of the sources reviewed here describe how any US book prices auto cash out. Its other terms are not covered in this guide.

When the button fails

DraftKings says it can suspend cash out during moments that could swing the outcome right away. Odds Assist cites a 10-0 run as an example, and reports the feature is often removed as a game nears its end. The options are to wait for a dead ball or to hedge on the other side.

Under Section 7.3 of the House Rules, a request is rejected if odds move or the market is pulled during the imposed delay. The screen shows a notice. The bettor then reprices the offer from step 1.

No. The House Rules state that once a cash out succeeds, "any subsequent events which occur in relation with the bet will not be taken into account."

A ticket whose haircut is known can be held or sold on price rather than nerves. The swings that move the offer between those two points are covered in betting variance decoded.

Next: finding the live bet worth holding

How quarter lines, halftime numbers and in-game totals move, and where the edge sits.

NBA live betting strategies