What is the difference between a profit boost and an odds boost?

A profit boost adds a percentage to your winnings; an odds boost replaces the price. Both come down to one boosted price you can compare with the fair price.

Are profit boosts worth it?

On single main-line markets they often are, because the boost is larger than the book's margin. On long or same-game parlays they often are not.

Should I hedge a profit boost?

You can. Hedging turns an expected profit into a slightly smaller fixed one, which suits you if you would rather not carry the swing.

How much should I bet on a profit boost?

Up to whichever cap binds first: the maximum stake, or the stake at which the extra winnings hit their cap. Money above that is an ordinary bet.

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Profit boosts and odds boosts: how to tell if one is worth taking

A boost is only worth taking if the boosted price beats the fair price. A 50% profit boost on a main-line market usually does (by about a quarter of the stake in the example below); many boosted parlays do not.

Updated September 27, 2026 · TrueEdge Academy

A profit boost adds a percentage to your winnings if the bet wins; an odds boost replaces the price with a longer one. Either is worth taking when the boosted price is better than the fair price of the bet, and only then. The crossed-out number the book prints beside it is irrelevant. A 50% profit boost on a $50 bet at +150, in a market whose fair price is about +157, is worth about $13 on average, or $12.50 locked in if you hedge it. The same boost on a long same-game parlay can easily be worth less than nothing.

Profit boost vs odds boost

A profit boost multiplies the winnings, not the decimal odds. A 50% boost on +150 turns $1.50 of winnings per dollar into $2.25, so the bet now pays at +225. Written as decimal odds, the boosted price is 1 + (d − 1) × (1 + boost). An odds boost does the same job with a new price the book picks (“was +150, now +180”). Either way you end with one number to judge: the boosted price, against the fair one.

Valuing a 50% profit boost

Market at the boosting book: +150 (2.50) / −170 (1.5882)
Implied probabilities: 40.00% + 62.96% = 102.96%
Fair chance of the +150 side (margin removed): 40.0 ÷ 102.96 = 38.85%, about +157
Boosted winnings on $50: $50 × 1.50 × 1.5 = $112.50 (+225)
Expected value: 0.3885 × $112.50 − 0.6115 × $50 = +$13.13

Illustration, not a current offer. The fair price here comes from removing the margin proportionally from the book's own two-way market; a sharper source of fair odds is better, see how to devig odds.

Hedging a boost

Unhedged, a boost is a bet with an edge: +$13.13 on average, but either +$112.50 or −$50 on the night. Betting the other side at a second book turns it into a fixed amount. The hedge covers the boosted return: H = stake × boosted decimal ÷ hedge decimal.

Worked: hedging the boost at −160

Boosted bet: $50 at +225: decimal 3.25, returns $162.50
Hedge: other side at −160 elsewhere: decimal 1.625
Hedge stake: 162.50 ÷ 1.625: $100.00
Boosted side wins: $112.50 − $100: +$12.50
Other side wins: $100 × 0.625 − $50: +$12.50

Hedging costs 63 cents of expected value here and removes the swing entirely. Both are legitimate; they are different bets.

An odds boost, and a boost that loses money

Odds boost +150 → +180, fair chance 38.85%: per $100: 0.3885 × $180 − 0.6115 × $100 = +$8.78
Parlay boost +600 → +700, fair price +850: fair chance 1 ÷ 9.5 = 10.53%
Per $10 on that parlay: 0.1053 × $70 − 0.8947 × $10 = −$1.58

The parlay was boosted and is still a losing bet, because the starting price was far worse than fair. The boost only closed part of the gap.

Where the fair price comes from

Everything above rests on the fair price, so get it from the best source available. For a main-line market, the best estimate is the sharpest book's price with its margin removed, or the consensus across several books; see fair odds. For a single leg that is straightforward. For a boosted parlay or same-game parlay it is not: the legs are often correlated, so multiplying their fair prices together gives the wrong answer, and the combined bet usually cannot be hedged in one place. Treat boosted parlays with suspicion unless you can price every leg.

Max stake and winnings caps

Nearly every boost is capped. The common forms are a maximum stake and a maximum amount of extra winnings. A stake cap is simple: bet up to it. A winnings cap sets its own maximum useful stake. With a 50% boost on +150, the boost adds $0.75 of winnings per dollar staked, so a $25 cap on extra winnings is used up at a $33.33 stake. Anything above that earns the unboosted price, which is an ordinary bet into the book's margin. Size to whichever cap binds first.

Pricing a boost in TrueEdge

The Boosts & Insurance screen has separate Odds boost and Profit boost calculators. The Odds boost one values the boosted price against a fair price you supply rather than the crossed-out number, takes the max stake, and can lay out the hedge. The Profit boost one takes the base price, the boost, the max stake and the max extra winnings, and prices the boost against the hedge price you enter. The Promo Optimizer's Profit boost type searches your books for the best hedge instead. The walkthrough covers the optimizer; no-sweat bets covers the other promotion that screen prices.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a profit boost and an odds boost?: A profit boost adds a percentage to your winnings; an odds boost replaces the price. Both come down to one boosted price you can compare with the fair price.
Are profit boosts worth it?: On single main-line markets they often are, because the boost is larger than the book's margin. On long or same-game parlays they often are not.
Should I hedge a profit boost?: You can. Hedging turns an expected profit into a slightly smaller fixed one, which suits you if you would rather not carry the swing.
How much should I bet on a profit boost?: Up to whichever cap binds first: the maximum stake, or the stake at which the extra winnings hit their cap. Money above that is an ordinary bet.