Strategy
Promotions: the most reliable money in betting
Bonus bets, deposit matches, second chances and boosts — what each is actually worth, and how to convert it.
Updated September 27, 2026 · TrueEdge Academy
A promotion is the one part of betting where the edge is granted rather than found. The book has decided to give you something; the only question is how much of it you keep. Conversion rates vary enormously by instrument, and treating them all the same is where most of the value goes.
- Bonus bet (stake not returned)
- roughly 60–75% of face value
- Site credit (stake returned)
- closer to face value
- Second chance / loss rebate
- depends on the trigger odds
- Profit boost
- worth the boost applied to a bet you would place anyway
- Deposit match
- worth face value minus the rollover cost
These are shapes, not promises. The Promo Optimizer prices the specific offer against the live board, because what a bonus bet converts at depends entirely on the prices available when you use it.
Converting a bonus bet
- 1Put the bonus bet on a long shot at one book. The stake is not returned, so you want the win to be large relative to it.
- 2Hedge the other side with cash at a different book.
- 3Whichever way it lands you keep a predictable fraction of the bonus.
- 4Longer odds convert a higher percentage — and tie up more hedging capital. That trade-off is the whole optimisation.