Before joining Basketball Insiders, Johnny spent 10 years writing for some of the biggest names in the industry including Odds Checker, Sportsbook Review, OddsJam, The Sports Daily, and more. He has a Bachelor of Science in finance and has appeared twice on the UFC’s official betting show On the Line.
All posts by Johnny PerunOften found in the “promotional” section of sportsbooks offerings, odds boosts – or enhanced odds, as they are also known as – give the bettor better odds than listed otherwise to entice them to place that bet. If you are leaning in the direction of the bet to begin with, odds boosts can be a no-brainer, as they give higher returns for less money than otherwise stated.
As an example, if a sportsbook is offering a bet you like but feel the odds are very tight, then this is where odds boosts can help. Simply put, they boost your odds on a given bet, in your direction, and give you a better chance of being +EV (Expected Value) and being a winning bettor in the long term.
Whether it be a moneyline or a point spread with boost odds (think -110 to now +150), odds boosts are primarily a marketing tactic sportsbooks deploy to get your money on their site. The catch, typically, is that depending on the odds boosts, the max wager will often be capped at anywhere from $10 to $50 depending on the severity of the boost.
How Do Odds Boosts Work?
Simply put, odds boosts work by allowing the bettor to risk less, and win more money. Oftentimes a money line bet, odds boosts can also be applied to spreads, totals, and even prop bets depending on the sportsbook.
![What are Odds Boosts? Complete Odds Boosts Betting Guide [cur_year]](https://www.basketballinsiders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/betonline-odds-boosters-1.jpg)
Source: BetOnline.com Of all the promotions that sportsbooks offer, odds boosts are often the most profitable as they eliminate the edge the sportsbooks have on any given bet. When used the right way, odds boosts can pad a player’s bankroll by giving them terrific odds on a bet otherwise the house has an edge based on the money that is required to be laid.
As previously mentioned, however, sportsbooks will only have a relatively low maximum amount that you are able to wager on the odds boosts, because at the end of the day, they’re only offering it with your next bet(s) in mind.
Using the NBA Eastern Conference Finals as an example, a sportsbook might post a Jimmy Butler points total of 30.5 points, juiced to -150 to the general public. At the same time, they’ll offer a promotional enhanced odds to the over at +110 in an effort to entice bettors to bet the over (now at plus money). If you believe Butler has a better than 60% chance (implied odds of -150), this odds boost provides plenty of +EV, as +110 provides a bigger payout for the same amount of money risked.
What Are The Advantages of Odds Boosts?
With the global sports betting market expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2023 to 2030, there are dozens of sportsbooks battling to get your custom by offering advantageous odds boosts.
While some consider even odds boosts to the advantage of the sportsbooks, when done with discipline, odds boosts can provide plenty of advantages. According to some, sportsbooks only offer odds boosts on bets that they think will lose. Though that is a convenient explanation for losing bettors, there can still be value on a bet with enhanced odds if you do your research.
Another advantage of enhanced odds is eliminating the vig or the cut, a sportsbook takes on the bet. Generally speaking, odds boosts can level the playing field in terms of providing bettors with the most fair bet they can possibly get.
How To Work Out If The Odds Boosts Are Value?
When calculating EV (Expected Value) the formula involves a few different factors but is more straightforward than many people realize. First off, you have to have two sets of odds, what the sportsbook is offering and what you believe the odds should be (or boosted odds). When odds are boosted, the sportsbook is giving you better odds than it actually calculates.
To calculate the EV, you have to subtract the actual odds from the boosted odds and multiply them by the implied probability of the actual odds. You can find the implied probability by using math as well, but it’s most simple to use one of the many odds boosts calculators available on the internet today.
Below are a couple of real examples of how boosted odds can lead to a plethora of +EV:
Risk Actual Odds Actual Win Potential Implied Probability Boosted Odds Boosted Win Potential Positive Expected Value (+EV) $110 -110 $100 52.4% +130 $130 20.96% $150 -150 $100 60% +100 $150 30% Profit Boosts vs. Odds Boosts
The types of wagers you may use an odds boost and profit boost are the primary difference between the two. Odds boosts frequently relate to highly customized wagers chosen by the sportsbook, frequently a player prop such as over on total player points or as part of a parlay. Conversely, sportsbook players will often receive profit boosts which simply increase the winnings (profit) on a straight bet, prop bet, or even an over/under bet.
Using an example from the NBA, DraftKings offered an Odds Boost involving Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Devin Brooker, and Trae Young. The bet was for all of these players to score 20+ points, a four-game parlay that would typically produce odds of -195. With the odds boost, DraftKings offered odds, instead, of +100.
Source: DraftKings.com Now for a profit boost. Sportsbooks often adds a 20% profit to daily MLB Single Game Parlays (SGP). In the example below, you can see a SGP in the Red Sox vs. Reds game, making a parlay that would normally pay +1000, now pay +1200 via the enhanced odds.
Source: DraftKings.com What Are the Different Odds Boosts?
When it comes to odds boosts, the offerings sportsbooks are beginning to post are ramping up by the day. If you decide to use them to your advantage, it’s important to know the terminology and the ins and outs of what the different odds boost out there mean. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common types of odds boosts.
Daily Boosts
Some of the most popular sportsbooks in the world now offer daily odds boost promotions, which is simply just another way to say they offer different odds boosts every day.
Boost Of The Week
While some sportsbooks offer odds boosts every day, newer sportsbooks offer them only occasionally. A boost of the week would imply that the sportsbooks only make their odds boosts available approximately once a week.
Super Boost
Sportsbooks periodically combine two or three games or game/player props into a single “Super Boost” which boosts the enhanced odds even further on a pre-selected parlay. If each leg is successful, your payment will be even bigger than the odds of the standard calculated parlay. One way of keeping ahead of other bettors is to find out more about parlays via our parlay betting guide.
Season-long Boosts
The other boost forms on this list are rather typical and self-explanatory, however season-long boosted odds are a little more difficult to find. While uncommon, certain bookmakers, for instance, could eliminate the juice from all NCAAF point lines during a particular season. Another example would be boosted odds on a season-long bet such as a regular season win bet.
Best Sports For Odds Boosts
You may discover sportsbooks offering odds boosts on a broad selection of sports and leagues throughout the year. These odds boosts vary depending on the season, but have more similarities than they do differences. Let’s discuss some of the most popular.
NBA Odds Boosts
When it comes to the total amount of bets, only the NFL is ahead of NBA betting in terms of volume in the United States. Therefore, similar to the National Football League, you may anticipate a diverse offering of odds boosts for NBA games; and you would be correct.
![What are Odds Boosts? Complete Odds Boosts Betting Guide [cur_year]](https://www.basketballinsiders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/betonline-nba-boosters-2.jpg.webp)
Source: BetOnline.com To begin, the odds of your stake in a single game have the potential to be greatly improved with an NBA odds boost. A moneyline wager, a point spread, or a game’s total can all have their odds increased by the sportsbook in an odds boost.
For illustration’s sake, let’s consider the Nuggets and the Heat are playing each other in the NBA Finals and that the Nuggets are 7-point home favorites with the standard odds of -110. The sportsbook can increase the odds of this spread to Denver Nuggets -7 at +110 in order to get more people to wager on the Nuggets.
The point differential remains the same, but the favorite now has a bigger payout. Therefore, rather than receiving the Nuggets at a spread of -110, you will receive the same spread but with slightly improved odds. The odds of winning NBA parlays are also improved by sportsbooks via odds boosts. You could discover that two favorites have been paired up, and the odds on each of them have been increased as a result.
Consider the following scenario: the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics both have odds of -120 on the moneyline. If you were to use them in a traditional parlay, the chances of winning the parlay would be a whopping +236. An alternative would be for the bookmaker to launch an NBA odds boost promotion that involved both teams and increased the odds of that parlay to +300. Because of the improved odds, you would win an additional $32 on a bet of $50 if you placed it.
MLB Odds Boosts
Increasing the odds on your MLB bets is something that you can do all summer long, with one of the busiest professional sports out there. You don’t have to be content with the standard odds—if you want to spice things up, you can take advantage of MLB odds boosts offerings.
You may increase the odds of your single-game wager, just like you do in other sports. Therefore, if you want to increase your chances of winning a moneyline bet that you have placed on a favorite that has slim odds, you should seek a sportsbook that is providing an odds boost and use it to your advantage.
For instance, the Cardinals are favorites to win at home with odds of -140, but a sportsbook may change those odds to -110 in an effort to entice customers to wager on the home side. In winning outcomes, a bet of $50 would result in $85, and in another, it would bring in $95.
In addition, sportsbooks frequently give bonuses for parlays on MLB odds boosts. Consider the possibility that you place a wager on three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams—the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Washington Nationals, and the Milwaukee Brewers—for each of their games to end in a victory. That parlay may have overall odds of +600, but a sportsbook might make an offer with the same four teams, but the odds boost might be Pirates, Nationals, and Brewers all to win (+1200).
When it comes to proposition bets, the last circumstance in which you can anticipate an odds enhancement offer is when you are betting on Major League Baseball games, and strikeout prop bets are a significant one. As always, to get ahead of the odds and other bettors it helps to research MLB stats to gain an edge when using odds boosts.
NFL Odds Boosts
The National Football League (NFL) is king when it comes to betting on sports here in the United States. With that in mind, sportsbooks spare no expense when it comes to promoting offers in the biggest league of them all.
To begin, a sportsbook has the ability to increase the odds of a single-game bet. Let’s use the example of a regular-season NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, in which the Steelers are listed as moneyline favorites with odds of -130.
If the bookmaker wants to encourage more business on the Steelers, they may raise those odds to +130 to attract more customers. Therefore, the identical wager now has greater value and is more appealing to bettors because of this change. One significant reason a sportsbook would do this is because they have significant exposure on the Browns coming out on top and are looking to bring in additional money on the other side.
Additionally, sportsbooks have the ability to increase the odds of an NFL parlay, but this is often reserved for unique parlays that have been hand-picked by the bookmaker. Take for instance a 4-game parlay on the favorites the Bears, Rams, Ravens, and Packers. Each of these teams is favored to win their respective games.
If all four teams were to win over the course of the weekend at odds of about -110 for each, a standard parlay would pay out +1200, which is still a tremendous return on the investment. However, a sportsbook may make a special offer and raise those odds to +2000 in order to attract more customers.
College Football Odds Boosts
If you are interested in betting on college football, you won’t be overly disappointed because many of the traditional wagering alternatives the NFL offers (which we’ve now covered) will still be open to you. This entails the possibility of receiving bonuses for single-game college football wagers, as well as for parlays and proposition bets. It is worth noting, however, college football boosts do still trail behind in terms of availability on a large scale.
College Basketball Odds Boosts
When it comes to college basketball, only some of the betting choices for the NBA will still be given by college basketball betting sites. This means that you will be able to obtain boosts on single-game college basketball wagers, as well as parlays and prop bets, but typically only in big-game spots such as conference tournaments or when betting on the NCAA Tournament during March Madness.
Tips For Odds Boosts Bets
While odds boosts bets can be just another tool for your sports betting arsenal, it’s critical to know what to do with them once you actually find them at your favorite sportsbooks. Let’s take a look at a few tips I’ve put together for getting the most out of your odds boosts bets.
Read the Rules
As we’ve mentioned throughout this post, almost all of the odds boost out there will have specific rules and regulations for playing them. Most notably, the maximum wager will be relatively low. Make sure you are aware of these nuances.
Take A Slow Approach
Even if there is an odds boost you like on day one, don’t feel obligated to bet the max. Bet just a little bit to see how things work.
Manage Your Funds
Whether you are making a straight bet, a parlay bet, a teaser bet, or an odds boost, it’s important to manage the money you are wagering with. Most importantly, never bet with money you aren’t comfortable losing.
Know When To Play & Walk Away
The job of the sportsbook is to make all promotional offers enticing. The bottom line is, however, you don’t have to bet every single odds boost sent your way. Know when to take advantage and when to leave them alone – think, quality not quantity.
FAQs
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