One of the most commonly heard phrases in the world today is that “you only learn from your mistakes” and in terms of sports betting enthusiasts, it can be all too evident rather quickly into roceedings that sometimes your best thought out bets don’t quite come off.
A good example of this was the recent soccer match in the Premier League between West Ham United and Aston Villa. Although bottom of the league, Villa had started the game well and in the opening 15 minutes had dominated the ball and should have had a penalty.
You’d have been forgiven at this point for having a little flutter on Aston Villa getting something from the game, especially given they were generally good odds to do so. Only then on 17 minutes, their striker Jordan Ayew inexplicably elbowed West Ham’s defender Aaron Cresswell in the face, earning himself a straight red card and putting Aston Villa down to 10 men for the rest of the game.
With that huge advantage, the game totally changed at that moment and Villa’s chances were practically extinguished. In the end, West Ham ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.
This is just a simple example of how bets can go wrong in just one moment on the field of play, not just in football but in any sport. However, if you bet with Paddy Power, there could be a way for you to mitigate any potential losses when these circumstances come about.
That is through Paddy Power’s Cash Out option.
Remember though, you will need to be a Paddy Power member to try out Cash Out so click through for the latest information on how to sign up and receive £50 instant Paddy Power sports bets today.
What is the Cash Out option on Paddy Power?
You can find a section dedicated to Cash Out bets on Paddy Power in the Quick Links list on the left hand side of the home page. The penultimate item in that list is the Cash Out option and clicking on it will take you to a page that lists the Cash Out bets you currently have running and a number of bets that are available that also have Cash Out options on them.
Once you have placed a Single Bet or an Accumulator bet that is eligible for the Cash Out option, it will be listed under the My Cash Out Bets section on the site.
When the bet is listed here, you will see what the current Cash Out value of your bet currently is. This number will change as time progresses in the event that you have bet on and incidents occur that either add value to the cash out, or detract from it.
For example, if you have placed a four-fold accumulator on the results of four football games and after 60 minutes, all four of your selections are winning, your Cash Out amount will be higher than it would be if three teams were winning but one result was letting you down.
If you decide at any point that you want to Cash Out your bet for the stated amount, you simply need to click on the Cash Out option.
When you do this, the bet is ended at that point and the Cash Out amount is transferred to your account. It does not matter if your bet then goes on to win or lose.
When should I use the Cash Out option?
This is the crucial question and in truth, how you use the Cash Out option will determine whether you are using it to enhance your profits, or whether you are undermining them by making the wrong choices about using the option.
Cash Out is an option that can, when used correctly, be a real boon for customers as it can allow them to at least claw some cash back, or even make a guaranteed profit, even if their initial bet may look like it is not going to come in.
However, the flip side of the coin is that if you elect to Cash Out a bet at the wrong time, or your selection then goes on to win, you could actually be costing yourself money in the long run as the Cash Out payout is generally nowhere near as much as what you would receive for your original bet.
Let us use an example to explain the process:
Example 1
Fred has placed a bet with Paddy Power on a five team accumulator and after 60 minutes, four of his selections are winning and in the other, the team he has backed is drawing but is on top of the game and looks likely to score. However in two other games, his selections are under pressure and with half an hour to go, those scorelines look in danger of changing.
In this instance, Fred has a choice; cash out now and take the money on offer (which will likely offer him a profit) or hang fire and see how the games go and risk losing the bet if the team on top don’t score, or if two of his teams conceded a goal and do not win.
What the ‘right’ option here could be is open to fierce debate. Many pundits advocate never to use a cash out, but in my view, if your bet looks likely to be a loser, then I see no point on seeing it through to the end and in the example above, I’d be tempted to take the Cash Out and make a small profit on the bet, rather than risk it all. However, I’d be more likely to do this if my initial bet was a larger amount, rather than a smaller amount.
Example 2
Let’s assume Fred’s accumulator is now at the 85 minute mark and all five of his bets are now winning. His cash out is now a somewhat generous amount of money and offers him a significant profit, although nowhere near as much as he would receive if his bet wins. Three of Fred’s selections look safe, but two see teams with slender advantages under pressure going into the final throes of each game. What should he do?
Again, there’s fierce debate about this and again, it would depend to me how much money was being bet on the selection in the initial stake. A larger stake and I’d be more inclined to take the guaranteed profit by cashing out, but a smaller amount, I think I’d be happier risking in order to try and win the considerably bigger sum available by the bet coming through successfully. It is only five minutes, plus injury time left for the two unsafe options to hold out.
Cash Out is a fantastic and flexible option which allows you to either rescue some of your initial stake, or guarantee a smaller profit on selected bets, even if it transpires that your bet loses. However, the key to using it successfully is down to knowing when to take the money and run and when to hang off and wait for your bet to complete. Get this right and you’ll be quids in with Cash Out.