Promo Converter
Turn a sportsbook sign-up promo or free bet into a matched bet that extracts most of the bonus value as cash across either outcome of the game, when the prices hold.
What the Promo Converter does
When a sportsbook offers a sign-up promotion — a deposit match, a no-sweat bet, or a free bet — the bonus only pays out if you win that one bet. The Promo Converter is designed to reduce that uncertainty by pairing your promo bet at the bonus book with a hedge bet on the opposite outcome at a second book. One side wins, one side loses, and the profit from the winning side plus any bonus payout is sized to offset the losing stake, so most of the promo's value is retained as a return in typical cases rather than a coin flip for all of it.
SmartStake does not place either bet for you. It surfaces the best available hedge candidates, calculates the optimal stake for each side, and records the bets you choose to track once you take the opportunity.
Supported bet types
The conversion math differs depending on what kind of promo you have received. The Promo Converter supports three bet types:
- Low Hold — a standard cash bet at the promo book paired with a hedge at a second book. Neither stake is a free bet token; both are real money. The goal is a two-sided market where the combined hold across both books is as close to zero as possible. Used for deposit-match promos and as one option for bet-and-get promos.
- Free Bet — the promo stake is a free-bet token, meaning you keep the profit if you win but forfeit the stake itself. Because you do not risk losing the stake on the promo side, the hedge stake is smaller than it would be for an equivalent cash bet. Used when a bet-and-get promo awards a free bet credit.
- No Sweat Bet — the promo stake is a real cash bet, but the sportsbook refunds the stake as a free-bet token if you lose. The conversion models this by assuming the free-bet token will itself be converted at roughly 70% of face value, so the hedge is sized to aim for a return across both the win scenario (promo bet wins) and the refund scenario (promo bet loses, free-bet token is later converted).
Which type should I choose?
The available bet types depend on the specific promotion. If you are using the promo-linked mode, the tool limits your choice to the types that match your promo's structure. The promo guide for each promotion also explains which type applies — you can reach it directly from the bet type selector.
Using the tool
The Promo Converter has two modes, Promo and Manual. On a large screen you switch between them at the top of the page; on smaller screens they are tabs at the top of the search form. Switching modes keeps the form open but clears your current selection. It opens in manual mode; opening the tool from a promo guide link switches it to promo mode with that promotion already selected.
In promo mode, you pick a promotion you have already added to your Promotions Tracker. The tool reads the promo's book, value, and structure, suggests a bet size, and limits the bet types to those that apply. For a Deposit Match the bet type is set to Low hold for you and the form moves straight to the bet size. This is the fastest path: pick your promo, pick the bet type if asked, check the bet size, and search. If you have no promotions in progress yet, the tool links you to the Promo Recommender to find one.
In manual mode, you choose a promo bookmaker, bet type, and bet size yourself, without tying the search to a saved promotion. Scroll the bookmaker list to browse every book, or type in the search box to narrow it down. Pin the books you use most with the pin beside each one: pinned books sit in a Pinned group at the top of the list, and they stay pinned across visits and devices. The bet size starts at $100. Use this mode when you have a promotion that is not yet in the tracker or when you want to explore conversion options before committing.
On a large screen, the promotion or bookmaker, bet type, and bet size sit side by side in one search bar. On smaller screens, tapping the search bar opens a full-screen form that shows one step at a time, with a short summary of each finished step. Tap Next to move on, and Search on the last step to see your results; the last step stays open so you can check it before you search. Once the form is closed, the refresh button beside the search bar runs the same search again. It is available once all the steps are filled in.
In either mode, the results list is a set of matched bet cards - one card per candidate hedge opportunity. Each card shows the promo-side bet, the hedge-side bet, the recommended stakes, and the projected return in each outcome. Opening a card lets you confirm both sides and record them as wagers in the Bet Tracker. Each side has a Track switch, on by default: turn one off if you placed that side elsewhere or not at all, and only the other side is recorded, with its tags (Low Hold, Hedge, Free Bet, No Sweat) applied as usual.
Filters
The filter panel narrows the candidate list to markets you can actually use:
- Hedge Books — which sportsbooks to search for the hedge leg. Defaults to books you have already opened.
- Leagues — restrict results to specific leagues or sports.
- Markets — filter by market type (moneyline, spread, total, player props, and so on).
- Date Range — limit to games within a time window.
- Max Bankroll — hide pairings whose combined promo and hedge stakes exceed a total amount.
- Min Bet Size — hide hedge legs below a minimum dollar size.
- Promo Min Odds / Promo Max Odds — constrain the odds range for the promo side.
- Hedge Min Odds — set a floor on the odds offered by the hedge book.
You can save a filter configuration to reapply later. See Saved filters and alerts for setup details.
How this relates to arbitrage
The low-hold conversion is structurally similar to arbitrage — both involve betting opposite sides of a market across two books. The difference is that a standard arbitrage uses two cash bets and targets a return across outcomes when prices hold; odds can move before both bets are placed. A promo conversion uses a bonus on one side, which changes the optimal hedge stake and the profit formula. The Promo Converter handles that bonus-aware math automatically; you do not need to calculate it by hand.
For finding promos to convert, see the Promo Recommender. For step-by-step walkthroughs of specific promotions, see Promo Guides.
- Odds, prices, expected value, conversion rates, and profit figures shown are estimates based on the last data we retrieved. They can change at any time — confirm the current price at the book before you bet, as odds may move and entry errors can occur.
- Sportsbook promotions are typically available to new customers only and are subject to each operator’s terms, conditions, and eligibility requirements.