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Practice without money
Follow one made-up offer from start to finish. See where every dollar goes, try both results, then check your understanding. No account, deposit or sports knowledge needed.
A sportsbook (or book) is where you place a bet. Your stake is the amount you put on it. A hedge is a bet on the opposite result at another book. BreadSync helps calculate and track them; you place real bets yourself at the sportsbooks.
New to plus and minus prices? Read reading odds. They describe payouts, not a prediction you must agree with.
1. Read the offer before spending anything
For this exercise only, Book A offers: bet $5 cash, get one $25 bonus bet whether that qualifying bet wins or loses. A qualifying bet is the first bet needed to earn the reward. Assume you qualify, opted in, met the minimum odds, and used an eligible single bet. This is not an offer available at a named book.
| Check | Assumption in this exercise |
|---|---|
| Starting cash | $5 at Book A and $100 at Book B. Total deposited: $105. |
| First bet | The $5 qualifying bet settles as a loss. Book A cash is now $0. |
| Reward | One $25 bonus token arrives. It is not $25 you can withdraw. |
| Token rules | Stake not returned, +300 allowed, eligible two-outcome full-game moneyline, used before its stated expiry. |
| Other conditions | No extra wagering requirement. Both books accept the planned bets and use matching settlement rules. |
Watch out: If your real offer says the first bet must win, a losing first bet does not earn this reward. If it refunds a losing stake, use the first-bet insurance guide. Do not substitute one offer type for another.
2. Calculate the conversion
Book A offers Team A at +300. A $25 cash bet would return $100 if it won: $75 winnings plus its $25 stake. This is a bonus bet, so it pays $75 only. Book B offers the opposite result, Team B, at −350.
The cash hedge is $75 ÷ (1 + 100 ÷ 350) = $58.33, rounded to cents. At those prices, about $16.67 remains after the hedge, whichever team wins. That is about 66.7% of the token, not 66.7% of your deposited cash.
Open the calculator with these exact numbers. Read Free Bet: Odds +300, Stake $25; Hedge: Odds −350, Stake about $58.33. Total Profit is the conversion result, before the $5 qualifying loss.
The $100 at Book B is a practice balance, not a minimum deposit recommendation. You need the full cash hedge available there before starting. In this example, $58.33 is in the bet and $41.67 remains unbet at Book B.
3. Check the two slips
| Slip field | Book A: bonus bet | Book B: cash hedge |
|---|---|---|
| Event | Team A vs Team B, same date and start time | The exact same event |
| Market | Full-game moneyline, including overtime | Full-game moneyline, including overtime |
| Selection | Team A | Team B |
| Odds | +300 | −350 |
| Stake / Risk | $25 token, bonus applied | $58.33 cash, not the “To win” field |
| Winning payout | $75, token stake not returned | About $75, including the cash stake |
- 1Find both selections and check the terms, available cash and accepted stake limits before confirming either bet. A three-outcome market with a draw does not fit this example.
- 2Confirm the bonus token is selected. If the slip would use cash instead, stop. Place the bonus leg first and read its accepted receipt.
- 3Recheck the cash odds. If they moved, keep the accepted bonus stake and odds fixed and recalculate the hedge. If the first leg was rejected or accepted for less, do not use the original hedge amount. With the original example still valid, enter $58.33 in Book B's Stake / Risk field, confirm the cash bet, and check its accepted receipt.
- 4After both legs are accepted, save their actual odds and stakes in BreadSync. “Add to Tracker” records bets; it does not place them. Do not enter these practice bets in your real tracker.
Watch out: The bets are placed separately: one can be accepted while the other fails. If either receipt is unclear, check the sportsbook's open bets before retrying. See what to do when something goes wrong.
4. Follow the money after settlement
Settlement is when the sportsbook grades a bet and credits any payout. Choose either winner below. The earlier $5 qualifying bet lost in both cases.
Book A pays $75 of bonus-bet winnings. The $25 token is not returned. Book B’s $58.33 cash hedge loses.
- Book A cash
- $75.00
- Book B cash
- $41.67
- Total cash
- $116.67
- Whole-offer profit
- $11.67
$116.67 ending cash − $105.00 deposited = $11.67 profit. Where the money lands changes; the combined result is approximately the same.
Hypothetical accepted bets, matching settlement rules, no voids, fees or taxes. Cents are rounded. This does not place or log any bets.
$75 payout is not $75 profit. The conversion keeps about $16.67 after the cash hedge. Subtract the $5 qualifying loss and the whole offer made about $11.67. The original $105 deposit is your own money, not earnings. Unused tokens are not cash, and cash is only withdrawable when the sportsbook's withdrawal conditions are met.
Once all bets settle, reconcile both sportsbooks with Bankroll and My Bets. For a fresh start with no other activity: ending cash + completed withdrawals − deposits = cash profit. Pending bets, bonus restrictions, fees and missing transactions need separate checks.
5. Can you explain the result?
These are the mistakes to catch before using money. This check is a learning exercise, not a guarantee that a real offer is suitable.
Your next action
- Starting from zero? Follow Set up to check eligibility, set a budget you can afford to lose and plan two funded books. Do not borrow or use money needed for bills.
- Already have a bonus token? Follow Turn bonus bets into cash for the current Free Bet view controls.
- The numbers or terms differ? Enter your actual accepted odds in the calculator and check both results again. Do not copy the dollar stakes from this exercise.
For the underlying token rule, see DraftKings' explanation of bonus bets. Each sportsbook's current offer terms govern its own promotion. Our calculation and verification policy explains the difference between worked examples and live offers.