The uplift itself
The uplift is the difference between the market price and the boosted price, and it is quoted as a percentage of the price rather than an amount of money. That single fact is why two boosts that look similar can be worth very different amounts, and why the percentage is the least useful number on the offer.
- boosts sampled
- 540
- mean market price
- 2.75
- mean boosted price
- 3.17
- mean uplift
- +15.3%
- implied chance before
- 39.8%
- implied chance after
- 34.6%
The uplift is the boosted price minus the market price, usually quoted as a percentage of the market price. A boost of +20.0% on 2.50 is worth 0.50 of price; the same +20.0% on 12.00 is worth 2.40. The percentage is identical and the money is not.
The same percentage, three different amounts
A percentage uplift flatters small prices. On a 1.80 selection an uplift of +11.1% is 0.20 of price; on a 4.00 selection an uplift of +12.5% is 0.50. A reader comparing two offers by their stated percentage is comparing the wrong number.
Worked example / the three sampled boosts in sample B
- 2.50 to 3.00: uplift 0.50, or +20.0% of the price
- 4.00 to 4.50: uplift 0.50, or +12.5% of the price
- 1.80 to 2.00: uplift 0.20, or +11.1% of the price
- on a 10.00 stake the first is worth 5.00, the second 5.00, the third 2.00
The uplift in implied chance, which runs the other way
Every price implies a chance: 1 divided by the decimal price. Improving the price lowers the implied chance the operator attaches to the outcome, and that is the clearest way to see that an uplift is a better price on the same event rather than a different event.
| Offer | Market | Boosted | Uplift | Implied chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the largest book | 2.50 | 3.00 | +20.0% | 40.0% to 33.3% |
| the middle book | 4.00 | 4.50 | +12.5% | 25.0% to 22.2% |
| the short book | 1.80 | 2.00 | +11.1% | 55.6% to 50.0% |
| the mean of 540 | 2.75 | 3.17 | +15.3% | 39.8% to 34.6% |
Read the last row as the desk headline: across the sample the offer moved the price by 15.3% and the implied chance by 5.2 points. Both statements describe the same change.
What an uplift is not
A larger percentage means a better offer.
false The percentage is applied to the price, so it says nothing about the money until the stake is known. On a fixed stake the money is the difference between the two prices, raised by the cap.
A boost improves the chance of the selection.
false The chance is a property of the event, not the price. The implied chance falls because the price rises; that is arithmetic, not a prediction.
An uplifted price is a different market.
partly true It is the same market at a better price for qualifying accounts. Where the operator resettles the market, the offer may revert - see when the price goes back.