Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could make sure that you minimize your losses while placing your bets? Then check out hedge betting. As you will see below, hedge betting allows you to mitigate some of your risks when placing sports bets.
This is a useful strategy that allows you to offset your bets by placing counter-wagers on the opposite selections. It can reduce potential losses, but does not guarantee a profit, however. In the below guide, we explain how to hedge a bet, the pros and cons, and factors to consider before partaking in hedge sports betting.
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What does hedge mean in betting?
There are many types of betting that allow you to improve your odds against the house, such as
arbitrage betting. Hedge betting is one of the simplest techniques you can learn, and its basic definition is:
- The process of placing a second bet that counters the outcome of your original bet.
Confused? Let’s do a quick hedge bet example. Let’s say that you’ve placed a $10 futures moneyline bet (a moneyline bet is where you pick the overall winner of a game) on the Boston Celtics to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers at 1.25 odds. If you changed your mind later on because you saw that Jayson Tatum was injured for the game, you could hedge your bet by placing a counter moneyline bet on the Cavs to win at 1.45 odds.
With this hedge bet, regardless of whether the Cavs or Celtics win, you get paid. That is the simplest form of how to hedge sports bets.
Hedge betting examples
Hedge betting is a little more complex than the above example because you have to consider the odds, chance of success, and value of your bets. In certain circumstances, you can make a hedge bet profitable. To expand on our original example, we’ve given three hedge bet examples below:
Futures bets
When looking at how to hedge bet, the simplest starting point is with a futures bet. Futures bets are any bets placed in advance of the game taking place, i.e. not live bets. Let’s look at an example:
- Your starting wager is a $10 bet on the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Finals at +1600 which means you would win $170.
- Dallas makes it to the NBA FInals, so your bet is looking better, however, Boston is the clear favorites.
- As Boston is the favorites, their moneyline is -400.
- You therefore, place a $50 bet on Boston to win which means you would win $62.50
In this simple hedging a bet example, there are two outcomes:
- Dallas wins
– you make $110 profit ($170 winnings – $10 stake – $50 hedge bet).
- Boston wins
– you make $2.50 profit ($62.50 winnings – $50 stake – $10 original bet).
With the counter-Boston bet, you could increase your stake higher than $50 which would increase your profit if Boston wins, but decrease it if Dallas wins. We get that the profit if Boston wins is marginal, but the main point is that you didn’t lose.
Parlays
We can also look at how to hedge a parlay, as this works different to futures bets. The principle is simple – your counter hedge bet is placed on the opposing selection for the last match in your parlay, for example:
- You make a three-selection hedge parlay where you pick the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, and Memphis Grizzlies to win.
- Your parlay has combined odds of +1250 and you placed a $20 bet which would payout $270.00.
- The games progress and Denver and Boston have won – you just need Memphis to beat Golden State.
- Your parlay hedge bet would be a moneyline bet on the Golden State Warriors to win.
- The odds are -100 so you place a $20 bet which would win you $50.00
In this parlay hedge bet, the following can happen:
| Winner | Profit |
| Memphis | $230.00 profit ($270 winnings – $20 stake – $20 hedge bet) |
| Golden State | $10.00 profit ($50.00 winnings – $20 stake – $20 original bet) |
You obviously want the Memphis payout, but a $10 profit if Golden State wins is nothing to be sniffed at!
In-play bets
Hedge betting works great for in-play betting too, as you can actively follow the games and track your bets progress. For example, if you placed a futures moneyline bet on the Chicago Bears to beat the Cleveland Browns, but it looked like the Browns were going to win, you could pull the trigger and place a hedge bet on them using in-play betting.
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Pros and cons of hedge betting
Hedge betting isn’t a perfect strategy as it does have its flaws. To give you a better overview of this part, we’ve outlined its pros and cons below:
- It allows for maintaining a consistent bank balance.
- You can combat some of the randomness of sports results.
- It doesn’t result in high payouts.
- There is more time and effort needed to implement hedge bets.
Tips and factors to consider to hedge bets effectively
Hedge betting is a precise betting strategy that requires attention and discipline. To get you started at
US betting sites, we’ve listed some essential factors to consider implementing for your hedge betting strategy:
What is the chance of success of your original bet?
Always assess the perceived chance of success of your original bet as this helps determine if you need to place a hedge bet. For example, let’s say that you’ve placed a moneyline bet on the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Detroit Pistons.
Sure, you could place a hedge bet on Detroit to win, but the OKC finished 1st in the West, while the Pistons were the worst team in the league. In this scenario, a hedge bet isn’t as necessary because 90% of the time, OKC are winning that matchup.
Have your original bet’s odds changed?
When looking at how to hedge a moneyline bet or a futures bet, you must consider how the odds of your original bet have changed. In the above example, Oklahoma would usually beat the Pistons. But what if a day before the game it’s reported that Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are out due to injury?
This severely changes OKC’s starting lineup and the odds on Oklahoma winning would decrease. What was previously a 90% sure-thing may now only be a 60% likelihood. In these instances, making a hedge bet on Detroit to win would be wiser.
What risk level are you comfortable with?
Hedge betting isn’t geared towards huge profits. It’s also a relatively low-risk strategy. You have to think about your style of betting and what risk levels you are comfortable with. Perhaps you do want to make consistent small returns, have effective
bankroll management, and prefer the low-risk approach, in which case hedge betting is an excellent choice.
Alternatively, if you don’t mind taking risks, hedge betting may not be the right strategy.
Are you up to date with the latest game developments?
If you want to hedge bet effectively, you have to be active. It is possible to place futures bets and futures hedge bets, but to get the best results, we advise monitoring odds and staying up to date with the latest game developments. Check injury reports, look at advanced game states, and go in-depth into things like previous match history and current performance. These things can all help you make wiser hedge bets.
Mitigate your losses with hedge betting
Hedge betting is one of the best types of
value betting
and is excellent for bankroll management. If you want to minimize your losses, this is the ideal strategy. By offsetting your original bet with a counter bet, you can guarantee a return, regardless of the outcome of the event.
The only drawback with hedge betting is that you generally won’t make big profits because of the extra bet you place and the fact that one of your bets will always lose.
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FAQ
🔍 What is hedging a bet?
Hedge betting is the process of placing multiple bets on the same event(s) to either guarantee a profit or reduce your losses by covering multiple outcomes.
💵 Can you guarantee a profit from hedge betting?
Yes, but this isn’t a given for every bet you place. Evaluate each bet, its odds, and the different counter bets you can place to make a guaranteed profit, even if it is only a small one.
📈 Is hedging a good betting strategy?
Hedging is great if you want to be consistent and minimize your losses. It isn’t great if you want to make big profits fast.
