What Is Hedge Betting And How To Do It Successfully

What Does “To Hedge A Bet” Mean?

Simply put, hedging means minimizing the casualties! In other words, when you hedge a situation, you reduce your exposure to unpleasant outcomes. In sports betting, bettors use hedging to reduce the risks of their wager or guarantee some profit out of it.
Hedging a bet is an advanced sports betting strategy in which you place a second wager against your original bet because you are unsure whether or not it settles as a win. Although the potential win from hedges in sports betting will not be considerable, it allows you to walk away with some money or at least less loss!

As a sports bettor, you can use hedging against any wager, say, point spread, futures, or Moneyline. However, there is something to remember here, which is sportsbooks vig(vigorish or commission). To place a hedge bet against your original wager, you should pay another vig to the bookmaker, which decreases your potential profit.

Hedge Betting Made Simple

The concept of hedge betting is pretty easy to understand, and simplicity is the main reason behind its widespread use among sports bettors, pros, and newbies. However, the ease of practice should not fool you because the method can easily be misunderstood and confused with the arbitrage sports betting system(more on this later).

To hedge a bet, you place an additional wager against your already active bet to guarantee a profit regardless of the outcome or minimize the risk of losing it all. The most common betting market where hedging is profitable is futures betting. 

Below is an example to help you better understand the concept.

Learn To Hedge A Bet With This Simple Example

Suppose you place a future bet at +1000 odds on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl($10 to win $100). In the early season, the Chiefs made it to the final four teams. This is good news that says your +1000 bet is not at risk because that price no longer exists in the market. Now, the bookmaker would list Chiefs odds of winning the tournament at something like +180. In this case, you have two options: hedge or let your bet remain as it is. If you take the first option, you should bet on the outcome of Houston not winning the tournament. In this case, the bookmaker would list the odds of Houston not winning at -250, which means you should risk $250 to win $100(or risk $25 to win $10). Hedging allows you to secure some profit regardless of the outcome. However, it will reduce your potential earnings on Houston winning the tournament. Here are two scenarios for either case(hedging or not hedging):

When And Why Should You Hedge Your Bets?

The question does not have a short answer. Because it depends on the situation, your bankroll, your ability to make the right mathematical decisions, and the amount you already risked for your original wager. Knowing when and why you should hedge a bet is vital and determines your overall win or loss. For this reason, we summarized every scenario to help you better figure out when and why to hedge your bet.

1. Securing Profit

The primary reason for hedging your bet is to guarantee some profit. So, you hedge(bet the opposite outcome) your initial wager when the chances of your winning have decreased. However, you still doubt whether the outcome would be a loss. In other words, you place a hedge bet to cover your initial wager with minimum cash.

2. If you changed your mind OR there are changes in the game

You may change your mind during a game because your team is not playing up to your expectations. Also, the outcome of a game dramatically changes due to the weather, the injury of a star player, a player being red-carded, etc. As a result, your initial bet outcome changes accordingly. In such situations, you can hedge to prevent unpleasant outcomes and significant losses due to unexpected changes in the game.

3. In-Play Hedge Bet

In-play betting is fun but riskier. Because you are placing your wager in real-time, changes happen quickly, and you need to decide as fast as the game progresses. In-play hedging allows you to cover your losses in cases where your initial bet is affected due to unexpected events, like a player injury.

4. Hedge a Future bet 

As mentioned earlier, the future market is the most common for hedge betting because of its favorable and considerable odds. In this market, you are primarily betting on an outright winner of an upcoming major event. For example, you bet on the Super Bowl LVll champion. Hedging future bets is very common due to the high risk and profit involved.

5. Parlay bets hedging 

Parlay tickets are accumulator bets in which you bet on the outcome of multiple matches in one ticket. You need all your legs(outcomes) to win for your parlay to win. The more outcomes you add to your ticket, the riskier and more profitable it will be. Hence, hedging your last leg(bet), especially when you get the initial legs correct, can significantly increase your earnings from a parlay ticket. Parlay hedge calculators can also help you make better decisions while hedging parlays.

5 Proven Tips For a Successful Hedge Betting

Although the process is not complicated, you should hedge a bet with your eyes wide open. Below are some tips to help you approach this sports betting strategy more confidently and easily.

Download this cheat sheet to practice the top three hedge betting strategies used by pro sports bettors.

Make sure your bets are well-balanced 

You must balance your hedge bet to minimize your loss, make a profit, or break even, depending on your initial stake. This means you should do some calculations or use hedge betting calculators to place a well-balanced amount of stake as your hedge bet.

Make sure to pick the right games

Hedge betting is a versatile sports betting strategy that can be used in any sports and sports betting market. However, picking the best game and the best market can dramatically increase your chances of walking away with considerable winnings. It is recommended to pick matches that offer markets with only two possible outcomes. This way, you will be more likely to lock in profits and avoid losing a lot of money by betting on the opposite outcome.

Don’t rely primarily on game analysis

Game analysis is not all you need to place a successful hedge bet. Several factors must be considered, including weather and other external factors that affect the course of the game and consequently change the odds as the game continues. Hence, the main takeaway is understanding the concept of hedge betting and knowing when and why to hedge a bet.

You can also take advantage of free hedging calculators. However, make sure to use these tools as a means to help you do the calculations easier. You should not make your decisions solely based on such calculators.

Practice risk management 

This is where the ability to make the right mathematical decisions comes into the picture. A good bettor can mitigate the risks by placing an optimal stake. This means they well-balance their bets and place a hedge bet that will only lose a little if the worst-case scenario happens. In short, you must consider the worst-case scenario, balance your wagers, and manage the risks involved.

Shop for the best lines and odds

We always recommend shopping around. This means it is a good idea to make multiple accounts on different bookmakers and compare their odds for the same match you want to bet on. This is an excellent strategy to find the most favorable odds.

Take advantage of bonus offers

Always use the best bonuses and promotions offered by bookmakers to make the most out of your bets. Bookies compete to attract more players. For this reason, they offer various bonuses in the form of free bets, reload bonuses and cashback promos. You can use such offers to place your initial bet or hedge bet. However, read each bonus terms and conditions thoroughly before claiming it, as most promos come with specific and, sometimes, strict terms.

Hedging vs. Arbitrage Betting

As mentioned earlier, sports bettors, especially newbies, tend to confuse the two concepts and think they are the same. However, arbitrage and hedge betting are not the same things.

Arbitrage betting is when you place two opposite bets on the same sporting event at two different sportsbooks.

Arbitrage betting has a similar aim as hedging; increasing your chances of winning. 

Hedging a bet, on the other hand, involves placing a bet on the opposite outcome of an active bet on the same bookmaker to compensate for the possible loss or increase your profit.

Final Thoughts

Sports betting involves more risk than other kinds of gambling. Hence, strategies like hedge betting can minimize the possible losses or guarantee some profit, as explained in the example above in this article. You can use hedge betting calculators to practice before placing your first hedge bet.