How To Hedge a Bet: Definitive Guide for Bettors

Hedging is a sports betting strategy that a🧜llows punters to reduce risk or guarantee a profit by covering multiple outcomes of an event. In this article, we’ll explain how to hedge a bet and master this savvy approach to sports betting.

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1. 1 What Is Hedging a Bet: Quickly Explained
2. 2 Hedging a Bet Example
3. 3 How To Hedge a Sports Bet
4. 4 When Is the Best Time To Hedge a Bet?
5. 5 How To Hedge a Parlay Bet
6. 6 How To Hedge a Moneyline Bet
7. 7 Hedging Bet Tips & Strategies
8. 8 Pros & Cons of Hedging a Bet
9. 9 What Is𒀰 the Difference Between Hedge Betting & Arbitrage Betting?
10. 10 ThePuntersPage Final Say
11. 11 FAQs

What Is Hedging a Bet: Quickly Explained

Hedging a bet is a technique for mitigating risk or ꧑locking in a profit on a stake.ꦗ It entails making a second bet that partially cancels out your initial wager. Consider it as a type of insurance.

You place the first bet but subsequently place an opposing wager, which can be done at a later date for futures or during the game for moneyline, total, and spread hedges. By doing so, even i❀f your first wager loses, you won't come out with a complete loss. Yet, hedging usually means that you won't make as much profit if the original wager ends up a winner.

Hedging is a key concept to understand and should be a small part of a well-rounded betting strategy. Before signing up for a legal U.S. bookmaker, you should know the basics of wagering, including how to hedge properly. It can help you preserve your bankroll and make the correct decisions t🍎o ensure profits🔯 in different scenarios.

This technique is very commonly associated with futures thanks to long odds being available before seasons or tournaments begin. The opportunity to hedge the opponent in the final i𝔉s a simple process which we’ll dive into later on. Hedging calculators are also an excellent tool t🎀o use when figuring out amounts to hedge.

Hedging a Bet Example

Let’sꦛ say you own a $100 futures ticket on the San Francisco 49ers (+600) to win the Super Bowl. You placed it prior to the season, and if it wins, you’ll take home $600 along with your $100 stake.

San Francisco reaches the Super Bowl and is set to face the Kansas City Chiefs (+🍬100). If you want to guarantee a profit, you could hedge your bet by placing a wager on the Chiefs.

For instance, if you wagered (hedged) $200 on Kansas City (+100) and it was victorious, you’d walk away with $400 ($200 stake plus the $200 payou♋t) mi൲nus your $100 bet on the 49ers, for a total profit of $100.

In the case that San Francisco wins (which is obviously the outcome you’d prefer), and you made the $2💛00 h🎐edge bet on Kansas City, you’d walk away with a $400 profit.

If you didn’t hedge and let your 49ers ticket ri꧒de with San Francisco triumphant, you’d profit $600 and get your original stake of $100 back, receiving $700 in total.

If you don’t hedge and Kansas City wins, you’ll lose your $100 initial wager on the 49ers and be down $100 in your bankroll after the r🍎esult.

This is just an example. We’re not advising you to place a specific amount on either team or detailing how much to hedge. That depends on a number of factors, including how much profit you want to ensure, your bankroll, and your confidence♋ level i🐲n the 49ers or Chiefs.

How To Hedge a Sports Bet

While this scenario works for any bookmaker, let's take a step-by-step look at how to hedge a bet on FanDuel. We’re using a generic example of the Copa America and aren’t making 🅷any recomm𒅌endations in terms of quantities.

1. Visit a Sportsbook & Create an Account

Once you're at a 🎃bookie of your choice (preferably with the best possible odds), enter your personal information and verify your location.

2. Make a Deposit

Choose your🙈 preferred deposit method, select a bo꧙nus, and make the deposit.

3. Place a Futures Bet

Make a futures wager after performing in-depth research, so you are well-informed. We’ll use a scenario where you bet on Colombia at +1300 before 𝓀the Copa America.

4. Hedge Your Bet

If the team you bet on reaches the final, you’ll likely want to hedge your bet. Since Colombia has reached the final, you would hedge your bet by betting on its opponent, Argentina, to either guarantee a profit or break even if Colombia were to🐓 lose. This way, you aren’t in the negative column. However, if Colombia wins, you’ll obviously return a larger profit.

When Is the Best Time To Hedge a Bet?

ꩲ The following scena♊rios include some of the best times to hedge:

How To Hedge a Parlay Bet

Now that we've discussed hedging parlays, ꦐtake a look🧸 at the example below.

You placed the following parlay with four legs:

The first three legs with Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Seattle were all successful, but you need New York to win or the entire wager will be graded as a loss. To hedge, you would bet on the New York Liberty’s opponent — which, in this cไase, is the Connecticut Sun at +220.

The amount is up to you; however, in the scenario that you ✱were confident in the🐈 Liberty but wanted to at least come out with a slight profit if they lose, you could wager $50 to win $110.

It would pay you $160 total with $60 in profit since you’d deduct the $50 stake from the lost parlay. If the p🌼arlay was successful and you hedged, you’d profit $377.74 by subtracting the $50 he✃dge.

How To Hedge a Moneyline Bet

Hedging a moneyline bet usually requꦦires you to wager🎃 on a game live. 

Let’s say you bet on the Dallas Cow💙boys at -110 odds♑ ($110 wins $100) against the New York Giants.

The Cowboys’ starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, gets hu♏rt in the first quarter while the team is up 7-0 and is ruled out for the game. You believe the Cowboys will lose because the backup quarterback's skill level has dropped drastically compared to Prescott’s. The Giants are +125 live, so you hedge by betting $100 to win $125 ($225 in total, including stake and payout) o𒀰n them to win.

In this scenario, if the Cowboys went on to win, you’d win $100 and even out, which essentially cancels out both bets. If the Giants won, you’d win $125 and profit a ꧋total of $25 since you subtract you🔥r $100 first stake on Dallas.

The hedge serves a𒐪s a safety net🐼 if you had let your initial bet ride and the Cowboys lost (you would have lost $100).

It’s important to remember that you can use a hedge calculator in scen🅰arios like this as well. These ar♚e just examples and we aren’t recommending a certain amount of money to be wagered.

Hedging Bet Tips & Strategies

The tips and strategies belo🙈w should be used in a well-developed betting and hedging strategy.

• Choose the Right Markets: Bet types are imperative when hedging. Futures present the simplest scenario to hedge, with teams having much higher odds, although it is difficult for the team to reach the championship or final. Moneyli꧂nes and totals can be trickier to hedge depending on the situation, and are usually hedged live. Large line movements do occur sometimes, allowing you to hedge before the event begins.

• Compare Odds: Always make sure to odds shop across different websites when betting and hedgin🦩g. One sportsbook can offer better odds for your futures bet, and if the opportunity presents itself to hedge later in the tournament, moneyline odds will be different across bookmakers.

• Use Tools and Implied Probability: Using tools such as a hedging calculator can make things a lot easier when hedg💮ing. Also, make sure to calculate the implied probability of a team winning when consider⛄ing how much you’re going to hedge in certain instances.

• Be Practical about Limiting Your Losses: Being practical is essential because you aren’t always going to be able to lock in a profit or even out. If you think the team you initially wagered on is doomed, and betting on the opponent offers a small loss, take it rather than losing you♊r full stake 🃏of the initial wager.

• Hedge Parlays: As eye-popping as the parlay payout appears, if you’re one leg away from hitt💧ing a massive payout, don’t let your pride get in the way. Hedge that last leg. It’s up to you to determine the amount. A hedging calculator can be clutch in such situations.

Pros & Cons of Hedging a Bet

Just about every betting strategy has posi🙈tives and negatives surrounding it. Let’s take a look at both in terms of hedging.

What Is the Difference Between Hedge Betting & Arbitrage Betting?

Hedging and arbitrage wagering both entail several wagers but aim for separate outcomes. H🅷edging tries to reduce risk on an existing bet by placing a counter bet. Arbitrage be𒁃tting takes advantage of price disparities between bookmakers to ensure a small amount of profit, regardless of the match's outcome.

We’ll use the MLB All-Star game as an example. The scenario will include odds from FanDuel (pictured below) for the American League and hypothetical DraftKings odds for the National League.

This is a basic example of arbitrage betting exploiting differences in lines to collect a small profit. Remember, 🐈these opportunities are hard to find and bookies are known for limiting accounts if they suspect you’re employing the strateg🥃y.

ThePuntersPage Final Say

Hedging is a sports betting strategy that must be used in certain scenarios and as part of a well-thought-out, multifaceted betting strategy. As a punter, you shouldn’t be placing bets or signing up for legal bookies without having knowledge of how to properly hedge a bet. Remember toᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ use tools such as a hedging calculator and to wage♒r responsibly.