How To Hedge Your Sports Bets

Anyone who "hedges" their bets attempts to protect themselves from potential losses. We may hedge many things in everyday life.

In sports betting, hedging reduces the risk of a loss by betting against yourself. Bet hedging is an expert strategy sports gamblers employ to lessen the impact of losses or ensure a return on investments.

Hedging is similar to middling a bet because you bet on the opposing end of your initial bet. Hedging's popularity has increased alongside the rise of futures betting. Novice sports bettors may have heard of the sports betting risk management method through general public discourse.

Hedging a bet is a common topic of conversation whenever a sports bettor has a huge potential future win on the line. If you hedge your wager, you increase your chances of winning by a small amount.

Although there is a discussion about hedging bets in the popular press, there is little available on actually doing so.

What is Bet Hedging?

When a bettor isn't confident that the result of a wager will result in a victory, they can protect themselves by "hedging" their bet by placing a second wager equal to or greater than the first.

Even if a bettor believes they have a chance of winning, they may still hedge their bets to play it safe and ensure they come out on top. The extra bet is a means to generate some form of protection for yourself if the primary gamble is unsuccessful. However, the victory won't be as substantial.

Even if there are differences between the various types of sports betting, hedging is still a valuable tactic. Long-term bets, known as futures wagers, are placed using a moneyline. When betting on some particular games, a point spread may be used, whereas when betting on other sports, sportsbooks may use a moneyline.

Any of these many bets can be hedged against by a bettor. Using this method, the bettor can walk away as a victor or suffer a less significant loss. However, it is essential to remember that if you want to make a second wager on a hedge, you will need to pay vigil to the sportsbooks once more. This will eventually result in a lower possible profit ceiling for your wager.

Middling vs. Hedging Your Sports Bets

Hedging and middling bets are similar. The distinction is that choosing to be in the middle allows you to win both of your bets.

There are a lot of gamblers who hedge their bets routinely. This results in a smaller variability but at the expense of an increase in +EV. You mustn't place bets with a negative expected value whenever you hedge or middle. This significant error will cause your favorable expectations to be lowered.

The lion's share of the time, the middling results in tiny losses, yet when it hits, it makes up for all those shortfalls in a significant amount.

Bettors who want to be successful should make it their mission to place as many middle wagers as possible while keeping their eyes peeled for opportunities to increase their expected value over the long run.

How To Hedge Your Bets

It's not difficult to hedge your bets against potential losses. On the other hand, not everyone keeps this idea at the top of their mind when they place a bet. When you hedge a bet, you are safeguarding a profit that was conceivable from the original gamble, which may still be feasible.

To hedge a bet, a gambler will place a second wager equal to or greater than the first. This second wager is designed to ensure that the bettor will make a profit after the event comes to a close. 

Examples of How To Hedge Your Bets In Sports Betting

A bettor can hedge individual games or an entire future wager. Here is an illustration of how to hedge a bet on futures:

The initial wager was a futures bet for $100 placed on the New York Jets to win the Super Bowl at odds of sixty to one.

• Possible Win: $6,000 + initial $100 wager.
• Hedged Bet: $1,000 bet on LA Rams on a Super Bowl win at 2-1 odds in the Big Game when they go up against the Jets.
• Ideal Result: The New York Jets emerge victorious in the Super Bowl. The bettor gets a windfall of $6,000, and the $1,000 hedge bet on the Rams winning is considered a loss. Therefore, the bettor's total winnings would be $5,000 instead of the original $6,000 prize. 
• Hedge Bet Win Results: The Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl, which nets the bettor a $2,000 win. In this case, we need to consider the $1,000 hedge bet value minus the initial $100 wager. Therefore, the bettor takes home a final win of $900.
• Worst Possible Result: The most unsatisfactory result in this series of bets is if the bettor did not place a hedge bet, and the Los Angeles Rams got the win. This outcome would mean the initial $100 bet, the potential $6,000 win, or even the $900 possibility would be completely gone.

The following illustration demonstrates why placing a hedge on a future bet can still result in a winning gamble. The bettor is shielded from the risk of losing the full possible reward from the bet thanks to hedging.

If you hedge your bet, it indicates that the initial bet won't return as much profit as it otherwise would have. Any success, even if only temporary, is preferable to having none. This is the point of spreading your bets over many outcomes.

This example also demonstrates that without using hedging, all of the money that is risked, including the initial bet of $100 and the potential reward of $6,000, is lost.

Some gamblers wouldn't mind giving up the $100 stake and the potential profit if it meant getting a bigger payout. After sitting through a complete season, some bettors would rather walk away with a profit of some type than lose their money.

How To Hedge Your Bets Using Live Betting

The development of legitimate online gambling platforms worldwide has increased the number of available sports betting alternatives. The advent of live betting on sporting events has been one of the most significant positive developments. Using this kind of betting, you can bet on an event while it is still in progress. Additionally, it may allow you to hedge your pregame wagers.

If you placed a wager before the start of the game on a particular outcome, you might use live betting to either make up for any losses you incurred or ensure that you continue to make a profit. You are likely to have several options available, ranging from wagers placed around halftime to other types of wagers to assist you in offsetting the cost of your initial bets.

Hedging Your Sports Bets via Parlay Bets

A parlay is yet another strategy that can be used as a hedge. These, thankfully, are a little less complicated than a hedge within the game itself. The simplest illustration of this would be if you were successful with your first two wagers in a three-team parlay. If you wish to be sure that you win money, all you have to do is hedge your bets by placing them on the opposing side in the final wager of the parlay. You are certain of winnings, even though the payment amount will be lower.

The Pros and Cons of Hedging Your Bets

Every possible betting strategy has both advantages and disadvantages.

• The primary advantage of hedge betting is the reduction of risk, which may help you ensure a profit or, at the very least, limit your losses. There's no denying that no sports bettor enjoys losing money, but we can all conclude that losing less than everything you wager is preferable.
• Benefit number two is that it may aid in the management of your bankroll. Multiple bets lessen your overall risk, protecting you from catastrophic losses and, on occasion, assuring you of a profit. Of course, this isn't without its drawbacks. Guaranteeing a profit of any type is challenging, and hedging can be risky in some circumstances. Before attempting the approach, you should carefully consider the risks and potential payoffs, as not all bets are suitable for hedging.
• A further disincentive to hedging bets is that you need to have the money to make the countering bet in the first place. You'll need extra cash on hand every time you use the approach to place a bet. But if you're a tight-fisted money manager, as you should be, you may not have that luxury.

Think carefully about the stakes you're prepared to accept, whether or not the expense of hedging them is worthwhile, and how all of this will affect your bankroll before making any bets.

Should You Be Hedging Your Sports Bets?

The decision to hedge a bet is ultimately up to the individual. For those who are content with a profit but would rather not put everything on the line, investing in a hedge makes logical sense. There is no need to hedge one's bet if one is committed to their initial gamble and does not mind the possibility of incurring financial losses should the opposing side prevail.