What Is Hedging a Bet?
How to Hedge a Bet Successfully.

What is hedging a bet is one of the most commonly asked questions in sports betting. Reducing risk for a bet or finding a way to guarantee profit from a bet is called 'hedging' in the sports betting industry.

There are a few steps to go through to place a successful hedge bet, but it is a key advanced sports betting strategy for customers looking to gain a leg on their long-term success.

A hedge bet is essentially when the customer wagers the opposite of their originally placed wager. It sounds counterintuitive off the bat, but this can be a super useful tool for future wagers and can also have an impact in the short term if the line movement is significant after newly developed information.

How to Hedge a Bet – Keys To Hedging A Wager

It may sound obvious, but one key to hedging a bet is taking the wager at different times and odds. The quickest and most simple hedging example is hedging a futures bet.

If a customer wagers on North Carolina to win the NCAA Tournament before the season started (or at any point during the season) at +2000 odds and North Carolina reaches the championship game, the customer can simply bet their opponent to win the game for a guaranteed return on the original NCAA Tournament winner bet.

The original $100 futures bet is on UNC to win the NCAA Championship at 20-1 (+2000). The potential win would be $2,000 + the original $100 wager. The hedge bet would be on whomever is North Carolina's opponent for $1,000 at +100 odds. This is a crucial part of learning about what is hedging a bet.

What is Hedging a Bet? How Hedging Bets Reduces Risk

Without a hedge, the best result would be if North Carolina wins the championship and the customer wins $2,000. With the hedge, the $1,000 wager on their opponent would knock that win down to $1,000. The worst-case scenario would be to not place a hedge bet, North Carolina loses, and the original $100 full season wager is lost.

It's important to remember that by placing a hedge, the customer will be paying the vig for a second time (including the original bet), which reduces potential profit. This behavior varies from customer to customer.

Some do not mind letting their $100 ride for a possible $2,000 win, and some are happy to take a guaranteed profit with a reduced payout. There is no right or wrong way on either approach if a customer has a long-term game plan for themselves.

What is Hedging A Bet? Hedging Non-Future Bets

With the introduction and prevalence of legal United States sportsbook operators and their live wagering abilities, hedging a futures bet used to be one of the only situations this could even be discussed.

Live, or In Play, wagering allows customers to be able to watch a game a real time to possibly abort a previously made wager and lessen the blow.

It wasn't too long ago when live betting was not possible on digital sportsbooks and customers had to wait until the end of a quarter or until halftime to hedge against their original wager, but now the opportunities are endless.

Like hedging future bets, hedging parlay bets is becoming more and more popular as there is no steadfast time where wagering ends.

Using Multi-Leg Parlays for Hedging Bets

Customers who place multi-leg parlays will have a plethora of available times to wager against the final leg to guarantee a win or at the very least prevent any losses. If a multi-leg parlay is still live by the final leg, there are multiple bet hedging strategies to use where a customer can come out ahead.

For a hedging a bet example, a customer places a $10 wager on a four-team parlay. At 10-1 odds, the bet stands to pay out $100 if all four wagers are winners.

The first three games win, and the fourth game remains from the parlay to win the full 10-1 bet. The best possible scenario would be for the final game of the four-team ticket, the favorite is involved on the customer's ticket.

The reason for this is the customer can place a bet on the opposite team plus the points, and it is possible that the team in the original wins but doesn't cover, and the customer can win their parlay in addition to the underdog spread bet used to hedge.

At the worst, the underdog wins outright and however many dollars put on that last leg can be the profit (minus the original $10 wagered).

Live Betting’s Role in Bet Hedging

With live betting, this decision does not even have to be made before the final game starts. A customer can watch the game and see how it's going to decide if a hedge is even necessary. Hedging in sports betting takes thought and attention!

If the final team in a customer's four-team parlay builds a huge lead early and dominates the entire time, a hedge isn't even necessary and full winning potential can be had. There are many hedge bet calculator options out there to help you calculate your winnings.

Want to Learn More about Sports Betting?

WagerTalk offers an expansive group of guides to all elements of sports betting. Check out our guide to betting on golf, guide to betting on hockey, guide to betting on soccer, or learn more about specific types of bets, like what is the run line in baseball, what is a parlay bet, or even how same game parlays work.

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Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

• Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
• Last-Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
• Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.

Make sure to bookmark all the above!