There are heaps of different sports betting strategies – trust me I’ve tried most of them! However, one of the more reliable methods for bankroll management is hedge betting and I think this can be effective at mitigating your losses.
But, what does hedge mean in betting? Well, I’ve had plenty of experience using this strategy so I’ve created the below guide to give you a basic introduction, plus examples of how it works.
What does hedging your bets mean? A basic explanation
For the
best sport betting sites, hedging is always a possibility. It’s essentially a type of safety bet or a counter bet that is meant to reduce your risk and give you a better chance of your wager being successful. In some instances, hedging your bets can even mean that you win regardless of the outcome of a game/games.
You are essentially betting on the opposite result of one/all of your main selections to make sure that at least one of your bets pays out. If done correctly, this can mean that you can make a return regardless, or at least cover your original stakes and break even.
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A hedge bet example
It’s much easier if I give you a demonstration and provide an example of hedge betting in action. I’ll use actual odds and a real sporting event that was live at the time I wrote this guide on what does hedge mean in betting.
You’ve got 4 NBA play-in games to determine the 7th and 8th seeds in both the Eastern and Western Conferences:
- Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks
- Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies
- Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat
- Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks
You decide to make a 4-selection acca and pick a winner for each of the games and you go for:
| Your pick | Odds |
| Orlando | 1.47 |
| Golden State | 1.30 |
| Chicago | 1.84 |
| Sacramento | 1.50 |
This gives you a 4-fold acca with odds of 5.27 – you place a $20 bet which would give you a return of $105.40. Orlando vs Atlanta is first up and the Magic win convincingly 114-97. On the next day, the Golden State Warriors smash the Grizzlies 125-101 with a classic 35pt performance from Steph Curry. That’s two legs you’ve got right. The streak continues with the Bulls narrowly defeating the Miami Heat on Thursday 104-101.
All that’s left is the Kings vs Mavs. You’ve picked Sacramento as they were the odds-on favorite, but you think that AD and the Mavs could have the experience edge. As a result, you decided to hedge your bets and place a single moneyline selection on Dallas to win. Their odds are 2.50 which means you need to make an $8 bet to at least cover your initial stake – you actually decide to make it $15. We now have the following scenario:
- If Sacramento wins:
You win your 4-fold acca and get $105.40. But you lose the Mavs bet which means you get back $90.40.
- If the Mavs win:
You lose your 4-fold acca and get nothing. But, you win your Mavs bet which gets you $37.50, minus the initial $20 stake from the 4-fold acca means you get back $17.50 in total.
So, just by hedging your bets and making a counter bet on the Mavs, you either make $90.40 or $17.50. As it turns out, the Mavs DO beat the Kings, so while your acca fails, you still at least get a bit back.
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Limitations of hedge betting
Whether you’re asking the question,
what is a round robin bet, or what does hedging your bets mean, you have to realize that no betting strategy is perfect or infallible – if it was, everyone would be using it and sportsbooks would be out of business.
A major limitation of hedge betting is that it’s only really beneficial for accas and it rarely works at all on a single match outcome. Also, your potential profitability and ability to break even is greatly reduced the more counter hedge bets you place against your initial acca. Lastly, this type of bet takes way more effort and calculations if you want to make it work, compared to just a simple outright bet, or a simple acca.
Pros and cons of hedge betting in sports
Hedging is a great strategy at
betting sites with instant withdrawal, but there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of and this is shown in the below pros and cons:
Advantages
- It’s an effective risk and bankroll management strategy
- Can help place more successful wagers
- You should at least be able to cover the initial stake
Disadvantages
- It works better for accas spread over several days
- It requires a lot of effort and calculations
Give hedge betting a try today to manage your risk and bankroll
I completely believe that the extra effort and calculations involved with hedging your bets in sports betting is worth it. I’ve had many instances where a counter bet has saved me from a diabolical acca bet that went wrong. Of course, this betting strategy is not infallible and you will not be able to guarantee yourself profit on every group of bets. However, with careful planning, monitoring, and calculations, you should be able to place hedge bets to at least cover your initial stakes and break even which is better than an outright loss!
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Hedge betting FAQs
🤔 Are you always guaranteed to win when hedging your bets?
You can make it so that at least one selection always wins, but you cannot always guarantee that you make profit. Hedging is more about risk management and mitigating your losses, rather than always guaranteeing profit.
🚫 Is hedging bets illegal?
No. This is a perfectly valid betting strategy that online sportsbooks will allow.
🔄 What does hedging your bets mean?
Hedging is the process of placing counter bets on opposite selections to the bets you have already made. This gives you a safeguard and helps you manage your bankroll more effectively.
