Hedging Strategy And Calculator

• What Is Hedging?
• Examples Of Hedging
• Is Hedging Always A Good Idea?
• Pros of Hedging
• Cons Of Hedging
• Hedge Your Bets - A Summary

If you’re eager to learn more hedging in betting, then we hope this guide teaches you all you need to know about it.

You’ll learn about what hedging is, how it works, as well as what its pros and cons are. If you’re brand new to betting and terms like ‘hedging’ and ‘Dutching’ seem daunting, then hopefully our guides fill you with more confidence.

Without further ado, let’s talk about what hedging is.

What Is Hedging?

You’ve most likely heard of the term ‘hedging’, even if you’re new to betting. However, you may have heard, or even said, the term without fully understanding what it means.

All hedging means is you are protecting your bet by wagering on outcomes different to your original bet. We’ll provide examples below, but the crux is hedging a bet is to provide it with some form of insurance in case you aren’t sure who’ll win an event.

That’s all the term means, so there’s no need to worry if the it sounds like a complicated strategy only reserved for seasoned bettors.

Next, we’ll give you an example of hedge betting to give you a further idea of how it looks in-practice.

Examples Of Hedging

The hedging strategy is often used on outrights or futures. The overall aim is that you’re hoping to make a profit irrespective of whether your prediction wins or loses.

If, for example, you bet £100 on Arsenal to win the FA Cup on odds of 12/1, then you’d be looking at a total return of £1,300.

Now let’s say Arsenal make it to the final, where they play Manchester United. In this example, Arsenal have odds at 8/5 (2.60) whereas Man United have odds of 1.50 (1/2 ).

You’d be on-course for a £1,300 return if Arsenal win, but if you wanted to stick £500 on United just in case, then you’d make £750, with a profit of £150.

If you bet on both teams, then you’d have spent £600 on wagers, meaning you have used up some of your potential winnings, but you’d have covered yourself by betting on both outcomes - effectively insuring yourself no matter what happens. Since it’s a final, you don’t have to worry about the teams drawing.

You can now see why hedging is a popular football betting strategy.

It’s by no means perfect (and we’ll discuss that below) but it it can be a very helpful form of insurance. If you’re not great with numbers, then there are several online hedging calculators that’ll do the legwork for you.

Hedging Step By Step

1. Wagering a set amount of money on one team to win an event
2. Wagering on the other team to win to help protect your bet
3. At the conclusion of the event, you’d be in-profit regardless

Hedging may sound too good to be true, but there are some downsides to it, as we’ll discuss in more detail below.

Is Hedging Always A Good Idea?

There are no sure-things in betting, and hedging is no exception. If you have the budget to make two wagers and are conscious about not being on the losing side, then hedging is a great strategy to employ.

However, if your budget is lower, and you’re totally fine with the chances of your bet losing, then there is no great need to start hedging.

Pros of Hedging

The hedging betting strategy has a lot of innate pros, such as:

Insuring Your Bet

Perhaps the main benefit of hedging is that you are insuring your bet in case your original selection does not achieve victory. As far as betting goes, a successful hedged bet is as close to a guaranteed win-win as you could possibly get.

The strategy also calls you to rely on your sporting knowledge. If you’re well-versed in football, you can use a hedged bet to essentially make money from your passion for the sport.

Manage Your Bankroll

Another benefit of hedging is the ability to manage bankroll. This will help you avoid large losses and keep you away from the downward spiral of losing bets.

Cons Of Hedging

However, hedging bets isn’t a foolproof strategy, and there are a few innate downsides:

It’s Not Suitable For Every Wager

Hedging bets are great when used properly, but there are several instances where they aren’t needed, and the event you’re betting on will need to have a clear winner or loser in most instances.

This renders them obsolete, or at least a lot trickier, on events like league football matches, where a draw is a real possibility.

You’ll Need Additional Money

One of the biggest drawbacks of the hedging betting strategy is that you’ll often need to come up with extra money.

If you take a look at our example, you’ll have seen that the theoretical punter has spent £600 on their wagers - money that is no small amount to anyone. Of course, this is just an example, and you can always spend less, but the overall principle still applies - you’ll need to conjure up money for the additional wager, and it all adds up.

If your budget is small, then hedging your bet may not be the way to go, and perhaps you should stick with more conventional betting strategies.

Hedge Your Bets - A Summary

Hedging is a popular betting strategy done to insure bets in case the punter’s chosen team, horse, or player loses the bet. They are done by betting on both outcomes, ensuring that the punter walks away with at least some profit.

To hedge successfully, you’ll need to have a strong knowledge of your chosen sport, along with the budget to make the two bets worthwhile. The strategy is not perfect, but it can be great option for more cautious bettors who do not want to incur large losses.

We hope this guide has made the concept of hedge betting more approachable, and that you’re now in a position to start utilising it in the future.