There are smart bettors who want to lower their risk when placing money on teams yet they want guaranteed profit regardless which team or player wins in a game. So how can a punter do that?
This is where hedging your bets comes into play. For bettors who are also unsure of their favorite teams and have a gut feel that the other team may pull off the victory, hedging your bets may be the right decision for you, provided you have enough funds to roll with it.
The concept of hedge betting actually covers a lot of risks if the punter does not do things the right way. Aside from having enough cash in your bankroll, a bettor must properly calculate the numbers, possibilities and yes, even the odds, before hedging bets on two teams so that you don’t go empty handed at the end of the game.
BET AGAINST YOURSELF AND STILL WIN
Hedging is described as a sports betting strategy used by bettors to reduce risks or guarantee a profit when you place your money on a sports event. It can also be defined as a counter wager made against another wager to assure the bettor still gets some money regardless of the outcome of the game.
Basically, hedging is like betting against yourself but still gaining some profit. But, like earlier mentioned, this strategy can only be effective if the bettor calculates the numbers with your trusted sportsbook as a guide or comparing multiple bookies before making that decision.
The concept of hedging beets can be applied from in-game beets or in futures bets and even in parlays. It’s a matter of checking on live updates and finding an opportunity if hedging a bet on a game can ensure profit regardless which team wins.
CHECK ON ANY ‘KILLER PRICES’ FOR ANY TEAM
Let’s cite an example at an NBA game and a bettor picks on a big underdog, like the Orlando Magic, to win the game. The bettor places money on a $100 wager at +360 before the game, meaning he gets to win $360 in profit if his team wins.
If the Magic takes a 20-point lead in the third quarter, the bettor’s bet is looking good to win, but what if the other team, the favorite like the Phoenix Suns, are so good you think they can still come back from the game?
It gets more interesting if a bettor gets a killer price on the other team, the favorite, which is now +400 to win the game based on in-game odds. The Suns may be down but they still got a killer price, creating an opportunity to still gain profit by betting on that team aside from your earlier underdog bet.
Once the bettor bets $100 on the other team through in-game betting at +400, he is guaranteed money no matter which team wins. If the underdog team, the Magic, wins, the bettors get $360 in profit minus the $100 he wagered in-game on the other team to result in a $260 total profit.
INVEST ON FUTURES BETS BY HEDGING
Only a small amount of investment is needed on futures bets and hedging to guarantee profit once the teams are picked right and the numbers are calculated right.
Let’s say the Los Angeles Lakers have a 100 to one shot of winning the NBA title, but you still made the bet on them for $100 and they win, you stand to win $10,000. If the Lakers went on to the NBA Finals against the Brooklyn Nets , for example, and has a total toss-up of -110 odds for both teams to have equal chances of winning,
The odds got better as LeBron James, sidelined for the whole regular season with a knee injury, suddenly was activated for the playoffs. While you already made the bet for the “underdog” Lakers, you also want to place money on the Nets to win.
Once the bettor bets $5,250 on the Nets to win, the scenario goes like this: a Lakers win will have him win his original futures bet for a $10,000 profit but will lose his hedge bet for $5,250.
But a Nets win will have a bettor lose his original futures bet for a loss of $100, yet he would win his hedge bet for a profit of roughly $4,772. The total profit for the bettor if the Nets win is at $4,662, meaning the bettor does not go home empty handed.
FINANCIAL PREPARATION KEY TO HEDGING
Sportsbooks may give the most accurate guide and the best prices in sports events you want, but that does not mean they can do a credit on a bettor who wants to make a hedge bet. Getting that fund ready for a hedge bet that does not allow you to lose is crucial to ensure enough profit and minimal loss.
The money may just be there in the ATM, but you may have to go to the bank ahead of time if there are ATM limits if the need arises for you to get that money for the hedge bet.Online betting transactions may have to take 24 hours to ensure your deposit will be processed on time.
It is easy for even new bettors to have $10 or $20 or even $100 ready for placing money on a team. But not every punter has $5,000 ready that can be used to make a hedge bet. Last-minute looks for those the best prices at sportsbooks will help you get updated and get the best hedging deal but scrambling to get those funds ready would be unwise and should be avoided at all times.
