Hedge bet calculator pros and cons
Pros & Cons
- Helps minimize risk
- Can make informed decisions
- Visibility of potential payouts
- Can be impractical in-play
Using a sports betting hedge calculator
There’s no doubt about it, working out how to hedge a bet manually is nothing most people would be willing to do. On the other hand, theoretically guaranteeing a profit or minimizing a loss is something you are likely to want to do, and using our free hedge calculator betting tool can help you do that. Like all
betting calculators
you’ll find here, it is simple to use, but is only as effective as the data you put into it, and it will not help you win more bets.
In short, by using a hedge betting calculator like the one on this page, you’ll see what size compensatory bet you’ll need to lock in a profit or reduce a loss, so you’ll know the outcome of your wager.
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What is hedge betting?
Hedge betting is when you place bets on different outcomes of the same event in an attempt to put yourself in a profitable position, or at least provide some insurance should your initial bet not go as planned. This is likely to require more than one sportsbook, or where available a betting exchange, where you can wager on an event not happening by using a lay bet.
Example scenario Bulls vs Knicks
You have backed the Bulls but you are not as sure as you’d like even though they are winning. If you have access to a betting exchange you can place a lay bet that the Bulls will not win, so you’ll be covered if your fears become reality. If you don’t have access to a betting exchange, you will have to go and place a compensatory wager on the Knicks to get the same result. The question here is how much would you need to wager to cover yourself or even make a profit no matter what happens? - this is where the sports betting hedge calculator.
How to use a sports betting hedge calculator
Just like our
dutching calculator, the sports betting hedge calculator is simple to use, but you need to enter your figures precisely. A common error is selecting the wrong odds type so make sure you know if you are using decimal, fractional or American odds. You will also need to enter
- Your original stake for the first bet
- The odds on that first bet
Now enter odds of your compensatory hedge bet - and let the calculator do the hard work for you. You are likely to see three different results, which will need some explaining and you can choose which one you want to use depending on your betting style.
| Bias | Description |
| None | The stake for your hedge bet is calculated so you get the same return regardless of which team wins |
| Toward original bet | The stake for your hedge bet is calculated so that all the profit is in the original bet, and you only break even if your hedge bet wins. |
| Toward hedge bet | The stake for your hedge bet is calculated so that you break even if the original bet wins, and all the profit is in the success of the hedge bet |
This works well if you have just two possible results - using the example above, whether the Knicks or the Bulls win - but what if you have a sport like soccer where a draw is also a common result. If you have access to a betting exchange this would not be a problem as the lay bet also covers the draw, but if not you would need to use a 3 way hedge bet calculator to include the draw or tie. You might also wish to hedge a parlay or accumulator bet, and in cases like this you will need more than a
parlay calculator
and instead use a multi bet hedge calculator take care of all the permutations.
Conclusion - making good use of the hedge bet calculator
As you can see, our free hedge calculator betting tool needs to take place alongside our
arbitrage betting calculator
aon your list of essential tools for the savvy bettor. It can help you lock in a profit no matter what - albeit a small one - or cut down the size of losses. This might seem like extra effort but over the course of a month or so a few hedged bets could make an impact on your balance. This is not the only calculator here, and each will take the legwork out of working out the returns on bets yourself, and improve your overall experience - so they are worth checking out yourself.
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Sports betting hedge calculator FAQs
🤔 What does a sports betting hedge calculator do?
A hedge bet calculator will help you work out the stake on a compensatory bet designed to lock in a profit or mitigate a loss. This can be hard to work out manually so saves time and effort.
🔎 What data do you enter into a hedge bet calculator?
To use a hedge bet calculator, you’ll need to first enter your original stake and odds, and also the odds of the compensatory bet you wish to place. The calculator will then give you the stale for your hedge bet.
😎 Is a hedge bet calculator easy to use?
Working out a hedge bet manually can be very difficult, especially in a hurry , whereas to use a hedge bet calculator you just need to enter three numbers. You can see and use one for free in our betting school, which also has a range of guides.
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