Hedging Bets: What Does Hedging Your Bets Mean? Hedge Betting basically involves the practice of placing multiple bets within the same market on various outcomes to assure that you are likely to gain a return of profit in some way or another. By taking advantage of variations within the market, you can play the bookie at their own game.
The term ‘hedge your bets’ used in everyday life is a phrase which means caution and save yourself from making a bad choice or decision. The phrase means much the same in the world of betting, let’s have a look below.
What is Hedge Betting and what are the pros?
Similar to the Oxford definition, hedging your bets in betting means to cover more than one eventuality so that you do not lose too much money from your original stake.
It’s best to explain hedge betting through an easy to follow example. Lets use a football game for example whereby Bayern Munich are playing Barcelona. Say you have thought originally that Bayern Munich were going to win the game and have placed a bet on them. There are 3 outcomes that this match could have and you have covered 1 out of the 3 by betting on a Bayern Munich win. If you were to hedge your bets before this game even started as you had lost confidence in Bayern, then you would place a bet on Barcelona to win also. This is hedging your bet in order to have some damage limitation. By placing opposing bets on you limit the loss of your original stake if it loses, by winning the second stake. Hedging your bets can be done before or during the game to provide some insurance to your original stake.
Why not just cash out?
The main difference between cashing out and Hedge Betting is where the power is held. Cashing-out is in the hands of the bookies who can dictate the price, timing and what to offer when cashing out. Alternatively, Hedge Betting is in the hands of the bettor who can dictate what they are going to do and what they are going to bet on to provide extra insurance on their original bet. Essentially you could define Hedge Betting as a defensive maneuver, whereas cashing-out is proactive and more positive. Hedge betting tends to be a mitigation whereas cashing out can still provide you with a great deal of profit depending on the given betslip. There is no clear-cut better option for the punter and both techniques have their merit. Instead, it is worth analysing each and every bet and assessing which technique is of most benefit to you each time.
Alternatives to hedge betting?
Whilst cashing-out is a very similar, yet alternative, technique to Hedge Betting, there are also other techniques which could possibly aid your gambling. Firstly, matched betting is an option to try and maximise your winnings. With matched betting you use the bookies’ free offers against each other to maximise your profits – but this technique can take time to master and requires a whole article in itself. Another option is to take a look at tipsters and use their tips to propel your gambling career in confidence. You can follow the bets proposed by the likes of the Footy Accumulator who offer tipped acca bets which provide good bang for your buck and win quite often.
