Hedge your bets to lock in a profit. One of the biggest problems that prevent novice sports bettors from making a substantial profit is the fact that they don’t understand hedging. Whether it has to do with ignoring the tools like hedge calculators entirely or hedging a bet when they should let it ride, beginner bettors consistently struggle to grasp these basic concepts and use them to make a profit.
Here is a quick breakdown of how to effectively hedge and scalp your bets. Done right, you it'll lead the way to solid sports betting profits.
Hedging Actually Works
The most obvious starting point is to acknowledge the effectiveness of hedging and scalping bets. It actually can be executed well enough to to make a profit. The biggest mistake novice bettors make is that they often times completely ignore the chance to hedge a bet. That's true even when the perfect opportunity presents itself. Anytime a bettor makes a wager, they should follow up to make sure that they cover all of their bases. There is potential to make adjustments on the fly in situations where the potential is there for them to make mistakes. This is true when it comes to betting on individual sports betting events or on entire postseason series.
Always Consider The Value
While it never makes sense to completely ignore the opportunities to hedge, it also is important to remember not to consistently hedge bets without careful consideration of value.
For example, if somebody were to bet on the San Jose Sharks to win their Western Conference series with the Nashville Predators. Let's say the NHL odds are at -140. It only makes sense to hedge that series bet if the Sharks win the opener and the odds are adjusted significantly.
If San Jose wins the opening game, they'll move from -140 to -160. Meanwhile the Predators are adjusted from +150 to +170. The value isn’t significant enough to make it worth hedging the bet at this point.
You can put some money on Nashville at this point to guarantee a small profit. However, have to understand that if the Sharks go on to win the series, you have now cut in to the potential profit you would have made. In this example in particular, San Jose went on to win the series in seven.
Sometimes, You Can Plan Your Hedges Early
Many sports bettors will make a series bet with the intention of betting the other way at some point. That isn’t a bad idea if the value is there but that isn’t necessarily always the case. According to the example we used above, it makes a lot of sense to hold off on hedging the series bet. At least until the Sharks go up 2-0 and there is a greater value betting on Nashville. It makes a lot of sense to consider the potential to hedge a bet in every single series. It’s also important to remember that just because you make a series bet doesn’t mean you need hedge it as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Hedging is a very valuable tool if used the right way, just make sure you aren’t constantly using it and cutting in to your potential profits.
