Hedging Calculator

When you hedge a sports bet, you are diverting risk that is associated with your first bet. This first bet is usually a longshot or a future, like a future for a team to win a superbowl or a big moneyline upset. Hedging a bet is best explained by using an example. Let’s say you place a bet today for the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl 59.

By using our 2025 Super Bowl Odds page, you can see that as of 2/21/2024, the odds for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl are +750. Let’s say you decide to bet $100 on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. If this bet won, you would profit $750 dollars. After you place this bet, the Chiefs rattle off a 17-0 season, and they are matched up against the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. The moneyline odds for the Super Bowl are given as: Kansas City Chiefs (-260) v. Green Bay Packers (+200).

You have an outstanding bet for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl at +750. You can continue to let this bet ride, or you can hedge it. Using our hedging calculator, you will enter in the original odds (+750), your original bet amount ($100), your hedging bet odds (+200 for the Packers to beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl), and then your bet amount will be given to you. In this instance, you would bet $283.33 on the Packers to beat the Chiefs, and net yourself $466.67 in profit. Let’s take a look at why this is.

	$ Lost if Bet Loses	$ Won if Bet Wins (Profit)
Chiefs to Win the Super Bowl	$100	$750
Packers to Beat Chiefs in the Super Bowl	$283.33	$566.66

If both of these outcomes played out, you still end up with profit. If the Chiefs win, you win your original futures bet (+$750) and lose the Packers bet (-$283.33). In this scenario you end up with $466.67 in profit.

If the Packers win, you win your Packers moneyline bet (+$566.66) and lose the Chiefs futures bet (-$100). In this scenario, you end up with $466.66 in profit. The expected profit you have by using the hedging calculator is almost equal. By hedging your bet, you are locking in $466.67 in profit. This is regardless of the outcome of the game!

The Mental Side of Hedging Your Bet

There is often another piece you need to consider when hedging your bet, and that is what you can handle mentally. It is very important to gamble responsibly and at regulated sportsbooks, so only let your bet ride if you are ok with incurring the loss. If you are looking for a safe approach, it is more likely that hedging is the right choice for you.