Skills
Hedging
Size the second bet so you end up about the same whoever wins, place the two bets in the right order, and know what to do when a price moves or a book takes less than you asked for.
What a hedge is
A hedge is a bet on the other side of the same game at a different book, sized so your result is about the same whichever side wins. Every offer in these docs ends in one: a bonus bet against cash, a risk-free bet against cash, or two cash bets for an offer that asks you to bet.
Size it from what the first bet pays
The hedge covers what the first bet would pay, not what it risks. That is why the two stakes look lopsided.
| First bet | Other side | Hedge | Either way |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 bonus bet at +300 | -350 | $233.33 | about +$66.67 |
| $200 risk-free bet at +120 | -130 | $180.87 | about +$59.13 |
| $100 cash at -155 | +140 | $68.55 | about -$4.03 |
Take the first row. If the underdog wins, the bonus bet pays $300 and the $233.33 hedge loses: you keep $66.67. If the favorite wins, the hedge wins $66.67 and the bonus bet is simply used up. The second row counts the refund as worth about 60% once you convert it. The third is a low hold: a small cost to place a bet an offer asks for.
Round the hedge to whole dollars. It moves the result by cents.
Do it in BreadSync
Odds Screen
The Free Bet, Risk-Free Bet and Low Hold views pair the two bets for you and size the hedge for your amount, across the books you switch on.
- 1.Open the tab that matches your offer: "Free Bet", "Risk-Free Bet" or "Low Hold".
- 2.Pick the book with the offer and type your amount.
- 3.Each row shows both bets and their stakes. If a book shows a different price, type it into the row and the hedge updates.
No Pro? The free Freebet Calculator in Tools does the same sizing once you have found both prices yourself. Calculators covers the other two.
Timing: offer side first, hedge right away
Place the bet at the book with the offer first. That is the bet that can be refused: it may be over the book's odds limit for bonus bets, or accepted for less than you asked. If it is refused, nothing is lost, because you have not hedged yet. Then place the hedge straight away, before its price moves.
- 1Open both apps, logged in, with the same game on screen. Check the start times match.
- 2Build both slips and check the side, the sign and the stake on each. Make sure the hedge book will take the full hedge amount.
- 3Place the offer bet. Wait until the book says it is placed, and find it in the book's open bets.
- 4Look at the hedge price once more, then place the hedge.
Leave yourself time: prices jump in the last ten minutes before a game, so pick games that start later than that. For two cash bets, place first the one you are less sure the book will take in full, usually the bigger one.
Watch out: never place the hedge first. If the offer bet is then refused, you are left holding a plain cash bet on one team.
Same game, same market, two books
The two bets must settle on exactly the same thing, or one can be cancelled while the other loses.
- Same game. Match the teams and the start time. A doubleheader is two games with the same teams.
- Same market. Full-game moneyline against full-game moneyline, or the same spread or total number at both books. A total of 37.5 at one book and 37 at the other is not a hedge.
- Two books. Both sides at one book just pays that book its cut. The hedge always goes at a different book.
Baseball and tennis have settling rules that can split a hedge. Picking games covers them.
If a price moves
Prices move while you switch apps. Look at both prices right before each confirm.
- A point or two on the hedge, like -350 to -352: place it. The result barely changes, and your first bet should never sit alone.
- Anything bigger: type the new price in and use the new stake. If the hedge above moves from -350 to -380, it becomes $237.50 and you keep about $62.50 instead of $66.67. Still worth placing.
- The offer side moved before you placed it: recompute both. At +280 instead of +300, the hedge is $217.78 and you keep about $62.22.
Try it: open this example in the Freebet Calculator and change the hedge price to -380.
If a bet is refused or cut down
- The offer bet is refused. Nothing to undo. If the message mentions odds, the book limits the price for bonus bets, so pick a game under that limit. In the Free Bet view, type the limit into "Max Odds".
- The offer bet is accepted for less. If you still qualify at the smaller amount, keep it: asking the book to cancel it can void the offer. Hedge what was accepted: half the stake, half the hedge. If the $200 risk-free bet above is taken at $100, hedge $90.43.
- The hedge book takes less than the hedge. Place what it takes, then put the rest on the same side at another of your books after checking its price.
- An error after you tap place. Open the book's open bets before trying again. Pending means placed. Do not place it twice.
Watch out: do not cash out either bet of a hedge. The pair already sets your result, as long as both bets were accepted as shown.
Log both bets
Do it in BreadSync
My Bets
Log the two bets as one hedge so your balances and profit stay right. Bets matched to a game grade themselves when it ends.
- 1.On the Odds Screen, click the green bookmark ("Add to Tracker") on the row you placed. Both bets are filled in.
- 2.Check the stakes and prices match what the books accepted, then click "Add hedge (2 bets)".
- 3.Placed it another way? My Bets > "Add Bet" > "Hedge", search the game, fill in both bets, and tick "Bonus Bet" on a bonus bet.