Hedge calculator
You already have a bet. This works out what to stake on the other outcome so that both results pay you the same, and shows what you keep when they do.
Hedge calculator
You have a live bet and you want the same money whichever way it lands. This sizes the other side. Both legs here are your own cash. If the first leg is a bonus bet, use the bonus bet calculator at the bottom instead, because a bonus bet does not give the stake back.
What hedging is actually for
A hedge is a second bet on the opposite outcome of one you already hold, sized so the result of the game stops deciding how much money you end up with. It is not a way of picking winners and it does not try to be. It is a way of turning an uncertain position into a known one.
The arithmetic is a single equation with one unknown. You know what your existing bet returns if it wins, and you know the price on the other side. Set the two outcomes equal to each other and solve for the stake. That is the number in the box below.
The most common honest use is a bonus bet or a promotion. A bonus bet does not return its own stake, so it is worth nothing to you until it is converted into cash, and covering the opposite outcome is how that conversion happens. The second most common use is a parlay with one leg left, where a hedge locks in a profit instead of leaving it on the last game.
Two things break a hedge in practice, and neither is arithmetic. The price on the second side moves between placing the first leg and the second, so a figure is only good at the moment you read it. And bets placed out of order leave you briefly holding one side with no cover at all.
Questions people ask about this one
Will a hedge always guarantee a profit?
No. It guarantees the same result either way, and whether that result is a profit depends on the two prices. A hedge on a bad line locks in a smaller loss rather than a gain, which is still often worth doing.
Should I hedge at the same sportsbook?
Usually you cannot, because a book will not take both sides from you at a useful price. The cover normally goes to a second book or to an exchange, which is also where the better price tends to be.
Why does my hedge stake look so large?
Because the price on the covering side is short. Covering a long shot with a heavy favourite always needs more money on the second leg than the first, and that capital is tied up until the game settles.
The other calculators
Expected value, parlay odds, Kelly staking, prediction market prices and the bonus bet converter are all on the main calculators page, free and with no account. How these numbers feed the rest of the product is set out in the methodology.