Hedge bet calculator

How it works

Say the original ticket wins — you collect original payout = stake × original decimal odds. The equal-profit hedge stake is the amount on the other side whose payout exactly matches that number:

hedge stake = original payout ÷ hedge decimal odds

Both outcomes then return the same dollar profit:

• Original wins: original payout − original stake − hedge stake
• Hedge wins: hedge stake × hedge decimal − hedge stake − original stake

Set the two equal and the algebra collapses to the formula above. Worked example: $100 at +200 (payout $300) hedged at −150 (decimal 1.667) → hedge stake $300 ÷ 1.667 = $180, locking $20 either way. If the number comes out negative, the lines have moved against you and the hedge locks a loss — sometimes still worth taking, but the calculator won't hide the minus sign from you.

When to hedge

• You hold a live futures or multi-leg ticket and the opposite side is now cheap.
• The locked profit clears your "definitely worth taking off the table" threshold.
• You'd rather not stomach the variance of the final leg.

When NOT to hedge

If the original bet was +EV (you got a better price than fair), the hedge is almost always −EV in isolation — the book takes a cut of both sides. Hedging converts a high-variance, high-EV position into a low-variance, lower-EV one. Often the right call for bankroll management, but it's a real cost, not a free lunch.

Related betting tools

• Odds converter — American, decimal, fractional, and implied probability, plus a no-vig two-sided mode.
• Parlay payout calculator — the real multiplier and implied probability on up to 14 legs.
• Implied team total calculator — turns a spread and over/under into each team's expected points, the fastest start/sit read the betting market offers.