hedge (one's) bets

Hedge your bets definition: 1. To protect yourself against loss by supporting more than one possible result or both sides in a. Hedging a bet is an advanced strategy used by sports bettors to either reduce the risk of a wager or to guarantee a profit of some kind from a wager. Similar to middling a wager, hedging is a strategy that. The verb 'to hedge' derives from the noun hedge, that is, a fence made from a row of bushes or trees. These hedges were normally made from the spiny Hawthorn, which makes an impenetrable hedge.

The hedging technique is not the ONLY way to do this, but it’s definitely something to have in your locker. The key, as with any betting strategy, is to learn how and when to use it effectively. The biggest problem with hedging is that knowing when and how to hedge. What Does Hedging Mean for Sports Betting? There are a lot of different scenarios where you can secure a profit by exercising the appropriate hedge. We’ll take you through some specific examples below. Profiting on Playoff Futures with Hedging. If you hedge your bets carefully, betting.

To take an action in order to offset a potential future loss. I'm not too confident that I'll get the lead in the play, so I'm hedging my bets by trying out for several roles.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

hedge your bets

COMMON If you hedge your bets, you are careful not to commit yourself to one thing, so that you do not make a mistake whichever way the situation develops. The Rev James Reeves is hedging his bets on whether Clark is the leader the Church needs in troubled times.Political forecasters are hedging their bets about the likely outcome of this Saturday's Louisiana governor's race. Note: When bookmakers accept a large bet, they often try to protect themselves against heavy losses by laying bets with other bookmakers. This practice is called `hedging'.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

hedge your bets

try to minimize the risk of being wrong or incurring loss by pursuing two courses of action at the same time.
Hedging your financial liabilities, especially bets or speculative investments, meant limiting your potential losses by also putting money on another outcome, in such a way as to balance, more or less, any potential loss on the initial transaction. In betting terms, this specifically means putting money on more than one runner in a race.
1992Great Lakes Fisherman All three methods have their proponents, and most anglers are wise to hedge their bets by using more than one method.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

ˌhedge your ˈbets

(informal) try to reduce the risk of losing your money, being wrong about something, etc. by choosing two or more courses of action at the same time: She’s invested her money in two quite different businesses, so she’s hedging her bets.
This idiom refers to putting money on more than one horse in a race to increase your chances of winning money.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
Does

What Is Hedging Bets Mean

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Bet Hedging Definition


Hedging is betting on both sides of an event to ensure you make a profit, regardless of the outcome.

Say you took a futures bet and picked the Andy Murray to win the Australian Open at a price of 9.00 at the start of the tournament. You put down 100 on Murray, which turned out to be a smart bet! Murray is in the final against Djokovic with the following prices:

Djokovic – 1.40
Murray – 3.00

If Murray wins, you are golden! You come out ahead 800! However, Murray is still a steep underdog, so you may prefer to hedge your bet and guarantee a profit.

To hedge your bet, you place a bet on Djokovic which will cover your stake that you made on Murray at the start of the open. Say you bet 300 on Djokovic, so in total you are out 400:

Hedging

Hedging A Bet Meaning

300 on Djokovic
100 on Murray

If Murray wins you get 900, less the 400 you bet for a profit of 500

If Djokovic wins you get 420, less the 400 you risked for a guaranteed profit of 20

As you can see, you still win big if Murray pulls off the upset, but you are covered in case he doesn’t!

To see how to calculate how much you should bet to win the maximum amount no matter what on a hedge, check out our hedging formulas or, skip the math and use our simple hedge calculator.

Should I Hedge My Bets?

What Does Hedging His Bets Mean

It depends. Statistically, no, you should not. Each time you place a bet you pay the oddsmaker’s margin, cutting into your profits every time you hedge. However, if you stand to make a great profit and are risk averse, hedge away!