Hedge Betting in eSports (How to Bet Profitably)

Disclaimer: Hedge betting has nothing to do with hedgehogs.

Hedge bet is a strategic bet on both outcomes of the same match. It is, essentially, a betting strategy that ensures a profit regardless of which team wins or loses. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Actually, this is being used extensively in the regular sports industry, so I wanted to give you a full guide on how you can use it when betting on CSGO, Dota 2, LoL and other eSports.

Are You Telling Me That I Can’t Lose?

I literally reacted like this when I first discovered hedge betting and it is the same way everyone reacts once they get it. Hedge betting is a tried and tested method of covering your potential losses if things go haywire. Let me explain what it is through this made up scenario:

1. Match is NiP vs Renegades. Odds are 2.00 vs 5.00.
2. You have bet 10€ that NiP will win and therefore you can earn 20€ if they do.
3. Meanwhile, you saw on the news that f0rest (from Renegades) has just lost his hamster and he has to fly off to Stockholm.
4. You don’t want to lose your original 10€ stake so you bet 6€ on Renegades to win the match. This will be your hedged bet.
5. So, to recap your investments so far: you’ve bet 10€ on a 2.00 odd and 6€ on a 5.00 odd. If NiP wins, you win 20€ and if Renegades win you get 30€. Your total investment is 16€.
6. The end result: if NiP wins, you get a total profit of 4€ and if Renegades win, you get a total profit of 14€. Ka-Ching!

When to Hedge a Bet?

By now, you are wondering why are we not doing this all the time.

It’s because you need special kind of matchup in order to be able to successfully hedge a certain bet.

#1) Hedging a Futures Bet

Futures bet is a bet that will take place in the future.

Hedge a future bet when both your original and hedged bets have odds above 2.00.

If there is an easy matchup, for example odds 1.20-8.00, then there is really no point in protecting your original bet, as you will lose money if it comes through.

Let’s say you bet 10€ on the 1.20 odd and 8€ on the 8.00 odd.

Your total staked amount is 18€ — if the favorites win, then you lose a total of 6€!

However, if the underdogs win, you get a profit of 46€, but what are the chances for that…

#2) In-Play Hedging (Live Bet Defending)

My favorite way of utilizing hedge betting is using in-play to defend your parlay bets.

Let me explain:

I’ve created a betting slip (parlay bet) that contains 4 matches.

I have deposited 10€ on a total odd of 41, with an expected profit of 410€.

Lots of money, right?

3 out of 4 matches have come through and now I’m down to the last — NiP vs Renegades.

This is my make it or break it point. If NiP win, then I win 410€, if they lose, then I lose my 10€ stake and a half of my hair.

The match starts and NiP is not playing well. They are losing 0-1 and I think they will lose all 3 maps. I need to protect my profit somehow.

I go to Betway live betting and take a look at the odds. Great, the in-play odd for Renegades to win is 5.00.

OK, great, it has gone down a bit, but NiP are still the favorites, so it’s still relatively high.

At that precise moment, I bet 100€ on Renegades and ensure that I get my check, whoever wins.

How?

Simple math:

My total investment now is 110€.

If NiP wins, my betting slip comes through and I win a total of 410€ and a 300€ profit.

If Renegades win, my betting slip does not come through but I win a total of 500€ and a 390€ profit.

What I did was give up a part of my profit, in order to ensure that I win, either way.

That is the essence of in-play hedging.

It is the best possible way to protect your parlay bets and ensure you come out as the winner.

Is It a Good Strategy Overall?

Well, of course it is — it just depends on your approach.

I advise you to use hedge betting for outright future bets and in-play defending.

However, I strongly advise you against going crazy and using hedging for literally every bet, because you will eventually lose money.

There are loads of cases where you might have the opportunity to protect your original bet, whether it’s parlay or a single.

I’ll leave it up to you to hone your skills and decide which are the best opportunities for that, but it all comes down to the type of game you’re betting on and your overall approach.

How to Calculate a Profitable Hedge?

Even though you could calculate this by yourself, I don’t think anyone has the time or the patience to deal with that.

Therefore, we found this Hedge Betting Calculator that can help you out in identifying whether your matchup can be protected and how much you need to stake in order to achieve a profit.

If this tutorial helped you get an edge in your eSports betting, be sure to share it with your friends and spread the love.

And remember, hedge smartly and come out as the winner!