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Hedging – how to cover a bet

This article explains how to cover your bets at betting exchanges profitably, and we describe how to do so.

First of all, you have to know the concept of a “lay”-bet in which you bet AGAINST a certain outcome and you take up the position of book-maker. It is also known as “to sell the bet”. This strategy is important if you bet to protect your winnings. This is also called “hedging” or “arbitrage” where you try to profit from odds fluctuation.

At various betting exchanges (e.g. Betfair) it is possible to bet ON a team (“back”-bet) and, in case the team goes into the lead, to bet AGAINST the team (buy a “lay”-bet or sell the bet) and thus hedge against any outcome in the game. You would earn money at a Win, Draw and Loss – your bet is now safe and without any risk.

In the Back & Lay betting at Betfair article we offer a deeper inside on this topic.

Examples of hedging/coverage bets

We now want to show you different examples on how to place your bets and hedge/cover them profitably:

1. Bet against a team (lay-bet) and hedge against it
Imagine a game between Bayern Munich and Dortmund. How about a “lay”-bet against Dortmund? (You bet AGAINST a Dortmund-win) In the event that Bayern Munich does not go into the lead after the first few minutes you can hedge your “lay”-bet with a “back”-bet ON Dortmund. Now you bet ON a Dortmund-Win and profit from the odds fluctuation because of the higher odds that Dortmund will get the further the game proceeds. Now you can relax and wait for the end of the game, because your bet is hedged against every outcome of the game.

2. Bet on a team (back-bet) and hedge against it
Of course you can do the same with a Draw. You bet AGAINST a Draw (“lay”-bet). After the first goal you bet ON a Draw since the odds for a Draw increase after a goal is scored.

3. Bet against a draw (lay-bet) and hedge against it

Of course you can do the same with a Draw. You bet AGAINST a Draw (“lay”-bet). After the first goal you bet ON a Draw since the odds for a Draw increase after a goal is scored.

Let’s say you bet 10 Euros on a Draw with odds of 3.0. Now your maximum Loss is 20 Euro. After the first goal the odds of a Draw increase to 5.0. At this point it is time to place your “back”-bet (e.g. 6 Euros) ON a Draw. Hence, this is what the whole scenario would look like:

After the first “lay”-bet:

Win Dortmund10 Euro profit
Win Bayern Munich10 Euro profit
Draw20 Euro loss

And now after the second „back“-bet:

Win Dortmund4 Euro profit (10 Euro win from the “lay”-bet minus 6 Euro stake “back”-bet)
Win Bayern Munich4 Euro profit (10 Euro win from the “lay”-bet minus 6 Euro stake “back”-bet)
Draw10 Euro profit (Odd 5.0 times 6 Euro = 30 Euro minus 20 Euro loss of the “lay”-bet)

Our Surebet strategy is another interesting way to optimize your game and create safe winnings.

Back to all Livetipsportal strategies for sports betting.