{
  "slug": "hedge-bet-calculator",
  "title": "Hedge Bet Calculator",
  "heading": "Hedge Bet Calculator",
  "category": "math",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/hedge-bet-calculator",
  "summary": "Find the hedge stake that locks in a guaranteed profit either way.",
  "description": "Hedging means placing a bet on the opposite outcome of an existing wager so you profit (or break even) no matter which side wins. It's common with futures tickets that have grown in value, live parlays with one leg left, or any spot where the current market price on the opposite side has moved favorably since your original bet. This calculator takes your original stake and odds plus the current hedge odds available on the other side, then solves for the stake that equalizes your profit across both outcomes — or the stake needed to guarantee a specific minimum profit. The tradeoff is real: hedging caps your upside in exchange for certainty. A $100 bet on a futures ticket at +2000 that's now hedgeable at -150 for the field can be locked into a guaranteed few-hundred-dollar profit instead of a coin-flip between $2,000 and $0. Whether that's correct depends on your risk tolerance and bankroll size relative to the swing, not on the math alone — the math just tells you the numbers.",
  "formula": "Hedge stake = (original stake × original decimal odds) ÷ hedge decimal odds. Equal profit on both sides when hedge stake exactly offsets the original payout.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=hedge-bet-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "origStake",
      "label": "Original bet stake",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 100,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "origOdds",
      "label": "Original bet odds (American)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2000,
      "unit": null,
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "hedgeOdds",
      "label": "Current hedge odds (American, other side)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": -150,
      "unit": null,
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "hedgeStake",
      "label": "Hedge stake needed",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "guaranteedProfit",
      "label": "Guaranteed profit (locked)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "profitIfOrigWins",
      "label": "Profit if original bet wins",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "profitIfHedgeWins",
      "label": "Profit if hedge bet wins",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "origPayout",
      "label": "Original bet total payout",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Original bet stake: 100 $",
      "Original bet odds (American): 2000",
      "Current hedge odds (American, other side): -150"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Hedge stake needed: $1,260.00",
      "Guaranteed profit (locked): $740.00",
      "Profit if original bet wins: $740.00",
      "Profit if hedge bet wins: $740.00",
      "Original bet total payout: $2,100.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter original bet stake ($).",
      "Enter original bet odds (american).",
      "Enter current hedge odds (american, other side).",
      "Read your hedge stake needed on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "origStake": 60,
        "origOdds": 1200,
        "hedgeOdds": -90
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "origStake": 100,
        "origOdds": 2000,
        "hedgeOdds": -150
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "origStake": 160,
        "origOdds": 3200,
        "hedgeOdds": -240
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are rounded for display; the underlying calculation keeps full precision.",
    "Very large or very small inputs may hit floating-point limits in the browser.",
    "Inputs outside the accepted range are clamped rather than rejected."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "When does hedging actually make sense?",
      "a": "It makes the most sense when the line has moved significantly in your favor since your original bet, when the guaranteed amount is life-changing relative to your bankroll, or when you simply want to remove variance from a large futures position. Hedging a bet that hasn't moved just converts a fair coin flip into a worse expected value after both sides' vig."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why is my guaranteed profit different depending on which side wins?",
      "a": "It's only identical if you compute the exact stake for equal profit, which this calculator targets. In practice, sportsbooks round odds and stakes, so you'll usually see a few dollars of difference between the two outcomes rather than a perfectly flat number — that's normal and not an error."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I hedge with a different sportsbook than my original bet?",
      "a": "Yes, and you usually should — shopping the hedge side across multiple books almost always gets a better price than using the same book that holds your original ticket, since each book prices independently based on its own liability."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is hedging the same as arbitrage betting?",
      "a": "No. Arbitrage means both bets are placed at the same time on a mispriced market to guarantee profit regardless of outcome. Hedging is placed after your original bet, in response to new information or a moved line, and its purpose is risk reduction more than pure profit capture."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/arbitrage-stake-split",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/bet-cash-out-value-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/futures-bet-hold-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Hedge Bet Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/hedge-bet-calculator)"
}