Arbitrage involves monitoring the different odds offered by rival sportsbooks and capitalizing upon discrepancies. You can use the SBR odds comparison pages to spot an arbitrage opportunity. For example, let’s say Sportsbook A is offering odds of -333 on the Kansas City Chiefs winning a game against the New York Jets, and +293 on the Jets winning the game. Sportsbook B might offer -227 on the Chiefs and +190 on the Jets. If you were to wager $145 on the Chiefs with Sportsbook B and $55 on the Jets with Sportsbook A, you would be guaranteed a profit regardless of which team won the game. One bet wins either way, and you will receive an overall profit.

Hedge betting focuses on taking advantages of line changes. It differs from arbitrage, because you do not need to sign up for multiple accounts at different sportsbooks. When Conor McGregor fought Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, he opened as the -230 favorite, while Cerrone was the +240 underdog. However, McGregor was a popular pick among bettors, and by the night of the fight he was the -330 favorite, and the odds on Cerrone had drifted out to +270. If you had bet $230 on McGregor winning the fight at -230 when the odds were first announced, you could then bet $90 on Cerrone at odds of +270 on the night of the fight and be guaranteed a profit, regardless of the outcome.

It can be very difficult to know exactly how much to stake on each outcome in order to guarantee a profit when you spot the aforementioned discrepancies. A hedging calculator and an arbitrage calculator will do all the hard work for you. If you are interested in hedging a bet, you can simply enter the original bet odds into the hedge calculator. Enter the stake you wagered on the original bet and the odds you received, and then enter the odds that are now offered on the alternative result. Click “Calculate” and the hedging calculator will tell you the ideal amount you need to wager on your second bet to lock in the maximum profit.

You could try to do this yourself, but it would require a lengthy period of trial and error, using a basic calculator. You would need to enter lots of different potential stakes until finding the ideal amount to stake on your second bet. A hedging calculator does all the hard work for you, and makes the hedge bet process quick and efficient. You will rapidly learn the bet amount you need for the lay stake in order to secure a guaranteed profit at a particular set of odds, making a hedging calculator invaluable for handicappers.

You can use the hedge calculator as an arbitrage calculator too. Once you think you have spotted a discrepancy in the odds at rival sportsbooks, you can enter the odds offered on one outcome at a particular sportsbook into the calculator. Then enter the amount you might like to stake on that bet. Think of this as your original bet. Finally, you can enter the odds being offered on the alternative outcome at a rival sportsbook and hit “Calculate”. The arb calculator will then tell you the bet amount required – how much you need to stake on the second bet to lock in a profit. You can then go back and change the stake on the original bet if you so desire, and the arbitrage betting calculator will continue to tell you the bet amount you need to wager on the second bet to lock in a profit

There are several reasons why two rival sportsbooks might offer different odds on the same game. The odds compilers at one book might read the game differently to their counterparts at another book. One sports betting site might offer above average odds on a particular team in order to stand out from its rivals. This is common among new, ambitious sportsbooks. A sportsbook could simply be slow to react to a shift in the market, or an odds compiler may have made a mistake. Either way, you can use arbitrage in betting to seize upon these discrepancies and guarantee that you make a handsome profit.

There are many different forms of hedge bets, including futures, parlays, pre-game line changes and live bets. Futures wagers often provide numerous ways to hedge odds and secure a guaranteed return. If you bet $10 on the Vegas Golden Knights to win the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals at preseason odds of 500/1 (+50000), you would have been delighted when they reached the Finals. Their opponents, the Washington Capitals, were +140 to win the Stanley Cup. Then, you could have used our hedge odds calculator to tell you how much you needed to wager to make a maximum hedge profit by placing a hedge bet. The answer would have been $2,087.50, which would have guaranteed you a profit of almost $3,000 regardless of which team won.

A live bet is another great way to secure a risk-free profit by using a hedge bet. If you were to bet $100 on the Brooklyn Nets to beat the LA Lakers at moneyline odds of +350, you would be happy if they took a 15-point lead in the second quarter. However, you might still be fearful of a Lakers comeback. If the Lakers were then -120 to win the game in the live odds, you could afford to bet $245 on them at those odds and secure a guaranteed profit either way. A hedge will essentially decrease your risk while maintaining some amount of profit. It can also be used to ensure that you make a profit if one outcome occurs, and face a smaller loss if it fails. Hedge bets can be used to ensure that your bet wins either way, or to lower your risk if your preferred option fails. A hedge bet is a crucial tool in the arsenal of pro handicappers.