3 Big Ways to Hedge Your Bets & Maximize Your Returns

After hearing a number of people tell me that they don’t hedge their bets (OMG…), I decided to write this article. Friends, hedging your bets and discovering nifty ways to maximize your returns will help you keep your bankroll substantially in the green. I hedge using a number of different strategies depending on the sport – but here are my three biggest money makers.

1. Use the ML & and the Spread to your advantage.

I use this method to minimize losses when I think a game will be incredibly close. If two teams are relatively even, it often pays to place a wager on the Money Line of the team you think will actually win, and then a wager on the spread of the higher paying underdog in the event that you believe they have the potential to keep the game close. I’d say betting on the NHL is where I tend to use this strategy the most.

In hockey, a really good and recent example of two teams that kept a close score when playing each other this season were the Dallas Stars and the San Jose Sharks. Don’t believe me? Check their game schedule:

Despite being one of the worst teams in the league, somehow, the Sharks kept the total within 1 goal for 2 straight games. No joke, I made a fortune betting on both the Sharks to cover and live betting the Stars ML. To summarize: if the score ends 3-2, and you’ve got money on the SJ Sharks +1.5 & the Dallas Stars ML…you’re getting paid twice. 

2. Recognize a lucrative comeback.

If you subscribe to my Patreon or see me live betting on Discord, you know that I love a good comeback King. SO MANY PEOPLE PANIC when the team they’ve bet on doesn’t start off strong; either their basketball team is down 20 in the first quarter, or their hockey team is down 2 in the first period. I can’t stress this enough - don’t panic when this happens.

Instead, perhaps see this as an opportunity to get a great team at a phenomenal price. Keep in mind: Betting like this without doing research can cause losses, so my first piece of advice here is to make sure you do your homework. That said: If you’ve bet on the best team in the league and they’re down 20 to the worst team the league, they come back more often than not. In fact it’s incredibly rare for them not to. 

I grabbed the Colorado Avalanche ML when they were down 0-3 at +850. Why? Because the Avalanche has one of the best comeback records in the NHL.

For example: A few of my favourite comeback teams? The Sacramento Kings, the Miami Heat, and the Golden State Warriors. I’ve seen these teams down 20 in the first half so many times, and they raise absolute hell in the 4th quarter to come back. Throwing a small amount of money on a team at +850 when they were the favourite can be incredibly profitable. As for the NHL, my favourite comeback team by a landslide is the Colorado Avalanche.

3. There’s NO shame in early cash out – in fact, treat it like a strategy. 

Some bettors think that cashing out early only serves the books. Friends, if you’re this bettor, you couldn’t be more wrong. Sure, cashing out early might save the books a couple bucks, but you also guarantee yourself profit. Sometimes, it pays to cash out early and use that generated profit elsewhere. Where MLB is concerned, I cash out early often. The primary reason for this is that in baseball, the entire game can change with a single home run.

For example: If it’s bottom of the 8th, and I’ve got the Dodgers to win against the Padres, and the score sits at 4-3 for the Dodgers…you can bet your ass I’m cashing out.

1. Because at this stage, my cash out is probably pretty hefty. But,

2. A single run puts my entire profit margin in JEOPARDY; and in this example, let’s call a spade a spade: the Padres have some phenomenal hitters. 

Sometimes, cashing out is a strategy. If the team I’ve picked goes up 5 runs, or goes up 20 points, my cash out is probably pretty close to 100%. If I suspect the team they’re beating might decide to show up, I cash out. Sometimes, I’ll even sprinkle a few bucks on the losing team to come back for incredible odds and a sizeable return. 

If you have any questions about the above, or about hedging your bets and maximizing your returns in general, shoot me an e-mail! Or, you can always find me on Discord.

Happy Betting.

*Belle