What is Hedge Betting? First of all, hedge betting is not the same as arbitrage betting, which should be researched in a different article, although there are similarities. Arbitrage betting can occur when there is a discrepancy between the odds that two different bookmakers offer. This is different. Betting Calculator When it comes to betting, you must always be one step ahead to be successful. Here at Freebets.com, we supply you with our free betting calculator, affording you the opportunity to calculate your estimated returns and methods of hedging your bets further down the line. Watch How To Use The Free Betting Calculator.
Above is our No Vig Calculator, which has a built in hedge calculator if the odds give the bettor an arbitrage opportunity. Feel free to use it and link to your calculations as needed.
What is a “No Vig Calculator”?
Well first of all it is important to know that “Vig”, or “Vigorish” for full, refers to the bookmaker’s or the house’s commission on a wager. It is also more commonly referred to as the “Juice”.
A No Vig Calculator allows you to enter the odds on either side of a game or match and it will remove the vig from the odds. This will show you the actual percentage that the bookmaker is giving either side of the wager to win without the added commission the book takes.
It will also display what the moneyline odds should be without the vigorish.
An Example of the No-Vig Calculator:
Let’s say that Pinnacle sports has an NFL game listed with the following odds:
Dallas Cowboys (+165)
@ Pittsburgh Steelers (-175)
Gambling Hedge Calculator Estimate
If you enter -175 in one side of the No Vig Calculator and the +165 in other side the calculator will give you the No Vig % and the No Vig Odds.
You will see that the No Vig % of Pittsburgh to win is 62.77% according to Pinnacle Sports. The No Vig % of Dallas to win is 37.23%
Under that you will also notice that the odds without the added commission would be Pittsburgh -168.61 and Dallas +168.60.
If you were to take the Steelers moneyline odds before taking out the vig and inputting it into our odds calculator you will see that the implied probability (break even %) is 63.64%. Compare that with the No Vig % of 62.77% and you can see how the sportsbooks make their money.
When Does This Come In Handy?
One example can be taken from today’s closing MLB baseball odds. I noticed that Pinnacle Sports (which is the best sportsbook for handicapping the market which you can learn in our current sports betting market article) was offering Houston +137/Washington -155. If you input that into the No Vig Calculator you will see that the No Vig % of Houston winning was 40.97% and their No Vig Odds were +144.08.
I then noticed that BetOnline had Houston listed at +150, which only needs a 40% hit rate to break even. If Pinnacle’s lines represented the market accurately, which they usually do, it would provide a good opportunity to back Houston at +150 at BetOnline.
Of course you don’t want to blindly make that a bet, but if you were handicapping baseball and you thought Houston +150 was a good play using the No Vig Calculator might further your argument.
How Does The Hedge Calculator Work?
Gambling Hedge Calculator
If you input two lines the calculator will let you know if there is a hedge or arbitrage opportunity.
Just as an example let’s say that one sportsbooks is offering an NHL wager on the Toronto Maple Leafs at -110, while you notice another has the Leafs at +115. When you input those into the No Vig Calculator you will notice that two new rows appear, which is apart of the Hedge Calculator.
The first row is always going to show you your hedge opportunity with a $100 bet on the left hand side. On the right hand side you will see $88.79, which is the amount you should put on the +115. As you can see in the Guaranteed $ row every $100 will give you a guaranteed $2.11 in profits. So if you were to move the decimal over one place for a $1000 wager you would have $21.10 in guaranteed profits.
Here is another example. Let’s say you bet a big college basketball underdog that is +900 before the game starts. They take a big lead into halftime and you see that the betting sites are offering their opponent at +500 to win the game at halftime. Input those two lines and you will see that “Hedge Wager” and “Guaranteed $” fields will pop up (click here for the input).
On the left side you will see $100 for Hedge Wager. This calculator always assumes a $100 bet, and then you can work the math from there if needed. On the right hand side you will see $166.67. That is the amount you should bet on the other side (+500) in this case. And that will give you the $733.33 in guaranteed winnings as you can see under the Guaranteed $ row (or 275% of your total wager).
Aus Sports Betting Hedge Calculator
I hope that helps and you can find this No Vig/Hedge Calculator helpful!