Betting on sports is a favorite pastime for many people. It continues a long tradition of wagering on the result of sports events which has evolved through the years. Nowadays, sports gambling takes the place of traditional sports betting at the local bookmaker. Despite all of the changes, there is still a fact about sports betting that will always be true: there is always a chance to lose. A sports bettor may place his wager on the favorite, but there is always a chance that they would end up on the losing side.
This can be bad for the sports bettor. Losing money on a single bet is no problem, however, if it can be more difficult if it happens repeatedly. However, it is possible for sports gamblers to increase their chances of profiting from their bets. Here is one strategy aimed at doing just that.
Hedging your bets
A very effective method to ensure profit in sports betting with bitcoin is for a sports bettor to hedge their bets. The idea behind “hedging” is that a bettor places subsequent bets after their original wager in such a way that the resulting situation is that no matter the result there is always a profit for the bettor. It is pretty similar to another strategy called arbitrage betting, but hedging is a lot easier to do and does not require multiple accounts across different sportsbooks.
Hedging requires players to look at the odds placed on different participants in the betting contest. Outright betting makes it easier to hedge a bet. For example, an outright bet on who might win a particular tourney has all of the odds posted before the event. This allows potential bettors to calculate the odds and potential bets.
A practical example
For a practical example of how to hedge bets, here is a simple example. A sportsbook has several odds out for an event. A sports bettor places a bet on the favorite at 1.75 odds. However, to hedge the bet, the sports bettor makes another wager on a player with a good chance to win, even at 30.00 odds. To hedge the bet, the bettor needs to bet the right amount on both bets. A bet of $10 at 30.00 odds yields $300. This should then be divided against the 1.75 odds. The result is $171.42.
This means that a bettor should bet on $10 at 30.00 odds and $171.42 at 1.75 odds to ensure a solid profit if either of them wins, since both result in around $300 in winnings. Subtract the initial bets and no matter how the bets go, a bettor will come out with $120 in profit. This is the most basic implementation of hedging; it is possible to hedge with more than just two bets, ensuring profit no matter the results of a sports event. Interested Bitcoin sports bettors should practice to ensure that they can do it properly so that they always end up being winners, especially with the NFL season having just begun. This makes it a prime time for BTC sports betting.