hedging statement.

For example, you have a 2K wager on the Mariners, they are winning 4-2 in the 9th against the Angels.  You have Captain Gas Can Carson Smith on the bump for the close.

Bookmaker's line on the over/under which would be set at 6.5 would probably sit at +200 to +300.  So why not stake AT LEAST 300 on the over 6.5?  You are not betting on the other team to win, just to score a run.  If the splits/matchup/venue don't bode well for your pitcher vs. opposition, then why not buy it at such good odds?  And what if the Mariners are winning this game 6-0 instead and the Angels are now spun at +600 on the live dog line?  Gotta be worth it to put down a sawbuck or two on it.  

I made a killing on the Bucs/Cards series alone (including Sunday night ESPN baseball) by hopping the live totals/dogs.  If the play is right, it's right.  

Same applies with basketball.  You get live over/unders all the way until the last media timeout.  

Telling you, I've made a hell of a lot more money taking these live totals and/or live dogs than with just straight bets.  More times than not I'm cashing both the original wager and the live wager.  

Again, I don't know if this defines as "hedging," but if it does, I couldn't imagine playing a game any other way.  

I mean f**ked up shitt happens in any sport.  I've been on the losing end of a 4 unanswered touchdown moosing, or 8 run 6th inning or the backdoor last media timeout hoops moosejob to many times.  The kind of insurance where you can cover your asss and/or win on both ends can't be beat.  What was a great wager on paper might change by the 4th inning whether because of injury, pitch count, weather, weather, weather and weather.  Gotta be smart to corner your action at every angle, and not allowing it to escape with your money, ya?

1)  Buying your way out of a bet

2)  Hedging

You can only hedge when the odds on your bet move in your favor.  

If you have a 6 team parlay, and you win the first 5, you are not hedging by betting the other team on the 6th bet, you are buying your way out of the 6th bet and it costs you juice to do so.

If you bet Golden State before the season started to win the NBA at 40-1, then you bet Cleveland at 40-1 when they are down 3-1, then that is a proper hedge because the odds on the bet changed so much.

I read the first page of that thread you posted, and one of the guys didn't seem to understand how dumb it is to "hedge and guarantee himself money," when he knew I was going to hedge the last game.

I think people hedge because when they put in the original bet, they're just messing around on a small amount to win a big one, and when you see the possibility of getting half or whatever of a big amount, they realize they should take some money while it's there. Even if they still like the pick. Yeah, it costs them money, but the thought of getting a little money back I understand, which is why people ask about it so dammm much.

It's a simple concept though. The hedge amount should be what you are willing to risk on the last game. Often the last game is the ML on an underdog, which makes it the crazy payout, so people need to realize they have to pay that huge spread on the favorite's ML to properly hedge.

If it's smaller parlay like a 4 game, and you're trying to hedge after the 3rd game, yeah that's freakin retarded because it's not a huge payout, so you never should have bet it in the first place.

I typically agree that if you were going to hedge the game straight up with the same odds, that you never should have put the last game in there in the first place.

What one of the guys mentioned above in this thread are different kind of hedges though.

So if you've got a parlay, or even a straight bet and the odds are really in your favor, that's a decent situation. For example, if you've got a spread of +3 and your team is winning by 14 at halftime, you can "hedge" and have a realistic chance at middling both lines. 

Or if it's a money line like in baseball, and you've got a 3-4 run lead on a pickem, and have the opportunity to live line hedge, you've given yourself a little value. You can try and take a RL at even money probably at +3.5/+4 for the other team, or you can get like +700 on the other team. So you might be able to get 6-1 or 7-1 on your hedge, which isn't bad at all. For example, you've got 1000 riding on Team A to win, and you can risk 100 on Team B to hedge it for 700.

I've noticed that when the odds are like +700 live though, the likelihood of you losing is pretty slim, so usually I just pass it over. 

So in conclusion: 

This is when your team has done well after a game has started, and your original bet doesn't require a 1-1 hedge anymore. 

I realize some bettors aren't math majors, but the amount to hedge is a really simple calculation.

If Team A wins, you win payout amount, and lose hedge amount on Team B.

If Team B wins, you lose original wager and/or payout amount, win hedge amount on Team A. The NET is hedge amount on Team B minus original wager on Team A.

Amount to risk on hedged game is up to bettor. 

But who I am kidding, hedging will always be a question on this board unless they outlaw gambling altogether. 

P.S. One time I even read a thread where a guy had a straight bet on a favorite who was losing at halftime, and he asked how can I hedge? Are you serious bro?