Sports Bet Hedging Masterclass for Beginners

What is a sportsbook?

It's very simple. A sportsbook is a place you go to bet on sports.

As of 2018, it's legal in many US States to do this completely online, whereas before you had to go to a physical casino sportsbook in order to bet.

You can wager on almost every sport online in the USA.

Some examples of what you can wager on in the MLB:

• Which team will win a game

• How many runs/points a team will win a game by

• How many runs/points both teams will combine to score in a game

• Particular players to, or not to, hit a Home Run

Positive odds (+154) mean the bet is an underdog. The higher the number, the less likely it is to win.

Negative odds (-185) mean the bet is a favorite. The lower the number, the more likely it is to win.

Lines determine the specifics of what you are betting on.

The line in "Over 7.5" runs is 7.5.

The line in "St. Louis Cardinals +1.5" is +1.5.

Parlays are when you bet on multiple things to happen instead of just one.

The catch is that you only win your parlay if ALL of your bets win - even one loss and your entire parlay lose.

This makes parlays a high-risk, high-reward way to bet that is fun and exciting, but not very effective for reliably winning profits.

Same-Game Parlays (SGPs) are parlays where each leg is from a single game.

Sportsbook take wagers on sporting events, and price their odds so that they have a profit margin (also called a "hold" or "vig") on each event they offer. The profit margin lets them continue to operate as a business.

There are over 20 sportsbooks operating in the USA where it is safe for you to place bets.

They offer bonuses for the same reasons other financial institutions do - to get you in the door and keep your business long-term.

Is online sports betting legal in the United States? The answer is yes, on a state-by-state basis. In 2018, the Supreme Court decided that federally sports betting was not illegal, but it was up to individual states to decide how they wanted to offer it.

As of 2024, sports betting is legal in some form or another in 38 out of the 50 states, and it's expected to continue expanding.

Yes - as long as they are American sportsbooks.

Using non-American sportsbooks as an American is not legal or safe, and we do not recommend it or support it.

It is very safe - sportsbooks are held to the same standards as online banks for deposits and withdrawals. However, there are a few strings attached to withdrawals to note in advance.

In 2024, the answer is no. You do not have to pay taxes on your sportsbook profits/losses.

This will likely change within the next few years as the government increases regulations.

Hedging involves betting very precise wagers on opposite sides of an outcome.

A simple example of hedging (specifically arbitrage) is buying and selling apples:

• Alice will buy an apple from you for $2

• Bob will sell you an apple for $1

What you can do is buy Bob's apple for $1 and sell it to Alice for $2, with you keeping a $1 profit.

The main purpose of hedging is to give yourself financial upside with minimal (ideally 0) downside risk.

Yes - this is the same strategy hedge funds on Wall Street use to stay profitable.

However, the implementation of the strategy has some differences - there is more opportunity for regular people in sports betting.

Hedging your sports bets is fully legal. This is the same thing hedge funds do on Wall Street, but for sports betting.

If you're not a gambler and don't care about sports, hedging is (somewhat ironically) perfect for you.

If you are a recreational bettor, we recommend setting aside your favorite sportsbook to keep for the long haul and using the other ones to hedge.

If you are a heavy, heavy bettor with many sportsbook accounts, you probably already know everything in this course :)

All sportsbooks profile accounts

• it is advantageous across the board for them to think you're a sucker or degen

• they have a formula for how they expect sharps to bet vs. suckers

  • the ideal strategy is to camouflage your bets so they think you're a sucker

Your first bets at a book are the most important

• If you show signs of having a brain, nothing good will happen

  • lower limits

  • bets on delays

  • trader reviews

Avoid talking to customer support at sportsbooks if possible. Haggling with them over terms and conditions for bonuses isn't going to be good for your account.

The best time to place your hedged bets is when casual bettors are betting - that way your account doesn't draw unwanted scrutiny from the sportsbook.

Phase 1 is when you can make good profits just from bonuses.

Phase 2 is when the bonuses dry up and your profits come from arbitrage.

When it's no longer worth your time and effort to hedge bonuses, it's time to level up to arbitrage.

Free Bets, also called Bonus Bets, are credits you can use to place bets.

They differ from cash in that the amount you wager, called the stake, does not get returned to you if your bet wins.

Free Bets (Bonus Bets) are typically worth 60%-80% of face-value as withdrawable cash after hedging.

Larger Bonus Bets of $1,000+ are usually closer to 60-65% of face-value, and smaller Bonus Bets of $10 or less can be 80% or even higher.

Profit Boosts, also known as Odds Boosts, increase the odds/profit of a bet if it wins.

This depends on several things:

• how large is the boost?

• how much can you wager?

• what are you required to wager on?

Some profit boosts are very easy and lucrative to hedge, while other ones are not even worth using.

DK Dollars are Draftkings' version of Bonus Money.

Bonus Money is functionally the same as cash, except you can't withdraw it from your account. You must use it to bet.

The difference between bonus money and bonus bets is that with bonus money, your stake is returned to you if your bet wins, just like with cash. Bonus bets only return you the profit when your bet wins, not the stake.

DK Dollars, and Bonus Money in generally, are worth close to face-value when optimally hedged.

Signup Bonuses are bonuses that are only available for new customers.

The reason signup bonuses are so large ($1,000+) is that the sportsbooks are competing for customers - most people aren't hedging their bets across multiple sportsbooks, they just find one or two sportsbooks they like and stick with those.

Signup Bonuses are very profitable if hedged properly.

In Virginia, I estimate the profit available from properly hedged Signup Bonuses to be worth between $4,000 - $5,000.

In states like New Jersey, Ohio, and Colorado that have more sportsbooks available than Virginia, the profitability is even higher.

These signup bonuses are the main reason I started BetsBooster in the first place. Let me emphasize: you can make $4000 - $5000 in a few weeks if you don't already have sportsbook accounts.

Deposit Bonuses are bonuses you receive for depositing money into your sportsbook accounts.

Deposit Bonuses vary in profitability depending on the specifics of the terms and conditions, but generally are among the most profitable types of sportsbook bonuses.

Referral Bonuses are bonuses you get for referring new customers to sportsbooks.

Referring a friend to all available sportsbooks ends up being about $300-$350 withdrawable cash profit after hedging.

Bet-and-Get Bonuses are fairly straightforward - you get a bonus bet for placing the required bet.

Once you have your bonus bet, you hedge it and have withdrawable cash profit.

Bet-and-Get Bonuses are about as profitable as the Bonus Bet you get for using them.

Bet Insurance is a type of sportsbook bonus that returns you a Bonus Bet if your wager loses.

These bonuses are fairly common, and have several other names:

• Risk-free

• Second Chance

• No Sweat

• Reset

• Safety Net

As a general rule, you can expect to profit about 45% of the stake; for example, a $1000 Insurance Bonus will result in about $450 withdrawable cash profit.

Bet Insurance is one of the more complex bonus types to hedge.

We don't expect you to do all the calculations manually, but it is important to understand what the software is doing so you can trust the process.

Parlay Insurance Bonuses are exactly like Insurance Bonuses, but you have to bet on a parlay.

The best way to play a Parlay Insurance bonus depends on its terms and conditions.

Usually you'll have to contend with several constraints in order to qualify for the bonus, including:

• Only betting on a certain league

• Having a minimum number of legs in your parlay

• Each leg being over a minimum odds threshold

Parlay Profit Boosts are exactly like Profit Boosts, but you have to bet on a parlay.

These are usually not worth hedging - it's either too much effort or too little profit (or both).

We recommend using these when you were already going to bet a parlay for fun, but otherwise these aren't a part of our overall hedging strategy.

Rewards points at sportsbooks work the same as airline miles or credit card points.

They don't accumulate very quickly, and it's better to think of them as a small perk once in a while than a focal point of your betting strategy.

Middle Bonuses create scenarios where it's possible for both sides of a hedge to win, which is otherwise impossible.

Unlike most hedges, it is possible to lose money with middle bonuses.

Generally speaking, your expected outcome from using a middle bonus is to lose a little bit of money. When you do win, you usually double the amount you wagered.

The example in the video above is expecting to lose $10, but with a chance of winning $275. This is the same as wagering $10 at odds of +2750.

I recommend treating middles the same way you treat parlays - they are some of the most fun bets to root for while you're watching the game, but you shouldn't expect to win most of them.

VIP programs require wagering thousands of dollars per week... minimum.

These simply aren't accessible to most people.

However, for those that can afford to do this - it's worth it.