Best Hedging Tools: Which Hedge Calculator to Use When

SmartStake's free hedge calculators are the best hedging tools for most bettors. The reason is simple: a hedge calculator has to know what kind of money it is hedging. A cash bet, a free bet, and a no sweat bet at the same odds need three different hedge stakes, and a calculator built on one formula gets two of them wrong.

This guide compares the 8 hedging tools SmartStake offers, from the free calculators to the live Promo Converter, and shows which one fits each hedge. First, watch one bet hedged three ways.

Try It: One Bet, Three Hedging Calculators

Enter a stake, your price, and the best price on the other side. Each row hedges the same bet as a different kind of money, using the same function SmartStake's calculators run on. Change the other side's price and watch the hedge stake move in all three rows at once.

The prices never change between the rows. Only the money does, and that moves the hedge from $135.48 to $203.23. The rest of this guide explains why, then walks through each tool.

The Best Hedging Tools at a Glance

The first five work on numbers you type in. The last three read prices for you. Most bettors need a calculator first and a live tool once they hedge often enough that finding the price is the slow part.

Why One Hedge Formula Is Not Enough

Every hedge sets the two results equal. What changes between bet types is what your first bet pays and what you lose if it loses. Write the stake as S, your decimal odds as o, and the decimal odds on the other side as h.

A cash bet returns its full payout, so the hedge covers all of it:

$H = \frac{S \cdot o}{h}$

A free bet keeps only its winnings, because the book takes the stake back, so the hedge covers less:

$H = \frac{S \cdot (o - 1)}{h}$

A no sweat bet refunds the stake as a credit when it loses. SmartStake's calculators and Promo Converter plan on converting that credit at 70% of its face value, so the hedge covers the payout minus the credit you expect to keep:

$H = \frac{S \cdot (o - 0.7)}{h}$

Run the widget's default through all three. A $100 bet at +200 (decimal 3.00), hedged at −210 (decimal 1.4762), in a market holding 1.08%:

These figures are illustrative, from the prices stated, and assume both bets stand and settle as written. Here is why the table matters. Put the free bet through the cash formula and you hedge $203.23 instead of $135.48. If the free bet then wins, you collect $200 of winnings against $203.23 staked, and the promotion is gone.

That is the gap a generic hedge calculator leaves. Now the tools, grouped by what you hold.

Hedging a Bet You Already Hold

Hedge Bet Calculator

Use it for a parlay down to its last leg, a futures ticket near the end of a season, or any bet whose price has moved. The Hedge Bet Calculator guide sizes the full hedge, then goes past the stake in two ways that most calculators skip.

It prices the cost of the hedge, which is the vig on the leg you buy, applied to the whole payout you protect. It also gives a partial hedge sized to the bankroll you hold outside the ticket, because a full hedge is rarely the stake that grows a bankroll fastest. If you are deciding whether to hedge at all, start here.

Arbitrage Calculator

The Arbitrage Calculator does the cash formula for any two opposite sides. It doubles as a plain hedge calculator: enter your ticket as one side and the best price on the other, and it returns the hedge stake and the result either way.

It also flags when the two prices sum below 100% implied, which turns a hedge into an arbitrage opportunity. When you are building a position from nothing rather than hedging one, the Arbitrage Finder tutorial shows the live tool that finds them.

Hedging a Promotion

Freebet Calculator

The Freebet Calculator handles any bet whose stake the book keeps: free bets, bonus bets, and bet credits. It uses the winnings formula above and shows the conversion, the share of the free bet's face value you keep either way.

Here's the thing about free bets: the price you pick matters more than the calculator. Because the stake never comes back, a longer price turns more of the face value into winnings. A $100 free bet at +110 against −120 keeps $50.00 either way if both bets stand, while the same free bet at +200 against −210 keeps about $64.51. Both examples are illustrative. The free bet converter guide covers where that trade stops working.

No Sweat Bet Calculator

The No Sweat Bet Calculator is for a cash bet the book refunds as a credit if it loses. It is a two step promotion, and the calculator handles step one: it hedges so that the win and the loss come out even once the credit is counted at 70%.

That 70% is a planning rate, not a promise. You only reach it by converting the credit later with the Freebet Calculator, at a good price. The no sweat bet guide walks through both steps.

Low Hold Calculator

Every promotion that starts with a cash bet, like a deposit match or a bet and get, costs you the hold on the qualifying bet. The Low Hold Calculator shows that hold for any two prices, so you can choose the cheapest market before you hedge. The low hold betting guide explains what a good number looks like and how the cost scales with the stake.

Tools That Find the Hedge Price

A calculator prices the numbers you give it. The number that decides most of the result is the price on the other side, and finding it means looking at every book.

Odds Screen

The Odds Screen shows every book's price on one market side by side. For a single hedge, that is the whole job: find the best price on the side you need, then type it into the right calculator. It is free with an account. Line shopping explains why one price step is worth more on a large hedge than on a normal bet.

Promo Converter

The Promo Converter runs the cash, free bet, and no sweat formulas across live markets for you. Pick the promotion from your Promotions Tracker or set the book, bet type, and stake by hand, and it returns matched bet cards, each with both stakes and the result either way.

It filters by hedge book, league, market, date, bankroll, and odds range, so the hedges it shows are ones you can place. It also records both sides in the Bet Tracker, tagged so the position stays together. The sportsbook promo guide shows a full conversion. It is on the Premium plan, with a 5-day free trial for eligible new accounts.

Arbitrage Finder

The Arbitrage Finder scans two sided markets across 70+ sportsbooks, exchanges, and DFS sites, pregame and live, for prices that cover each other. For a hedge, it answers the question from the other side: which book prices the opposite of your ticket well enough right now. It is on the Premium plan.

What a Generic Hedge Calculator Misses

Most hedge calculators online take two prices and a stake and return one number. That is enough for a cash bet. It leaves out four things a hedge often depends on.

• The kind of money. A free bet or a no sweat bet needs its own formula, as the table above shows.
• The cost of the hedge. A hedge bought at the market's price pays the vig on that leg. The Hedge Bet Calculator guide shows how large that is.
• Rounding. Books often take whole dollar stakes, and rounding a hedge moves value from one side to the other. The hedgebook guide covers which book to hedge at so rounding and limits cost you the least.
• The risk that one leg does not stand. A limit, a price that moves while you place it, or a void at one book leaves you with one side unhedged. No calculator removes that risk, so a hedged position is never truly without risk. Place the harder leg first, and stake only money you can afford to lose.

Which Hedging Tool Do You Need

• You hold a parlay or a future and wonder whether to hedge: the Hedge Bet Calculator guide.
• You hold a cash bet and want the hedge stake: the Arbitrage Calculator.
• You have a free bet or bonus bet: the Freebet Calculator, at the longest low hold price you can find.
• You have a no sweat bet: the No Sweat Bet Calculator, then the Freebet Calculator for the credit.
• You need the cheapest market for a qualifying bet: the Low Hold Calculator.
• You need the best price on one side: the Odds Screen.
• You convert promotions often: the Promo Converter, which finds the prices and runs the math together.

For the full set of SmartStake's free calculators, hedging and otherwise, see the best sports betting calculators guide. For full matched betting platforms compared against each other, see the best matched betting tools comparison.

FAQ

What is the best hedging tool for sports betting?

SmartStake's free hedge calculators are the best hedging tools for most bettors. They split hedging by the kind of money you hold: the Arbitrage Calculator for two cash bets, the Freebet Calculator for a bonus bet, and the No Sweat Bet Calculator for a refund promotion, with the Hedge Bet Calculator guide for a ticket you already hold. All of them are free and need no account. For live prices, the Promo Converter runs the same math across every market on the Premium plan.

Is there a free hedge calculator?

Yes. SmartStake's Arbitrage Calculator, Freebet Calculator, No Sweat Bet Calculator, and Low Hold Calculator are free at /tools and need no account. The Hedge Bet Calculator in SmartStake's hedging guide is free too, and it adds the cost of the hedge and a bankroll based partial hedge. The Odds Screen, which shows every book's price on the side you want to hedge, is free with an account.

How do you calculate a hedge on a free bet?

Divide the free bet's winnings, not its full payout, by the decimal odds on the other side. A $100 free bet at +200 wins $200, so against −210 (decimal 1.4762) the hedge is 200 / 1.4762, or $135.48. You keep about $64.51 either way, provided both bets stand. A cash bet formula would hedge $203.23 here, which is why a free bet needs its own calculator. This example is illustrative.

What odds are best for hedging a free bet?

Longer odds usually keep more of a free bet, as long as the market stays low hold. A $100 free bet at +110 against −120 keeps $50.00 either way if both bets stand, while the same free bet at +200 against −210 keeps about $64.51. The stake is not returned on a free bet, so a longer price turns more of its face value into winnings. These figures are illustrative, and the prices you find will differ.

Is a hedge calculator the same as an arbitrage calculator?

The stake math is the same for two cash bets, so SmartStake's Arbitrage Calculator works as a hedge calculator for a bet you already hold. The difference is the decision. An arbitrage is chosen because two prices already disagree, while a hedge is bought at whatever the market offers now, so it usually costs the vig on the hedge leg. The Hedge Bet Calculator guide shows that cost.

Do I need a paid tool to hedge bets?

No. Every SmartStake hedge calculator is free, and you can hedge any single bet with them. A paid tool earns its place when you want the prices found for you. SmartStake's Promo Converter and Arbitrage Finder search live markets for the hedge with the best result, on the Premium plan, with a 5-day free trial for eligible new accounts.

Bottom Line

The best hedging tool is the one that matches the money you hold. Use the cash formula for a cash bet, the winnings formula for a free bet, and the refund formula for a no sweat bet, and price the other side across every book before you place it.

Hedge your next bet with the free calculators, or let the Promo Converter find the price and run the math on live markets.