Hedging a bet is a tactic that professional punters use to help reduce losses. It works on the principle that a small profit is a profit and is certainly better than a loss. However, professional punters generally operate from a decent sized bank and that’s not something we can afford. However, if you are prepared to research around online bookmakers, you can often find that hedging a bet can be done on a small bank, and it can be done profitably.

Tennis is a good option since you only have two results – there are never draws that interfere with your betting. The Japan Open is on at present with Rafael Nadal a hot favourite to win. Andy Roddick is second favourite and playing well. On current prices, Nadal is roughly 1/2 while Roddick is 11/4. Earlier in the tournament he was 5/4 to make the final.

Let’s assume you backed Roddick at 5/4 to make the final – and you placed £80 to win £100 at that price. How do you hedge that bet? In most matches, Roddick is a short priced favourite to win. In the quarter finals Roddick played Monfils. Roddick was 4/6 to win with Monfils at 7/4. To hedge your bet, you would back Monfils to defeat Roddick.

When you do the maths, and £80 bet on Monfils to win £140, your total spend is £160 with a return of £180 if Roddick wins and moves on, or £220 if Monfils wins. A Monfils victory will return a profit of £60 while a Roddick win could return a £20 profit. Not a huge profit, but a profit is a profit and in percentage terms, it works out to be around 12% – where else can you make 12% in a few days.

The principle of bet hedging is to cover a possible loss with another bet such that no matter who wins, you have either minimized any loss, or better yet, guaranteed yourself a profit – even if it is small. The key to be successful with bet hedging is to constantly monitor online bookmaker betting odds and to place your bets when those odds are at their best.