What is Hedge?

Hedging is placing a bet on the opposite side of a wager you already hold, in order to reduce risk, lock in a profit or guarantee a minimum return. It is most useful when an early bet has come good and you would rather secure money than ride the full result. Worked example: you backed Team A to win a competition at 20/1, staking $50, so a win returns $1,050 ($1,000 profit). They reach the final, where the opponent, Team B, is priced at 2.00. To guarantee a profit you bet $525 on B. If A wins, you collect $1,000 profit from the futures but lose the $525 hedge, netting $475. If B wins, the hedge returns $525 profit, minus your original $50 futures stake, also netting $475. Either way you bank about $475. Hedging matters because it converts an uncertain outcome into a locked result, which can be the disciplined choice when a large futures position is in the balance. The trade-off is that it caps your upside: had you left the bet alone and A won, you would have kept the full $1,000. The common mistakes are hedging too early, before the price is right, or over-hedging and surrendering most of the value. It is closely related to Arbitrage and to taking a Cash Out. See also Futures and the Accumulator.