# Preseason futures: $100 on Team A at +2000 (pays $2,100) # Team A reaches the final vs Team B (B priced +120) hedge: $900 on B at +120 # total staked: $1,000 if A wins: 2,100 - 1,000 = +$1,100 if B wins: 900 × 2.20 - 1,000 = +$980 # Guaranteed four-figure profit either way
Hedging surrenders EV to buy certainty - every hedge pays the second market's vig. Whether that trade is right depends on bankroll and utility, not on the odds alone; sizing the hedge is a solvable little algebra problem once you fix the outcome you want equalized.
Sizing a hedge requires the live price on the other side at the best available book - a single cross-book query. Live prices with sub-5-second freshness on majors matter when hedging in-play, where the window moves with every possession.