One of the best ways to use the free bets provided by online gambling sites is by employing one of the oldest tactics in gambling – hedging your bets.

When a gambler is said to ‘hedge their bets’ it means that they will bet a small amount on the opposite result of what they believe will happen and have backed heavily. Although doing so will hurt the amount of overall winnings a gambler makes from a bet, it can be incredibly useful in minimising the damage to a bankroll if a surprise result happens.

For example, in a boxing match one of the opponents may be an overwhelming favourite to win by a points decision, so much so that a large bet would be needed to be placed on that outcome in order to make it a worthwhile, profitable bet. However, placing that amount of money on one outcome can be risky if a shock result comes along. Therefore, a good use of free sports bets is placing a small amount of money on the longer odds in order to ‘hedge’ against an upset result without affecting the net profits.

Another good use for free bets with an online bookmaker is to place them on riskier outcomes with longer odds. For example, in a motor race there may be some scenarios which are too risky to back using a main bankroll, but which are worth backing using free bets as a loss wouldn’t damage the main account balance.