Tuesday Tool Series #13: Futures
Tuesday tool series, article 13 of 19. The tool: Futures at theoddsgap.com/futures
Tuesday Tool Article #13. Futures. Every price below was read off The Odds Gap's Futures board and Futures Hedge Tool on Monday, November 9, 2026, between 1:13 and 2:13 PM ET. Futures prices move, so treat these as a snapshot of that afternoon.
A futures bet sits for months. You put $100 on a team in November and find out in February.
That makes it the bet where the price matters most and gets checked least. Most people open one app, see a number next to their team, and tap it. Nobody asks what the other books are paying, because it's a long shot anyway.
But on a long shot, a small difference in the price is a big difference in the payout.
What the tool does
The Futures board lists every team in a futures market with the best price we found across the sportsbooks and exchanges we track, best to longest.
Each team shows its best price and the book that has it, with "+2 Tied" when more books match it. Tap the arrow on a team and it opens every book's price side by side, plus a win probability: our read of the team's real chance, with the books' margin taken out.
It covers the Super Bowl, the College Football Playoff, the NBA, NHL and MLB titles, March Madness, the WNBA and golf's majors. Star a team to save it, tap Bet Slip to add it, or tap Hedge This to see what it costs to protect a ticket you already hold.
A real example
Monday afternoon, the Chicago Bears to win Super Bowl LXI. Every US sportsbook we track, best to worst:
- FanDuel: +800
- BetMGM: +750
- DraftKings: +750
- BetRivers: +700
- theScore Bet: +650
Same team, same bet, $150 apart. $100 at +800 pays $800 profit. The same $100 at +650 pays $650.
That's one team. Here's the gap between the best and worst US sportsbook on a few more contenders the same afternoon, on a $100 bet:
- Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA title: +3500 at BetMGM, +2500 at BetRivers. $1,000 apart.
- Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl: +1200 at FanDuel and theScore Bet, +1000 at BetMGM and DraftKings. $200 apart.
- Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA title: +500 at FanDuel, +400 at BetRivers. $100 apart.
- San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl: +600 at BetRivers, theScore Bet and FanDuel, +550 at BetMGM and DraftKings. $50 apart.
The best price still isn't a bargain. The Bears' win probability on the board said 10.0%. A fair price for a 10% chance is +900. The best price anywhere was +800. Shopping got you the least-bad number, not a good one. That's normal for futures, and it's why shopping them matters more than any other bet.
Hedging the whole field rarely works. We put a $100 Bears ticket into the Futures Hedge Tool. Every team in the Super Bowl market at its best price added up to 112.0%, so backing every other team to lock in a result came out to -$107.70 whoever wins. Even a ticket bought at +3000 lost $126.53 that way. Twelve points of margin across the field is more than most long shots can beat.
How to use it
Open Futures. It's in the left menu, or go to theoddsgap.com/futures.
Pick the market. The tabs across the top show each league and how many teams it has. More opens the rest, golf included.
Find your team. Search by name, or scroll the list. The best price and its book sit right on the card.
Open the full board. Tap the arrow on a team for every book's price and the win probability. If your book isn't the best price, you can see by how much.
Save it or hedge it. Star a team to keep it under Saved. Tap Hedge This to open the Futures Hedge Tool with that team filled in, put in the price you got and your stake, and it shows an equal-result hedge, a get-your-stake-back plan and a partial hedge, each with the exact bets.
The method
On the Live Beta, the Futures board updates hourly. On the free board it updates once a day, at 7 AM ET. Every price comes from the US sportsbooks and exchanges we track; exchange prices include their fees.
The win probability takes every book's price on the market, removes the margin so the field adds up to 100%, and combines them into one consensus number. It's the market's view of the team's chance, not ours.
The Futures Hedge Tool backs every other outcome at its own best price. The "field implied" number is what all of those prices add up to. Over 100% means the market is keeping that much, and covering every outcome costs more than it returns.
The methodology page covers how every price on the site is read.
What it does not do
This is the section nobody else writes, so here it is.
It does not tell you who wins. The win probability is the market's number. It is not a pick.
It is not live. Futures move slower than game lines, but they move. Check the time and confirm at the book.
It does not cover every futures market. Championships are here. Player awards like MVP are not on this board.
It cannot fix the margin. Even the best futures price usually sits below a fair price. Shopping makes it less bad, not good.
A full hedge usually loses. With the field adding up to well over 100%, covering every other team almost never locks a profit. The partial hedge is usually the more useful plan.
The point
A futures bet is a long wait on one number. Make it the best number. On a long shot, the difference between two books can be worth more than the bet itself.
The Futures board is free.