Want to make America’s national pastime more fun? Choose a few games and place some wagers!. If you’re a bettor, you have many options available to you in every Major League Baseball game in which to make a score. We’ve put together a quick guide to betting on baseball for those who want to learn more
Betting On The Baseball Moneyline
What makes MLB different than football or basketball? Many of wagers placed on Major League Baseball games do not involve a point spread. Instead, in baseball, bettors generally wager on the moneyline, or are looking to choose or predict who will be the winner of the game.
The betting favorite will always have a “-” in front of their moneyline odds, -150 for example. When you see that, it means that a bettor would have to bet $150 to gin a $100 profit on the winning favorite.
Underdogs typically have a “+” in front of their moneyline odds, +175 for example. This means if the bettor places a $100 wager on a winning underdog, they will realize a $175 profit. If you’re starting off small though, you don’t need to bet $100 or $1000 to make money. Simply bet a fraction or whatever you feel comfortable and once you’ve done the math on it, you’ll determine how much you’ve made.
Placing Bets On The Baseball Runline
A less popular option in betting on baseball is the runline wager. The betting favorite will be assigned a -1.5 run handicap, but oddsmakers will offer an appropriate amount of “juice” to make laying the 1.5 runs with the favorite more appealing.
In our hypothetical favorite -150 and underdog +130 scenario, the -150 favorite may be assigned runline odds which will show like this: -1.5 (+160). This means if the favorite team wins by two runs or more, those who bet the favorite on the runline will earn $160 for every $100 they risked. Runline underdogs will be assigned a line that looks something like this: +1.5 (-140). This means that if the underdog wins outright or merely loses by one run, bettors will earn $100 for every $140 they risked.
Make A Bet On The Baseball Total
Totals wagers in baseball work very much like totals wagers in other sports. There is an over/under figure for each game, leaving bettors to choose whether the game they are looking at will be a home run derby or a pitcher’s duel.
Venue plays a huge part in determining what the Over/Under will be for each game, as well as starting pitching matchups. Overs and Unders can carry a “vig” as high as -120 and as low as even-money, but are usually listed at -110 on both sides.
Bet On The First Five Innings
If you’re betting on a baseball game, you don’t need to bet on the whole game. Instead, mix it up and if you’re savvy, you can cash out on a bet if the team you bet on does well after the first five innings. These wagers work just like moneyline wagers, and the lines set by oddsmakers may be the same as the full-game line or only slightly different. Betting a team in the first five innings market is optimal strategy if they have a good starting pitcher going but a lousy bullpen backing him up. There are also totals wagers to be made for the first five innings of a game as well as runline wagers (though the runline will be -0.5 runs for the favorite, not -1.5 runs).
Baseball Betting Roundup
As you can see, there’s plenty of wagers that you can make in baseball aside from just a simple win/loss bet. If you’re looking to get some insight, buy personalized service selections which will do the homework for you. These packages are inexpensive and depending on how much you bet, you can make that money up and much more when you win!