Baseball is one of the most fun sports to bet on, but there is also a lot that bettors need to learn before knowing how to bet on baseball. Unlike some of the other sports, you’ll only find a point-spread at 1.5 runs, and it’s mostly moneyline betting that most people wager on. Here are some tips to get everyone started on being a profitable baseball bettor.
Reading Baseball Betting Odds
There isn’t much flexibility when it comes to odds in baseball, as every game comes with a 1.5-run line (spread) attached to it. In these type of bets, the favored team has to win by two runs or more whereas the underdog has to lose by one run or win the game outright.
Typically, these are beneficial when the favored team has a moneyline number of about -200 or higher, as it saves you in laying more money down on the bet. More times than not for the underdogs, it’s usually more beneficial just to bet them to win outright since the odds on +1.5 are usually higher.
Moneyline Betting on Baseball
Moneyline Betting is the easiest wager in online sports betting to understand – it’s simply whether the team loses or not.
When an elite pitcher is on the mound for the favored team, and the underdog has a mediocre pitcher, you’ll typically see the favorite with odds up to anywhere between -200 and -300. In extreme mismatches, you could see a line go upwards of -400, meaning you have to risk $400 in order to win only $100.
Points Betting on Baseball
Points betting on baseball certainly has its advantages, if you wind up on the winning side. Let’s say you’re betting $10 on a team that is favored to win – You can earn $10 for each extra run they win by. Example: Boston wins 10-3 over New York, you’ll earn $70 for the seven runs they won by.
If Points Betting sounds like your kind of sports betting then the undisputed home of Points Betting in New Jersey is PointsBet.
Totals (Over/Under) Betting
Betting on the totals in baseball is fairly easy. Typically, you’ll see a game total range from 6-12.5 runs.
The games with totals on the lower range (6-7.5) will have games with one or two elite pitchers. Because of the predicted dominance of these pitchers, it makes the opposing offense’s chances of scoring runs that much more difficult. You’ll also see lower totals at San Francisco’s Oracle Park because of the long dimensions, thus creating fewer chances for home runs.
On games with totals on the higher range (9.5+), there are a lot more outcomes contributing. There could be one or two lackluster pitchers, offenses in good form, or just ballparks with smaller dimensions. Nowadays, a lot of these ballparks are designed to create more home runs, which lead to more runs and then more interest in the game.
Some of the teams with offense-friendly ballparks are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, New York (Yankees), Philadelphia and Texas. For some of these locations, the hotter temperatures also help the ball fly more, which leads to more home runs.
Parlay Betting
Parlay betting in baseball is similar to the other sports. In order for your parlay bet to win, the two or more teams/totals you select must all win their individual games or go above/below the game total. You can bet teams on the moneyline or 1.5-run line and even combine those with the over/under on the game total.
Prop Betting
Prop betting has gone to a new level in many sports over the years, but baseball has always had a great number of props to choose from.
The most common is a strikeout prop, meaning that you have to guess whether a pitcher will have over/under the predetermined number. There’s also a nice trick using the strikeout prop to your advantage in daily fantasy baseball. If you see that a pitcher has a large number (something like -140 or higher) on the over, that’s probably a good sign that it’ll occur – the same is true if those higher odds are on the under, that the pitcher may struggle.
MLB Betting Tips
The key winning bets on baseball is by adopting proven sports betting strategies, which requires time and research.
Alternatively, you could head to our MLB picks and parlays section, where our betting experts have picked the best value bets of the day.
You can also find top baseball betting picks with our MLB Computer Picks. These picks are generated through a computer algorithm to run extensive statistical analysis and find the best value bets.
Baseball Betting Sites
There are numerous sportsbooks that will gladly be the home for your love of betting on baseball. However, which betting sites will maximize your betting experience?
Researching the wide range of MLB sportsbooks can be very difficult and time-consuming. But fortunately, our expert team has extensively vetted the numerous betting sites out there and put together the complete guide to the best sites for betting on MLB for you.
