MLB Baseball Betting is Reviewed

With 7-8 months of baseball action every year, and several games every day, tons of betting opportunities are available. The key to making money wagering on baseball games is finding the best price. For the casual bettor looking to have some fun, shopping around isn’t so critical, but serious bettors need to get the best price on every bet they place.

Small advantages can make the difference during a long season with so many games to bet on. Whether you’re betting to win millions of dollars or just a few dollars, yoou should have accounts at the gambling sites listed below.

18+, T&Cs apply, and Gamble Responsibly (BeGambleAware).

Understand the Different Types of Baseball Bets

Money Lines

A money line is a straight-up bet on the winner of a game. Since one team is generally favored over the other, the payouts for each team are different. For example it may require a $10 bet to win $6 on one team, but only $5 to win $10 on another.

Negative (-) money lines indicate the favored team in a game. Positive (+) money lines indicate the underdog. A typical baseball money line might look like this:

• San Francisco Giants -120
• Los Angeles Dodgers +130

Money lines are based around the $100 figure for simplicity, but do not require a $100 bet. Negative money lines display the amount of money needed to wager to win $100 in profit. Positive money lines display the amount that would be won from a $100 bet.

In the Giants vs Dodgers game above, it would require a $120 bet on the Giants to win $100 in profit (or $12 to win $10). If the Dodgers win, a bet of $100 would result in a $130 profit (or $10 to win $13).

Money line bets are the most popular way to bet on MLB baseball.

Run Lines

A run line wager is similar to a puck line bet in hockey. The favored team in a game has to give up 1.5 runs in a game, while the underdog gets 1.5 runs. For a bet on the favored team to win, they would need to win the game by two or more runs. The underdog could lose the game by one run and still win the run line bet. Here’s how it works:

• Baltimore Orioles +1.5 -180
• Kansas City Royals -1.5 +160

In this game, the Royals are the favored team, so they have to give up 1.5 runs. The Orioles are the underdog, so they’re getting 1.5 runs. For run line bets on the Orioles to win, the Orioles could lose the game by one run and still cover the run line. For example, if the game score was 4-5 with the Orioles losing, a run line bet adjusts the score to 5.5 – 5, for the Orioles win.

For run line bets on the Royals to win, they would have to win the game by two or more runs. For example, if the Royals win the game 6-4, the adjusted score becomes Royals 4.5 to 4 for the Orioles. If they won the game 5-4, run line bets on them would lose because the adjusted score would be 3.5-4.

Since baseball is a low scoring game and anything can happen, the team who’s favored to win outright is typically the underdog on a run line bet. For example, in the game above, the Royals are the favored team to win, and this is why they have to give up 1.5 runs. However, the odds on them are +160, meaning you’ll get $160 profit on a $100 wager. For the Orioles who are getting 1.5 runs, it would require a bet of $180 to win $100 in profit.

Totals (Over/Unders)

A totals bet (also called over/under) is a simple wager on the total number of runs scored in a game. If the score is 5-4, the total is 9. If the score is 8-3, the total is 11.

Sportsbooks post the number of runs they think will be scored in a game. It’s the handicappers job to predict if their number is too high or too low. If you think their total is too high, you would bet the under. If you think their total is too low, you would bet the over.

Most online sportsbooks offer totals bets at -110 odds, except when the lines are adjusted based on betting trends.

1st 5 Inning Bets

Many sportsbooks offer bets on the results of the 1st 5 innings of a game. For this bet, the game is considered over at the end of the fifth inning. Some bettors prefer five inning bets over full games because results tend to be more predictable. This is because starting pitchers generally pitch most or all of the first five innings. Without bullpens to worry about, it can be easier to select which team will be ahead after 5 innings than 9.

Five inning bets also give cappers another betting option to add more excitement to a game. Now you can bet on the first five innings and the full game as well.

Propositions (Props)

Prop bets (also called special or exotic bets) are wagers that don’t fit into any of the other betting categories listed above. These are usually wagers on individual events or accomplishments during a game. Most sportsbooks offer team and player props for baseball games, but some offer a better selection than others. Also the vig is generally higher on prop bets than bets related to the final result of a game. For these reasons, baseball prop bets tend to be less popular than others.

Designed mainly for casual punters who are looking to add some excitement to a game, some common MLB baseball prop bets might include:

• Player matchups on who will have more hits, runs, and rbi’s in a game.
• Pitching matchups on who will record more strikeouts in a game.
• Over/under on strikeouts recorded by a pitcher.
• Will player X get a hit?
• Will player Y hit a home run?
• Which team will score first?
• Will there be a run scored in the first inning?
• Over/under on runs scored by an individual team.

Futures

A futures bet is exactly as it sounds. In baseball, these are bets that pick the winner of a division, league, or World Series winner. Some online sports betting sites also offer over/under futures bets on the total number of games each team will win.

While some futures bets can offer attractive odds, winning bets take all season long before they pay out. If you have a set bankroll for sports betting, futures bets should be kept to a maximum of .5% of your bankroll. Don’t tie up large sums of money on futures.

Parlays

A lot of handicappers like baseball parlays because a lot of games have very close odds. A parlay bet is a wager where 2 or more teams are picked to win, and put onto a single ticket. Every team on the parlay must win, or the entire bet is lost. However, the odds for a baseball parlay bet are greatly increased, giving cappers a chance to score a big win with a relatively small wager amount.

Popular MLB Pages

– MLB Baseball Lines
– MLB Futures
– MLB Team Win Totals
– World Series Betting

More Useful Information

Major League Baseball (MLB) is one of the most popular sports in the United States, along with football and basketball. Most of the MLB players are American although many come from Canada, Cuba, Japan and the Dominican Republic. The MLB season is played from April and doesn’t end until October or November depending on how long each playoff series takes to finish.

There is more betting on the World Series than any other game during the season. World Series games can be bet on at every major sportsbook on the net. A wider selection of prop bets are also available for the World Series.