What’s the most popular way to bet MLB games?
How do MLB moneyline odds work?
What are runlines and how do they work for baseball bettors?
What should I expect from MLB totals? (What is the low and high range)
What should I know about betting MLB futures odds?
How much do starting pitchers impact MLB game odds?
What are the best MLB betting tips?
MLB odds
Someone who knows how to bet MLB, also knows it can be very similar to playing the stock market. winning is based on speculation. Call it, Sports speculation.
Behind a little elbow grease – no really, get something to rub into that elbow and soothe the aches from all the clicking you’ll do with your mouse and your keyboard – hunting for information about every baseball game, every season can be profitable.
And when you’ve made your argument, you’re convinced as to why you’re playing that team, it’s a matter of who has the better opinion: you or the bookmaker. It’s your job to have a better opinion, and unlike football and basketball, you can go 50-50 and make money.
We’re answer all the most commonly asked questions about how to bet MLB games.
What’s the most popular way to bet MLB games?
Unlike basketball and football where point spreads are used as the common betting line, MLB bettors turn to moneyline odds. This means the price of backing a favorite comes at a greater cost while the payout for taking the underdog can boost your betting bankroll.
How do MLB moneyline odds work?
Betting on the moneyline means you’re betting on which team will win rather than the point differential with the final score like we see with point spreads. A common moneyline might be New York Yankees -140 at Tampa Bay Rays +120. The minus sign indicates which team is favored to win and the plus sign shows us which side is the underdog.
Betting the Yankees at -140 means you would have to wager $140 to earn $100. In other words, risk $140 to win $100. Underdog bettors don’t have to do much math to figure out their returns. The Rays payout $120 on a $100 wager.
It’s important to understand the book’s juice on its MLB bets. Most sportsbooks offer 20-cent but you can still find offshore shops that will offer prices based on a 10-cent line. There are also some where the prices will be based on a 30-cent line as the favorite becomes more expensive.
The 20-cent gap between the teams is the sportsbooks vigorous, or, juice. That’s why it’s always important, if you’re going to bet baseball long-term, to find a book that offers a $0.10 line.
What are runlines and how do they work for baseball bettors?
A runline is baseball’s answer to point-spread betting. This method of wagering allows you to alter the price of a big favorite, oft-times turning a favorite into an underdog price. The catch is, you have to lay a run and a half to the other team. Which means you have to win by two runs.
Let’s say the Los Angeles Dodgers are -275 moneyline favorites against the San Diego Padres. If you want to bet on the Dodgers but with better odds, you could take them on the runline at -130. Now you only have to wager $130 to win $100 instead of $275 like you would have had to do if you took the Dodgers on the moneyline.
What should I expect from MLB totals? (What is the low and high range)
MLB totals is a way to bet on the total runs scored in a given game. Baseball totals can be profitable if you understand what to look for each part of the season. As with moneylines and runlines, MLB totals are largely influenced by who the starting pitchers are in a particular matchup.
Oddsmakers will produce a total as low as 5.5 or 6 if two Cy Young contenders are scheduled to faceoff. And they’ll an Over/Under line as high as 12.5 or 13 if two crap starting hurlers are on the mound.
How the two teams are doing in the batter’s box plays a part in the Over/Under lines as well. The top offensive clubs in the majors will see higher totals than those who struggle to touch home plate.
Where the game is being played is another factor to keep in mind when playing MLB totals. Ballparks are built with different dimensions and some have significantly shorter outfield fences. Cincinnati is known for being a hitter’s park while the huge outfields in Seattle and San Francisco suppress run production.
The thin air in Colorado doesn’t do pitchers any favors. A fly ball can easily turn into a home run at Coors Field. Try to keep these factors in mind when betting on MLB totals.
What should I know about betting MLB futures odds?
For those with an appetite for predicting who will win the American and National League pennants and the World Series, there are prices on all three, and those are called futures. You’re predicting the future of the baseball season.
The winner of the American League pennant and the winner of the National League pennant meet for the World Series. And if you like the Boston Red Sox to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the Red Sox might be +150 to win the American League, while the Dodgers Might be +250. If you have $100 wagered on the Red Sox to win the American League and $100 wagered on the Dodgers to win the National League and they both do, you would win $400.
The World Series prices work the exact same way except all the teams in the league are in one pool. As the season gets closer to the playoffs, teams that are eliminated are removed from the pool and odds may change. Some sharp bettors will wager futures early in the season or before the start of the campaign and try to hedge their way out toward the end of the season or once the playoffs start.
You can find value beyond betting a team you think will win the American or National League pennants, or the World Series. Staying crafty and figuring out how to manipulate the odds in your favor are always in play with whatever you’re doing including future bets.
How much do starting pitchers impact MLB game odds?
As mentioned earlier, starting pitchers have an impact on the prices oddsmakers attach to the teams. Quite obviously, the better the pitcher, the higher the price, in relation to the opposing pitcher. It’s pretty cut and dry with this category.
But, there is a way to find value with some of the better pitchers in the league. Most pitchers will be in a lull at some point in the season. A starting pitcher that usually carries a price tag of -200, might be a mere -140 because he happens to be in a slump.
But, in dire need of a spark to get back to his greatness, it turns out he has dominated the team he is facing over his career. He couldn’t have asked for a better opponent at that time.
It is very important to understand why the oddsmakers put a price on a pitcher – not just because you think there is value. Once you know, and you’ve determined your opinion overrules the bookmaker’s, you’ll see value there. Ultimately, you will figure out a pattern to look for each step of the way.
What are the best MLB betting tips?
Create your betting plan
Start with your bankroll. Figure out how much you’re going to invest in a baseball season. Then you want to figure out what percentage of that bankroll you’re comfortable in playing on every game coming from your handicapping system.
As your bankroll grows, your wagers will grow, because it’s always a percentage of your overall figure. Never waver from that philosophy, as sports gambling takes discipline. And money management is extremely important. That is a betting tip that would apply to any sport, but in talking about baseball, it is never more prevalent with those moneyline prices that you encounter.
Look for streaks
Especially in the second half of the season. Winning teams streak longer and more dominantly in the second half of the season, while we see terrible baseball teams losing extensively. It’s not out of the ordinary to see 10-game streaks in the second half of the season by several teams.
It’s really simple, you catch a red-hot team riding a three-game win streak or longer, and that team is playing in its own stadium, you want to ride that streak out. If a slumping team is on the road, you can find value when the prices don’t get too high on the team they’re playing that night.
MLB odds
Looking to bet on tonights MLB games? Check the latest “MLB Odds” here and start winning.