How Baseball Betting Works
How does baseball betting work? Here is a quick guide to baseball betting odds, types of bets, and where to bet on baseball games.
Introduction
Baseball betting is one of the most popular forms of sports betting, and it’s not hard to see why. Baseball offers a lot of opportunities for bettors to cash in on their knowledge of the sport, and it’s a relatively simple form of betting to understand. In this article, we’ll take a look at how baseball betting works and some of the most common types of bets that are placed on baseball games.
The first thing you need to know about baseball betting is that there are two main types of bets: moneyline bets and runline bets. Moneyline bets are simply wagers on which team will win the game, while runline bets are wagers on how many runs will be scored in the game by each team. In most cases, moneyline bets will have odds attached to them that indicate how likely each team is to win the game. For example, if Team A is a -200 favorite to win a particular game, that means that you would need to bet $200 on them in order to win $100 (plus your original $200 back). If Team B is a +150 underdog in the same game, that means you would only need to bet $100 on them in order to win $150 (plus your original $100 back).
As you can see, there can be a lot of value in betting on underdogs in baseball games if you know what you’re doing. That’s because there are often big mismatches between teams in terms of talent level, and even the best teams can lose any given game. If you do your homework and study the matchups carefully, you can find some great underdog bets that can pay off big time.
In addition to moneyline and runline bets, there are also “prop” bets available on baseball games. These are wagers on things like how many home runs will be hit in the game or whether or not a certain player will get a hit. Prop bets can be fun way to get more involved with a particular game, but they can also be quite risky if you don’t know what you’re doing. As with any type of gambling, it’s important to know your limits and only bet what you can afford to lose.
The Spread
In baseball betting, the spread is the number of runs oddsmakers believe will be scored in the game by the underdog team. They do this to even out the betting.
Let’s say the Yankees are playing the Red Sox and oddsmakers believe the Yankees will win by four runs. They’ll set the spread at -4. If you bet on the Yankees, they have to win by more than four runs for you to win your bet. If they win by exactly four runs, it’s a push and you get your money back.
If you bet on the Red Sox, they can lose by three runs and you still win your bet as long as they don’t lose by four or more runs. If they lose by exactly three runs, it’s a push and you get your money back.
The spread is not related to which team is favored to win. In fact, when two teams are evenly matched, there might not be a favorite or underdog at all. In that case, oddsmakers might set the spread at 0 because there would be no incentive for anyone to bet on either team.
Moneyline
In baseball betting, the team you bet on must win the game outright. There is no point spread; instead, the odds are expressed in terms of how much money you will win if you bet correctly. The favorite will have negative odds (e.g. -200), meaning that you would have to bet $200 to win $100. The underdog will have positive odds (e.g. +150), meaning that a $100 bet would win you $150.
Totals
The most popular type of baseball betting is betting on the game’s outcome, also known as the moneyline. However, another way to bet on baseball is by betting on the game’s total score, also called the over/under.
With an over/under bet, you are wagering that the combined runs scored by both teams will be either over or under a certain amount. For example, let’s say the over/under for a particular game is 9.5 runs. If you bet the over, you are wagering that the final score will be 10 or more runs. If you bet the under, you are wagering that the final score will be 9 or less runs.
The key to successfully betting baseball totals is to have a good understanding of how teams score runs. Runs can be scored in a variety of ways, but home runs tend to be the most unpredictable. This is because home runs are largely dependent on factors like weather and wind conditions, which can be very difficult to predict. If you can find a good value on an over/under bet where neither team is likely to hit many home runs, then you may have found yourself an advantageous situation.
Parlays
Parlays are the most popular type of baseball bet. A parlay is a bet on two or more teams, with the payout determined by the odds of all the teams winning. For example, if you bet on three teams as a parlay and they all win, you would receive a payout based on the odds of all three teams winning.
The odds of a parlay are usually calculated by multiplying the odds of each team winning. So, if you bet on three teams with odds of +100, +200 and +300, your parlay would have odds of 6-1 (or +600), since 100 x 200 x 300 = 6.
Parlays are generally considered to be riskier bets than straight bets, since all the teams in a parlay must win in order for you to win your bet. However, they can be very lucrative if you pick a few underdogs and they all come through.
A teaser is a type of bet that allows you to adjust the point spread or total in your favor. For example, let’s say the Yankees are playing the Red Sox and the point spread is New York -1.5. If you bet on the Yankees with a -1.5 point spread, they must win by two or more runs for you to win your bet.
If you think the Yankees will win, but not by enough to cover the -1.5 point spread, you can bet on them with a “teaser”. A teaser allows you to add extra points to the Yankees’ spread, making it easier for them to cover. So, if you bet on the Yankees with a 6-point teaser, they would need to win by 8 or more runs for you to win your bet. Of course, this also means that if they only win by 7 runs, you will lose your bet.
Teasers are usually offered with football and basketball betting, but they can be found in other sports as well. Teasers are usually offered with odds of -110 (meaning you must bet $110 to win $100), but some sportsbooks may offer better odds.
If Bets
If bets are a type of baseball bet that allows you to bet on two outcomes with one wager. For example, you could bet on the Red Sox to win their game and the Yankees to lose theirs. If both bets win, you will win both parts of the wager. If one bet wins and the other loses, you will only win the part of the wager that was successful.
Futures
Futures are wagers placed in advance on the outcome of an event. The most common type of futures bet is made on the winner of a division, league, or tournament. For instance, a bettor might place a futures bet on which team will win the World Series months before the actual series begins.
The advantage to placing a futures bet is that you can usually get much better odds by betting early. The disadvantage is that you have to wait a long time for the event to occur, and your money is tied up during that time. If you place a futures bet on a team that ends up not even making the playoffs, you will lose your money.
Props
Props are wagers placed on specific events that may or may not take place during a game. These bets are usually based on player or team performances, and they can be found on everything from how many strikeouts a pitcher will have to whether a batter will hit a home run.
