Betting on MLB baseball is both fun and profitable. The purpose of this article is to explain the basics of baseball betting. We will talk about the line as well as some points to help you win more when betting on the MLB baseball. Baseball is down on the list as far as betting volume goes. For whatever reason, the bulk of sports betting is done on football and basketball. MLB baseball is a great sports betting option. Each season is filled with a plethora of opportunities.
Baseball betting revolves around the money line. Unlike football and basketball, which use spreads, in baseball sports bettors simply need to pick the real game winner of each event. The “spread” is worked in the money that must be laid or taken for each side. For example, let’s say that the New York Yankees are playing the Kansas City Royals. Let’s assume that the Yankees are having a great year and the Royals not so much. You might see a line like this: Yankees -300 Royals +270.
In our example, you would need to wager $3.00 on the Yankees for every one dollar you wanted back—should they win. Unlike football and basketball, the Yankees don’t need to win by a certain amount. They simply need to win the game. Bettors of the Royals in our example would receive $2.70 for every $1.00 they wagered. You see, the closer the two teams are to each other, skill wise, generally the closer the game is on the money line. Let’s look at another example.
This time we will look at a game against two first place teams—Team X and Team Y. All things being equal, the line might be something like Team Y -110 Team X +105. You see, the closer the teams are, the closer the line is to $1.00. It’s important to remember that the job of the spread is not to predict outcomes, but to split public opinion. I bring this up, because there are “gifts” out there. For example, this season there was a game involving the Royals—they were the worst team in baseball at the time.
The Royals were playing a sub-.500 team, which means that team has lost more games than it won. The game should have been somewhat close on the money line, but linemakers knew they could not split the public with a close line. As a result, the line was set at +260 for the Royals. This happened three games in a row and the Royals won 2 of those 3. This example clearly shows that the job of the line is to split the public and not predict games.
Here’s a quick tip. When you are deciding who will win a MLB baseball game, look at the whole team. Too often losing sports bettors simply look at the starting pitching. However, starters will only pitch about 66% of the game on average. What about the other 34%? Don’t fall into the trap of buying starting pitching. Do your homework and look at the team as a whole.
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The author is a respected sports betting editor at SportsGamblingReview.com, an online sportsbook review site. He also writes a daily blog on baseball betting with up to the minute odds, news and MLB picks.
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