How To Bet On Baseball

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Professional writer of over 23 years. I started off as a junior reporter for a local newspaper before moving into sport. Spent four years at Teletext Sport with Press Association before being made redundant. Got involved with BettingPro under the previous owner, then after a break came back under Catena Media. Rugby League writer and author with four RL books on sale and one football book.

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Betting on baseball has never been easier and there has never been more markets to choose from, but if you are a newcomer to betting on Major League Baseball and other leagues here is a guide to everything you need to know.

We have come a long way from the days when the bookmakers offered a handful of betting markets for MLB games. No longer are you restricted to traditional markets such as Match Winner, you now have a healthy selection of betting markets to choose from every single week.

Here is our rundown of the main ones available to punters…

Money Line

The simplest way of betting on baseball games is through money line where you simply pick the winner of each game. Of course, you cannot always pick the favourite as a winning bet is always less than that of the underdog. A constant bet on the underdog, meanwhile, will result in a higher earning but they have less chances of winning.

Run Line

The point spread in baseball is different from other sports as it’s a low-scoring competition. The favourites are usually given a -1.5 run line handicap in baseball. This means that the favoured team must win by more than a run in the actual game for a bettor to win his bet if he picked the favourite. A winning margin of one run or a loss means that those who wagered on the favourites will lose their bets.

Totals

Bettors can also wage on the total number of runs scored by the two teams in each game. The bookmaker will display a figure with corresponding prices and you can pick either Under or Over regardless of the outcome of the game.

Futures

Those who wish to bet on the champion team for each season or tournament may do so through the outright odds market where you simply pick the team that you think will win the championship. In MLB’s case, you can also wage on the division and league (American League and National League) winners.

Props

Baseball betting offers a variety of markets aside from the outcome of the actual game. These are called proposition bets or props that may or may not happen in a game regardless of the actual game’s result. Such side bets include predicting the run line after a certain inning (3 Innings line, 7 Innings Line etc.), the first team to score or which team will get the first home run.

Gambling Awareness

We are committed to responsible gambling and have a number of ways to help you stay in control and keep gambling fun. You must be 18 years old or over to gamble on this site. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org.

Professional writer of over 23 years. I started off as a junior reporter for a local newspaper before moving into sport. Spent four years at Teletext Sport with Press Association before being made redundant. Got involved with BettingPro under the previous owner, then after a break came back under Catena Media. Rugby League writer and author with four RL books on sale and one football book.