MLB or Baseball betting is one of the easiest sports to understand in the sports betting world. Betting on baseball can also be very challenging as teams play nearly every day for several months in a row. We will lay out some of the fundamentals to betting on baseball and give you a few tips on how to handicap a game yourself.

 

Betting on the Moneyline is the easiest and most basic bet in baseball. When you bet on a team on the Moneyline you are basically betting on that team to win the game, straight up. They don’t have to win by a certain number of runs. They just have to win. Odds are set on both teams making one team the favorite and one team the underdog. The favorite will most likely be anywhere from -110 to -350 in baseball while the favorite typically lands between +110 to +300. This means that if you bet on a -120 favorite on the Moneyline you will have to risk $120 to win $100. Likewise, if you bet on a +120 Moneyline underdog in baseball you only have to bet $100 to win $120. For the most part the Moneyline odds are set and determined based on the pitchers on the mound that day and where the game is being played at.

 

Run Line betting is a fun way to bet on baseball if you are feeling a bit riskier. To bet on a favorite with Run Line you are saying that the team you picked will win the game by 1.5 runs. This line typically appears as “Home Team -1.5”. If you are looking to bet the Run Line on the underdog you are getting 1.5 runs in your favor. The team you picked either has to win the game or lose by less than 1.5 for you to win this bet. This Run Line typically looks like “Home Team +1.5”. Be careful betting on the Home Favorite with the Run Line as they often times win 1 run games. Think about it. Say the game is tied going into the bottom of the ninth. The home team comes to the plate and gets the bases loaded. A double is hit into the gap and would typically score 2+. But in this case, the game ends and your team wins by 1 and you lose the bet. Just something to consider when betting on the Run Line. I personally like to bet road teams if I do Run Line at all.

 

Betting on the total runs scored in baseball is referred to as “Over / Under betting”. If you don’t have a good feeling for who’s going to win the game but you think lots of runs are going to be scored, then total betting is for you. Typically, the over / under line is set anywhere from 7 to 12 give or take a few runs. You can make a wager that the total number of runs scored will be over this number, or under this number. If the total number of runs lands right on the line, the bet is a push. Weather plays a big factor in how many runs are scored in a game. A rainy day or windy day could result in a low number of runs. But if the wind is howling toward the left field fences, it could be a large number of runs. The pitching matchups are also something you will want to study when betting on the total number of runs. Betting on the totals is a fun option and gives you something to cheer for even if you don’t like either team in the game.         

 

These are some of the very basics to betting on MLB. We’ll have some more detailed baseball betting strategies in future articles so be sure to come back often. Good luck betting on the next baseball season!