Baseball is America’s pastime, so it’s no surprise that many people bet on the sport. If you’re new to sports betting, welcome to the club. With the 2017 MLB season starting April 2, now’s the perfect time to learn how to bet on baseball.
Moneylines
Moneylines are a good place to start. All you do is choose who will win the game. For example, let’s say the New York Yankees are playing the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees could be the –150 favourites (the favourite will always have a negative sign). This means you have to bet $150 to win $100. The Red Sox are the underdogs at +130 (the underdog will always have a plus sign), so you win $130 when you wager $100. When there’s a minus sign, that’s the amount that you need to bet to win $100. When there’s a plus sign, that’s the amount you win if you bet $100. Of course, you don’t have to bet these exact amounts, but this gives you an idea of how the payouts work.
Run Lines
Run lines are another type of single wager in baseball. This bet involves a margin of victory that a team must cover for your bet to pay out. Let’s say the margin of victory is 1.5. This means the favoured team must win by two or more points. If you bet on the underdog (+1.5), they can lose by 1 point and you still win your bet. If the underdog wins, you also win your bet.
Totals
The total, also known as the over/under or the number, is a prediction of the combined score of the two teams in a game. Let’s say the total is 7.5. You can bet on whether the combined score will be over or under 7.5. If you think it will be a high-scoring game, you’d bet the over. If you think it will be a pitchers’ duel, you’d be more inclined to bet the under.
Parlays
A parlay is when you tie multiple predictions together. You could pick two or more teams in your parlay, and all of your predictions have to pull through for you to win. If they all hit, you get a much bigger payout than if you had made the same bets as single bets.
Futures
Futures involve placing wagers on the outcome of future events. For example, you can pick who you think will win the World Series, both before and throughout the regular season.
Props
Propositional bets focus on specified stats for teams and players. For example, you might have a player prop on whether Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels will have over or under 2.5 hits in a game. There are also team props that predict regular season win totals for each baseball team. Many props focus on how a team or individual will perform.
Live Betting
Live betting is one of the most popular ways to bet on baseball, as it allows you to get in the game after it’s started. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out who to bet on beforehand, but with live betting, you can watch a few innings, see how the teams are matching up, and then make your decision.