Photo from Unsplash

Originally Posted On: https://www.underdogchance.com/baseball-betting-what-is-and-how-it-works/

 

You can score a home run from the comfort of your couch. Americans spent more than $4.6 billion on gambling in December 2021. If you can secure just a fraction of this money, you can earn thousands of dollars.

Yet you shouldn’t plan your trip to the casino just yet. You need to understand how sports betting and gambling work. In particular, you should understand the aspects of baseball betting that make it unique.

What are the important terms in baseball betting? How can you make your bets? What should you do to manage your money and turn a profit?

Answer these questions and you can rake in the money while you bet on baseball. Here is your quick guide.

Bookies and Sportsbooks

A bookie is someone who accepts a sports bet. They also set the gambling odds and handle the winnings. Bookies secure your money with bank accounts, and they can pay you through discreet transfers.

The vig or vigorish is the fee that the bookie charges for a bet. If you bet $100, you may have to pay a vig of $2. This allows the bookie to make money, even if you win.

Many bookies prepare sportsbooks, which are locations where gamblers can wager on sports. Casinos and online websites count as sportsbooks.

Best Baseball Betting Sites 2022

The best baseball betting sites include Bovada, BetOnline, BetUS, and MyBookie.

• Bovada offers weekly promotions and accommodates Bitcoin. You can also receive sign-up bonuses when you start an account.
• BetOnline also offers a substantial sign-up bonus. They also let you contact customer support through live chat, phone, and email.
• BetUS has been around for more than 20 years. You can bet with several different cryptocurrencies and receive deposits through your credit cards.
• MyBookie lets you make future bets so you can wager during the offseason. The platform runs betting competitions, so you can win money for being the most accurate bettor on the platform.

Money Lines

The money line is a figure you see throughout sports gambling. It is a number that appears with a plus or minus sign, as in, “-110.” A team with a negative sign is the favorite to win the game while a team with a positive sign is the underdog.

If you bet on a team with a -110, you are betting $110 to profit $100. Betting on a team with a +110 line means you can bet $100 to profit $110. In both cases, your return would be $210, as you win your original bet plus your profit.

Run Lines

A point spread is a common feature throughout sports gambling. In order to win your bet, you have to beat the spread. If a spread is 6.5 points and you are betting on a team you want to win, the team must score 7 points or higher.

A run line is baseball’s variant of a point spread. You will see figures like +1.5 and -1.5.

+1.5 means that the team must not lose by 2 or more runs. -1.5 means the team must win by 2 runs.

If a game’s outcome matches the spread, the bet is returned to the bettor. Many sportsbooks add a .5 to their spreads and run lines to prevent this from happening.

In baseball gambling, the run line can have different odds. You may notice that a run line is listed as -1.5 -130. If you bet on the run line instead of the money line, you can profit $130 instead of $110.

Over/Under

The over/under involves the combined score of the two teams. If the over/under is 9, you can bet on whether both teams will score more or less than 9 runs.

You may see a listing as 8.5, u -110. The sportsbook thinks that the total will be 8.5 runs, and you must wager $110 to bet under 8.5 runs and profit $100. 8.5, o +110 means you must risk $100 to bet over 8.5 runs and profit $110.

Pitchers Option

When you read a betting line, you may notice a section for probable pitchers. These are the pitchers that the bookie believes will start the game.

You have several options based on the probable pitchers. You can bet on action, meaning your bets will have nothing to do with the starting pitchers.

But pitchers are extremely important to the outcomes of games. If the listed pitchers don’t play, your chances of winning your bet may change drastically.

You can also bet on a listed or specified pitcher. Your bookie will accept your bet only if the probable pitchers start the game. If they don’t start, you can have your bet returned to you.

Parlays

A parlay lets you place multiple bets at once. You can bet on the Red Sox-Mets game and then bet on the Blue Jays-Cardinals game.

In order to profit, you must win all of your bets. If you bet on the Blue Jays to win and they lose, you lose all of your money, even if you got the Red Sox game right.

But parlays are accumulative. If you bet on the Red Sox to win and you receive $210, the bookie will place that $210 on the Blue Jays to win. If they win at -110 odds, you will profit $231 and win $441 in total.

Prop Bets

Prop bets are side bets that don’t affect your main action. You can make prop bets without placing any bets on the outcome of the game.

You can bet on a player’s performance. Bookies may give odds for how many strikeouts a pitcher will throw. Examples:

You can also bet on completely random things. Some people like to make bets on whether fans or animals will run onto the field.

You can make a prop bet a part of a parlay. You will only win your total bet if your prop bet comes true. Yet bookies may impose limitations on how big your bets will be so you focus your money on the main action.

Sports Betting Strategies

You can employ a few different strategies when making sports bets. Make sure you are changing the way you bet over time so you can make more money.

Play It Safe

A bookie may give an underdog a large betting line. You may be tempted to throw a little money on that team. But the large line indicates that you are more likely to lose your money than win it.

Try to pick games and players with smaller lines. Don’t “chase a feeling” and make a bet just because of a gut feeling or a temptation to gamble. You should only make a bet when you have done your research.

The gambler’s fallacy occurs when a gambler believes they are more likely to win after a series of losses. In reality, baseball games are events of random chance that have nothing to do with each other.

If you’re in a losing streak, you shouldn’t bet more in order to win back your losses. If you’re on a winning streak, you shouldn’t assume that you will always win. You should take a break from gambling and reassess your strategy after a few losses or wins in a row.

Consider a Few Gambling Structures

Sports betting algorithms are mathematical formulas that help with gambling. You can make value bets, totaling your profits based on the probability you will win and your gambling odds. Professional baseball bettors use algorithms to build MLB betting models.

Before you adopt any gambling strategy or algorithm, you should consider what your risk tolerance is. If you have a high tolerance, you can consider an algorithm. If you don’t want to risk too much or you want to gamble occasionally, you should develop your own approach.

Manage Your Money

You should never gamble more money than you can afford to lose. Take a look at your bank account and figure out what your discretionary spending is. Then devote a portion of your discretionary spending toward gambling.

Your bankroll is the amount of money you have for gambling. You should never bet more than 2% of your bankroll at once. If you have a bankroll of $1,000, you will bet $20 at once.

While you are gambling on baseball, you should focus on baseball. Don’t bet on other games, and don’t play casino games like poker. Do not spend money on food, drink, and other services.

Examine your bank account every month or so. You can add a little more money to your bankroll after you make a little more money. But you should also take money out if you need cash or are not making as much.

Never depend on gambling in order to pay for your bills. You will experience downturns when you lose a lot of money, so you should have a steady income stream besides sports.

The Essentials of Baseball Betting

You have to know a lot to be successful in baseball betting. Make sure you know all of the critical terms, especially money lines and run lines. Feel free to use websites like Bovada to handle your bets.

You can make parlays, but these wagers can be risky. Try to reduce your risk by keeping your bet sizes small and avoiding the gambler’s fallacy. Never chase a winning streak or bet on a gut feeling.

Keep studying how to be a successful gambler. Underdog Chance provides informative gambling classes. Enroll in a free course today.