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This guide will run you through how to bet on baseball, one of the world’s favorite betting sports.
The biggest league is obviously Major League Baseball (MLB) which features a stacked season of games and hundreds of betting markets on every one.
Read on to find out how to bet on MLB games, as well as baseball betting tips, strategy ideas, and how the betting process works.
How Does Baseball Betting Work?
Baseball betting is pretty simple – you place a wager on wins, propositions, or events that may occur in a given game.
Betting options can range from single-game outcomes, like which team will win or the total number of runs that will score, to season-long events and individual player props.
After you’ve picked an online betting site, you just need to navigate to the baseball betting page where the next games to start will be listed.
Regardless of whether you use a baseball betting strategy or not, having some money on the line can make it extra exciting to watch an MLB, minor league, or international game.
Baseball Betting Guide
When learning how to bet on baseball, it’s worth taking a look at a couple of practical examples of what it looks like to place a bet. This will get you familiar with your sportsbook and help work out your favorite types of baseball bets.
The most simple bet in baseball is betting on which team will win a game. To do this, navigate to the game and select which team you would like to win under the moneyline bet option.
| Game | Moneyline |
| Seattle Mariners | -134 |
| Houston Astros | +123 |
- If you’re betting on the Seattle Mariners to win, –134 odds state that if you wager $100, you’ll make a profit of $74 if they win the game. Or, to make $100 profit, you need to bet $134.
Another very common bet is wagering on the total number of runs in a game, rather than a team winning.
In this bet type, you select either the ‘over’ (O) or ‘under’ (U) a stated number of runs listed under the ‘Total’. This option is next to the Money Line odds in the screenshot above.
For this game, the line is set at seven and the over is slightly favored given its odds of -120 against the under at +100.
What to Consider Before Betting on MLB
When betting on MLB events, try thinking about:
- Which MLB game you would like to bet on and when it takes place.
- Which online sportsbook you want to sign up for – we only recommend some of the best offshore sportsbooks here.
- Wagering responsibly – this should come before anything else.
How to Bet on Baseball Games
Use our step-by-step guide to get to grips with the process of placing a baseball bet.
We recommend betting with BetOnline and we’ll use it for our example below.
1. Register or Log in to Your Chosen Sportsbook
New bettors need to supply information like an email address and create a username and password. Your name, address, and date of birth, among other personal information, will be required
2. Navigate to the Baseball Section
After signing into the sportsbook, or registering and verifying your account, go to the MLB betting section. At most sportsbooks, you can find this by using a drop-down menu on the left of the screen. During the MLB regular season and playoffs, baseball bettors may see these options prominently displayed on the homepage, with special MLB promos too.
3. Select a Baseball Bet
In the online sports betting options, find a game and a bet market (or type) you want to place. Your selection can be based on your favorite teams or a well thought-out baseball betting strategy. Once you’ve decided, select the wager you want, and it will populate on the bet slip of the sportsbook, which often displays on the right of the screen.
4. Enter the Amount You Want to Bet
After deciding your bet, you can now decide how much you want to bet. The sportsbook bet slip will display your potential winnings when you enter your wager amount. You’ll also have the option to combine numerous baseball betting lines into a parlay bet if you want.
5. Submit Your Bet
Now you can submit your bet and track it in the ‘My Bets’ section.
Baseball Betting Tips and Strategies
To get a better understanding of how to bet on baseball games, we’re going to cover some of the basics.
There is no single best baseball betting strategy, but we can share some solid ideas for betting on baseball games.
Types of MLB Bets
There is no perfect MLB betting strategy, but knowing all the options is crucial if you want to learn how to bet on MLB and win.
One of our best betting tips is properly understanding all the markets available on a baseball game.
Moneyline (Outright Winner)
The moneyline is the simplest way to bet on an MLB game.
This is about predicting which team will win a game. The payout you get is based on the odds set by the sportsbook. As one of our best tips for betting on MLB is to start with the basics, understanding a moneyline bet is as fundamental as it gets.
So how does MLB moneyline betting work? Consider a game in which the Philadelphia Phillies (-185) are the favorites against the Chicago Cubs (+169).
The betting favorites to win will have a negative number, while the underdogs will have a positive number with a plus sign.
| Game | Moneyline |
| Philadelphia Phillies | -185 |
| Chicago Cubs | +169 |
- If you bet $100 dollars on the Cubs to win (the underdogs), you will get a payout of $269 if they win, which means $169 profit.
- If you bet $100 on the Phillies to win (the favorites), you would get a payout of $154 if they win, which means $54 profit. Or it might be easier to think of it like this – to make a $100 profit, you would need to bet $185 at -185 odds.
Run Line Betting
Betting on the run line is another well-liked option.
You might have heard of a point spread in sports like football and basketball, which is called a run line in baseball betting. The run line is set at 1.5 runs for most MLB games.
While placing baseball bets, you generally either give or receive 1.5 runs. For example, if the underdog Cubs are +1.5 runs, and the Phillies are -1.5 runs:
- If you bet on the Cubs and they lose by one run, you will still win your bet.
- If you bet on the Phillies, they must win by two or more runs for your bet to win.
Both sides will have odds that can vary, often significantly more in MLB run line betting than you’ll typically see on an NFL point spread wager.
In our above example, you will see that the Cubs come with -175 odds on the +1.5 run line, while the Mets are +145 on the -1.5 run line.
Totals Betting
Betting on the totals of an MLB game rather than picking a side is another exciting option.
You can choose the over or under in this situation – the sportsbook determines the total predicted amount of combined runs. This means the total number scored by both sides, added together.
The total in our Cubs v Phillies example is 7.5 runs which means:
- If you bet on the under, you win your bet if seven or fewer runs are scored.
- If you bet on the over, you win your bet if eight or more runs are scored.
It doesn’t matter which team scores the runs, it’s only the total between both teams that counts for your bet.
Like run line betting, totals betting also includes odds that indicate your payout for the over or under.
As it’s easier for MLB sportsbooks to set what they consider to be an accurate total, odds should remain closer to even money on totals bet, in comparison to run line bets.
Prop Bets
Proposition or ‘prop’ betting is a fun method to wager on baseball without being concerned with a game’s outcome.
In a prop bet, you wager on a smaller outcome within a game. This can include scenarios involving individual player statistics or team props and game props.
MLB, being the most popular baseball league in the world, is the best place to have prop bets which include things like:
- Race to three runs
- Margin of victory
- Whether a player will hit a home run.
- An over/under on how many strikeouts a starting pitcher will record.
- A specific total amount of hits both teams will accumulate during a game.
Prop bets are among the best ways to get betting odds in your favor. We recommend focusing on props rather than sides/totals once you have a settled MLB betting strategy.
Parlay Betting
Parlay betting on MLB allows you to pair multiple betting selections for the chance to win more money.
This can be done using wagers from multiple games, or the same individual game, with some restrictions, with same-game parlays depending on the sportsbook.
Futures Betting
Futures betting on the MLB is a fun way to predict longer-term action on events that occur over an entire season.
A common example is wagering on the Division winner or which team will win the World Series, or even which two teams will compete in that.
Other examples of MLB futures bets are betting on which player will win the MVP award or which pitcher will win the Cy Young Award this season. Futures odds and types of bets can be a fun way to enjoy action over a long period of time, with a chance for big winnings on long shots.
Live Betting on Baseball
Live betting has gained popularity as more online sportsbooks have opened up for business in the US.
Almost all live baseball betting in the US is on MLB.
You can bet on in-game outcomes in evey single MLB game throughout the season with live betting, which means constantly shifting odds. Some sportsbooks even allow you to live stream the game on their site, along with a live betting panel and live updated odds.
Live betting offers you the chance to place and adjust your bets as events unfold during an MLB game and there are even more in-game betting choices available on postseaon games than in the regular season.
Betting on the current moneyline, run line, or over/under of a game that has already started is a common option for live MLB betting. You could also place a wager on the precise result of a player’s upcoming at-bat for example – one of the more niche in-game betting possibilities.
Types of MLB Events To Bet On
MLB is top dog when it comes to baseball, so knowing how to bet on MLB is crucial to getting the most from your baseball betting.
There are thousands of games to bet on over the course of the season and though the playoffs. If you want to place a baseball bet, this could mean betting on a whole range of events, so you need to know what’s what.
FAQs
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