An Introductory Strategy for Baseball Betting
Brought by immigrants to North America, baseball the bat-and-ball game evolved into a universally popular sport and one of the most-watched and loved in the United States.
As of the late 19th century, baseball is widely recognised as the national sport of the U.S. but its popularity spreads across the American continent and East Asia, most notably Japan. Europeans also follow baseball, but it is not a sport that enjoys popularity such as football, tennis, cricket and other popular pastimes. This does not mean that it is an avoided choice with fans and punters alike, who like to spice it up by placing a bet or two on this highly competitive sport.
The MLB remains the most popular choice for bettors across the globe and with over 160 games over the course of a regular baseball season, this sport offers great depth of betting choice for those who are looking to step inside the baseball betting world. A lot of online sportsbook’s have some top baseball betting systems in place for you to experience.
But those who really are keen on getting a full grip of it need to make a great strategy in order to avoid getting dragged in and tossed over, which is something betting on sports like baseball can do to you. Coming up with a reasonable plan and a system to use with betting on baseball will help you get efficient, effective and – more importantly – knowledgeable in betting on baseball. The first thing you need to do, though, is to conduct thorough research into the sport. Being an American game in its modern form, baseball has adopted different forms of playing and betting, so it needs to be approached with caution. Here is our baseball betting guide.
Key aspects of betting on the Baseball
Every baseball strategy needs to include all – or some of – the factors that are highlighted below:
- Moneyline
- Stats collecting and comparing
- Bankroll Management
- Runs Over/Under Betting
- Underdog Betting
Baseball Betting Tips
Understanding the odds and finding enough value in them is of absolute significance with baseball and betting on it. Before you start with betting on this sport, you need to keep in mind that baseball is a moneyline sport which has no consideration to a point spread, which is the market that has seen its popularity peak in the UK.
With baseball being a low-scoring game, moneyline betting gives baseball bettors a chance to wager on which team will win the game on negative and positive moneyline odds. Negative moneyline odds offer less of a payoff for safer bets on teams that are considered favourites.
The figure will indicate how much money will be won on a $100 bet where a net payout of 1/5 would be marked as -500. As for the positive odds, they mark the outcome which is less likely to come with 5/1 payouts presented as +500, often given to underdogs. Apart from understanding the moneyline system which is different from the bulk of bets made on football and basketball through point spreads, baseball betting requires plenty of stats collecting and comparing. The long MLB season gives plenty of opportunities for sharp bettors to take advantage of the numbers and maximise the units won with a clear betting edge.
When you identify teams that have records that might work in your favour – basically those who are boasting strong defensive records and/or weak scoring record – comparing the stats will allow you to find the best value in odds and markets and identify which games will be particularly high or low scoring affairs, so that you can take the numbers and make them work in your favour.
Baseball is basically a battle of numbers with teams pushing hard to devise their own strategies with shrewd player acquisitions as buying of runs, bases and hits has become increasingly countered by strikes and defensive statistics such as team’s betting average and earned run average (ERA) which are the average hits divided by the number of bats and runs pitchers will give up across the nine innings. A mere look at statistics is not enough as you will be urged to keep a record of the numbers both for underdogs and favourites.
Take a piece of paper and write down a win-loss for overs and unders, together with runlines. With many games over the course of a season, it won’t be too long before your numbers and statistics will have shaped up nicely to present you with a clear idea on which team to bet on/against.
Bankroll management is an important aspect of betting on any sport, baseball included. Finding the best sportsbooks that will offer the highest odds and give you the greatest value to your previously researched selections is the first thing to do. Betting rationally is the next logical step and you will be quick to realise that smart investments will yield great results in the long run.
You have to be wise enough to stretch out your betting budget and make it last for as long as possible, by spending a little higher during purple patches and hitting the break on the bets during the losing streaks. Keeping a cool head is important as you don’t want to be dragged into overspending during dry spells to cover for your losses.
We already touched the topic above – Baseball Over/Under Runs Betting is one of the best betting options to include in your betting strategy. It might be the most popular way of betting on baseball but there is a good reason behind it. In order to be successful at it you need to follow the sport closely, which goes in line with the stats comparison. In the Over/Under betting you will be wagering on the number of runs scored by two teams in a match. A run is achieved when a player advances through the three bases and returns safely to the home platform without being ruled out. Over/Unders allow you to grab 50% of the winning possibility and it is a good place to start from.
For those who want to take a risk, underdog betting comes as an exciting option, the one that raises the adrenaline and kicks the thrill in. Picking a winner might sound like an easy job, but it is anything but that. A lot of bookmakers will assist you with this, giving you their best MLB picks.
Don’t let the favourable odds fool you. However, rather be careful with your choices and go for the low-priced favourites or better yet underdogs. Betting on less favoured teams, in the long run, gives you a 50% chance to win and turn your money into profit with moneyline betting slowly becoming your friend and ally. Take the Boston Red Sox for example, yes, they may be favourites for most games, but it does not mean they will necessarily win. So, if baseball sounds like the kind of sport that you would like to bet on make sure you check out our which betting sites are the best for baseball page.
If you want to take a look at our other sports bets guides, you can do! We have the best betting tips for a range of sports, including: how to bet on football, how to bet on Horse Racing, F1 betting strategies and more! Here you can find the best strategy for betting on Premier Leagues, horse racing tips for big events such as the Cheltenham day races and even Grand Prix events. Also, take a look at our promotions in regards to these sports, tcs apply.