A Complete Baseball Betting Guide

When many people think of baseball, they think of a sport that is only popular in the United States, but this is not actually true. It is a sport that is played in many different countries around the world such as Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Iraq to name but a handful. Due to its popularity, many people like to watch and place bets on it, so you will now find baseball betting markets and odds at the majority of sportsbooks that you come across. However, being successful when gambling on baseball is not easy - if it was, we would all be making money from it. If you are a fan of baseball and want to start doing some online baseball betting, then do yourself a favour and read this comprehensive betting guide.

Baseball Betting Markets

With regard to sports betting, baseball has become a really popular sport because there are plenty of markets on offer - this helps to keep things nice and interesting. We have been placing bets on baseball for a long time now, and below we are going to look at some of the more popular baseball bets that you will be able to place at some of the top sports betting sites.

Moneylines

Moneyline bets are the easiest kind of bet out there since you are betting on the team that you think will go on to win the match. If you put your hard-earned cash on a team and they go on to be victorious, then you will win your wager. If the team that you decide to bet on ends up losing, then you will lose your wager. This is a popular kind of bet, but it usually pays out less than other baseball markets. If you are happy with making small profits, then you can concentrate on placing moneyline bets.

Runline

A runline is baseball’s equivalent of a point spread, and it is one of the easiest bets to get t grips with when you are learning about betting on football. If you make a runline bet, then you are betting on a particular team to win or lose by a specific number of runs. While a points spread in other spirts will vary based on how mismatched the two sides are, a runline in baseball will usually be listed as 1.5 runs in both directions, with the favourites being favoured on the runline. This is because there is a lot of randomness in this sport.

Over/Under or Total Bets

You do not always have to bet on the winner of a baseball match in order to land a profit. One popular way that you can bet on a baseball match without needing to predict a winner is by wagering on the total runs scored in the game, which is known as an over/under bet. The bookie that you have opened an account with will give you a number, and then it will be up to you to decide if the final total of runs scored will be over or under that number. For instance, if they have given you a figure of 8.5 and you bet on under, you will need there to be no more than 8 runs scored in the game. On the other hand, if you decide to bet on over, then you will need there to be at least 9 runs scored in the match.

Home Runs

This market does exactly what it says on the tin - you will be putting your money on a team or player to score a home run in a game. With this sort of market, we suggest that you bet on a certain player to hit a home run because if you decide to go for the team option, the odds will be quite a bit lower because the chances of a team hitting a homerun will be quite high.

Factors to Think about When Betting on Baseball

When you are betting on baseball, you can jump right in and start placing bets without doing any research, but if this is what your betting strategy is then do not be surprised if you end up losing more baseball bets than you win. Below we are going to take a look at some key factors that you should think about when you are betting on this sport.

Weather

One key factor that is often overlooked is the weather. While the weather might seem pretty minor, it is actually a big factor because the conditions can go an awfully long way to deciding the outcome of a baseball match. For instance, games that are played in warm weather are usually higher scoring. This is because warm air is less dense, which means that the ball will end up traveling further that it would in cold conditions. Also, the wind will play a big part in the type of match that plays out. If the wind is blowing infield, then it will be harder for the batters to hit home runs.

The Schedule

Major League Baseball teams have to play a staggering 162 games over 180 days, which means that most teams are playing almost every day and are traveling around to play in these matches. A team that is playing after a rare day off will be fresher than a team that has had to play the previous day. A team that is at the back end of a lot of traveling might also be suffering from more travel fatigue than a team has been playing most of their recent games at home. So, before you go ahead and bet on a baseball match, do yourself a favour and check out the schedule that both teams have been going through.

Individual Matchups

While baseball is obviously a team sport, the outcome of a match actually hinge on individual matchups a lot more than other popular sports such as basketball or football. Baseball, at its core, is nine innings of an individual hitter vs and individual pitcher. In the majority of cases, the baseball betting odds reflect the quality of the teams’ starting pitchers. So, a team that is going to start with its best pitcher on the mound will always be the favourite over one that has its worst starter pitching.

Baseball Betting Tips

Now that you know some of the important factors to keep in mind when betting on baseball, we are going to provide you with some top baseball betting tips to keep in mind before you go ahead and place any bets on this sport.

Fade Big Betting Favourites

Baseball is a sport that has plenty of unpredictability that you might not find in other sports such as football or rugby. For instance, you can usually always back England to beat Italy when they meet on the rugby field as they have won all 30 matches the teams have played. – if you are thinking about rugby betting, then click on the following link TalkRugbyUnion.

 While there are similar talent discrepancies in baseball, the best teams in the MLB usually only end up winning 50-65 of the games that they play in the season. Conversely, the worst sides in the MLB will often win 30-45% of their games, which means even the last-place team can win 50-60 matches.

The popular teams such as the Braves or the Yankees will usually be favourites to win, but there is little point in betting on the favourites because you will need to place a big wager in order to make any sort of profit that is worth talking about. Then, obviously, if they lose, which is a possibility, you will lose a chunk of money.

Bet Against the Average Punter

The general public, it is fair to say, is not full of smart bettors. To be honest, most of them are just casual gamblers that are trying to make a match a bit more interesting. The odds for a team will change depending on the number of people that are betting on them, and popular teams are usually overvalued by novice bettors. Since the public can influence bookmakers to change their lines, you can try and take advantage of this by going the other way. Capitalising on discrepancies and line shopping are two skills that you need if you want to increase your chances of making a profit over the course of a season.

Avoid Baseball Accumulators

Accumulators, also known as parlays, have become popular because they give punters the chance to land a big payout. For those who are new to sports betting, with an accumulator, you choose a number of selections, such as six, and the odds will be multiplied together and put into the one bet, giving you the chance to land a huge profit for a small wager. However, your chances of predicting the outcome of one baseball game is pretty slim, so you can only imagine what your chances are of getting four, five, or six outcomes right.

The Top Sportsbooks for Betting on Baseball

Now that you know the most popular betting markets for baseball as well as some top baseball betting tips, we are going to end this guide by taking a look at some of the Best UK Betting Sites for placing baseball bets. 

888Sport

888Sport are one of those sportsbooks that are good at everything, and those who decide to sign up with them to place bets on baseball should not have a lot of room for complaint. Not only do they offer a wide variety of markets for baseball bettors, but they also have some of the best odds around and very good live coverage.

They offer odds boosts for the majority of sports that they have available, so you never know when they will offer boosted odds for some top Major League Baseball matches. If you are the type of punter that likes to bet on the go, then you will be glad to find out that they have a really good mobile betting app. There are no bonuses that are specifically dedicated to baseball, but nothing is perfect in this world.

BetVictor

While BetVictor might focus more on other popular sports such as golf, rugby, and MMA, we still think that they have more than enough baseball betting options on offer to keep the average baseball bettor very content. If you decide to open an account with BetVictor, then once you have placed a $10 bet, you will receive free bets to the sum of $40 that you can decide to use on baseball matches.

In addition to this, BetVictor offers a top user-friendly experience and a quality mobile gambling experience. When it comes to the baseball betting odds, we do not think that anyone will be disappointed by what they are currently offering their customers.

RedZoneSports

This might not yet bet a household name like the other sportsbooks we have mentioned, but RedZoneSports have already shown that they can compete with the best of the best, especially with regard to international coverage. Not only does their market variation impress and stand up against the best, but their enhanced odds also help to sweeten the deal further. Additionally, their live coverage is really hard to beat when it comes to its graphics and stats.

If this was not enough, they also pay attention to all the big sports events, and will usually have dedicated promotions for baseball. When it comes to their useability, they are really hard to beat, and are certainly worth newcomers having a look at.

N.B. Above we mentioned other popular sports that punters like betting on such as golf and MMA. If you want to find out more about betting on golf, you can do so at TalkGolf, while those who want to learn about MMA betting can do so at TalkKungFu.

Always Gamble Responsibly

We would just like to finish off by reminding you to always gamble responsibly. We recommend that you set up a budget with a value that you can afford to lose, and stick to it. We know that you might be tempted to try and recuperate any losses that you accumulate, but this is not a good idea as you will, more often than not, end up losing more money. However, this time it will be money that you really cannot afford to lose, and you will be putting yourself in debt.