Online Baseball Betting
Baseball is played all around the world and is definitely one of the most popular sports in North America, which means that finding a reliable sports betting site that would allow you to wager on your favorite teams isn’t actually all that hard. Whether you go for one of the European bookmakers or a US-facing site, you’ll be able to take advantage of numerous betting opportunities and an impressive selection of bet types, which range from simple money lines to complicated combinations and exotic props. Consequently, experienced handicappers tend to compare the odds between different sites to get the most bang for their buck, especially when it comes to high-profile MLB games.
Best Sites to Bet on Baseball Online
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Ways to Bet on Baseball Online
The massive amount of betting opportunities available with some of the best sportsbooks tends to be rather confusing for casual baseball enthusiasts, but don’t worry – learning the ropes isn’t actually as hard as it sounds. In fact, the vast majority of traffic on betting sites is generated by punters going for the most basic bet types, such as totals and money lines. As a result, it is quite possible to become a successful bettor by sticking to the basics and going for the most advantageous wagers – the only downside of this approach is that you’d be missing out on all the high-risk, high-reward action available with parlays or futures. Furthermore, it’s worth remembering that not every bet has to be placed before the game, as most sites allow you to engage in live, in-play betting and make your wagering decisions as you watch the action unfold on the field.
Baseball Money Line Betting
Money lines are the most straightforward type of bet, as all you have to do is select the team that will win the game outright. In an evenly matched game the lines will be usually set at -110, which means that betting $110 on either side will give you a chance to win $100. Conversely, if the line is set at +110, you’ll have to risk $100 for a chance to win $110. Consider the following example:
New York Yankees -120
Boston Red Sox +130
In this case, New York Yankees are the favorite, while Boston Red Sox are the underdog. Betting $120 on the Yankees would allow you to win $100, while betting $100 on the Boston Red Sox gives you a shot at winning $130. While the strongest teams are sometimes put in the -300 range when matched against significantly weaker opponents, betting the big underdogs often allows you to get a return of $250 on every $100 you invest or even more.
Run Line Betting
Betting the run line is one of the most popular alternatives to wagering on money lines and is very similar to betting against the spread in basketball. In run line betting, the punter has to choose between betting the favorite -1.5 or betting the underdog +1.5. This means that winning a run line bet on the favorites requires your team to win by at least two runs, while winning a similar bet on the underdog requires them to win outright or lose by one run. Please note that while -1.5/+1.5 is universally considered to be the standard run line, there are many sportsbooks that offer point spreads up to 3.5. For example:
New York Yankees +2.5 -110
Boston Red Sox -2.5 -110
This means that you have to bet $110 for a chance to win $100 regardless of the team you pick. However, in our example the Yankees would have to win by at least three runs in order for the bet to succeed. On the other hand, wagering on the Red Sox would mean that you’d receive your payout even if the lost by two runs.
Over/Under Betting
Over/under bets are different from money lines and run lines. In this case, the sportsbook sets a total for the match, while the punters wager whether the total amount of runs scored by both teams is lower or higher than that amount. The totals usually range from 6 to 11 and are usually determined by the offensive capabilities of both teams. For example, if the total is set at 8, betting the over would result in a payout if both teams manage to score 9 or more runs, while betting the under would earn you some cash if the total score was 7 or lower. Please note that over/under bets count only if the game goes the full nine innings and there is no rainout.
Parlay Betting
Parlay bets are combination bets that allow you to consolidate two or more money lines, run lines or over/under bets. Winning a bet of this type is possible only if you cover all of your wagers, which means that losing in a single selection prevents you from receiving a payout. Obviously, the more events you pick, the more money you receive if the parlay is successful. Consequently, many punters like to place money line parlays that select two or three heavy favorites, which allows them to earn more than placing a separate bet on each game.
Grand Salami Betting
Many sports betting sites offer a grand salami bet before the day’s action gets underway, which means that punters can wager whether the combined runs scored in all games will be higher or lower than the total posted by the bookmaker.
Proposition Betting
The term proposition bets refers to all wagers that don’t really fall into any of the broad categories listed above. Those so-called “props” allow bettors to wager on various elements of baseball games, including player and team statistics. Popular proposition bets include over/under bets on the number of hits scored by the batter, the amount of runs, hits and errors that happen throughout the entire game or the number of strikeouts a particular pitcher will have.