An Overview of MLB Betting

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Even if you are not a professional sports bettor, having a small flutter on the outcome of a game adds a lot of spice to the excitement of watching. Many people simply do not bet on Major League Baseball (MLB) games because they are not able to understand how the betting works. In fact, it can be quite simple and we will try and explain the different types of bets that you can place on MLB games.

Moneyline bets. These are the simplest form of bets and you simply have to concern yourself with who is going to win and who is going to lose. You do not have to worry about any complications like spreads and so on. To understand the odds that are being quoted, just remember that the number that you read after the favourite will generally have a - sign while the number you read after the underdog will have a + sign. If the Boston Red Sox are playing the St Louis Cardinals, the odds will look something like this: Boston Red Sox -130, St Louis Cardinals +120. This means that the Red Sox are the favorites and you will need to bet $130 on them to win in order to get a payout of $100. Conversely, a bet of $100 on the Cardinals to win will give you a payout of $120. If you win the bet on the Cardinals, you will receive $120 plus your original bet amount of $100.

Run line. This is the baseball equivalent of the football or basketball point spread and simply represents the difference in score between the two teams. Because baseball does not result in a large number of points unlike the other games, you will tend to find that most MLB lines or spreads of 1.5 runs. The favorite for the game will be depicted with a - sign in front while the underdog will have a + sign. If you remember the moneyline example, the odds look something like this:

Boston Red Sox -130
St Louis Cardinals +120.

With the addition of a run line, the odds would now look something like this:

Boston Red Sox -1.5 +140
St Louis Cardinals +1.5 -160

If you believe that the Red Sox will win the game by more than two runs, you put a $100 bet on the run line. Your best friend believes in the Cardinals and puts a $160 bet on the run line. Let us say that the Red Sox win the game by five runs to two. Since the difference in the score was more than 1.5 runs, you will win $140 and of course get back your $100 bet as well. On the other hand, if the difference is less than 1.5 runs or the Cardinals win, your friend will win $100.

Betting on totals (under/over). These are fairly straightforward bets where the odds makers estimate the number of runs that will be scored in the game. If you think that the total will be less, you bet the under and if you think the total will be more, you bet the over. Usually, there is half a run added on so that a tie is ruled out. The normal run line is in the range of 7.5 to 10 and depends on the circumstances. For instance, if the two teams both have strong pitchers, the run line will tend towards the lower end. If you look at the odds, they would look something like this:

Boston Red Sox OV 8.5 –110
St. Louis Cardinals UN 8.5 +110

You will rarely find better odds though you may sometimes see 120. Like the above examples, if you bet $100 on the under, you will take home $110 plus of course your original bet.

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