MLB and Other Wagers: How to Bet on Baseball

Although a great many sports wagering options work under the same guidelines, there are a few exceptions. A lot of people, for instance, are not sure how to bet on baseball, because it uses a money line method, rather than betting the spread.

Betting on the money line essentially means deciding who is the most likely to win and putting money on the claim. Prices for these wagers are adjusted based on statistics, preferences, and the like - essentially, statistically better teams cost more to wager on, while payouts are significantly better when the underdogs are victorious. As an example, if the Boston Red Sox were considered the better team, odds might be listed as -120, meaning $120 must be put up on them to win $100. On the other hand, their opponents might be listed as +150 as underdogs, meaning a successful $100 wager would win $150.

The challenge, and key to learning how to bet on baseball, is in learning when and how to bet on the preferred teams and when to stake on the underdogs. Even in Major League Baseball, the best teams only win roughly 60% of the time. Because of the increased amounts that must be bet to win these gambles, only siding with the best teams can in fact result in a loss of cash.

Another way to approach MLB betting is to stake on totals. Usually this means guessing the number of runs that will be scored, which can often be guessed at by taking into account who the pitchers are, and what the hitting statistics include, among other considerations. There are a number of other ways to approach staking on baseball, such as on the run line, but the winners are usually the most popular thing to attempt to guess.

There is very little that adds excitement to a sport more than having a monetary stake in it, so after learning how best to wager on baseball, it can be a truly fun and exciting experience to get started. Those who understand the game, can make good predictions and can analyze odds and statistics well might even find themselves with a bit of extra cash suddenly lying around.