Sports Betting Tips: How to Bet on Baseball for MLB Gamblers
As the weather heats up and days get longer, it’s time for baseball season to begin. While the start of the 2020 MLB season is delayed, it won’t be long before your favorite players hit the field for some thrilling action. Soon, you’ll get to take in those long afternoons at the park cheering on the world’s biggest sluggers as they aim for a grand slam.
While you can record on your baseball scorecard and attend every game, there is a way to get even more involved in the sport. Whether you favor a certain team or follow the whole MLB, why not try your hand at baseball sports betting? Suddenly, all the home runs, runs batted in, and extra innings will take on a whole new meaning.
From money lines to run lines, you have plenty of options for hitting it big. However, before you step up to the plate, you’ll need to know the basics of baseball sports betting. Below, we’ll take you through baseball betting strategy so you’ll be ready to go. Whether you’re heading to Vegas for some betting fun or want to try betting at your local sportsbook, here’s everything you need to know.
The Baseball Sports Betting Basics
Before you place your first bet, let’s first talk about the basics of baseball betting. Before any bets can be placed, oddsmakers need to determine the favorite team in every matchup. When you’re looking at these odds, just like many other sports, the team with the negative number will be the one favored to win. If a team has a positive number next to their name, they are expected to lose. Betting on teams that are expected to lose can earn you more money, as the odds aren’t in your favor.
In the above bet, you can see that Team 1 is the favorite (-150) and Team 2 is the underdog (+130). Below, we’ll shed some light on what all these numbers mean.
Different Types of MLB Bets
Basic Bets
There are two main types of basic bets in baseball: the money line and the total. We’ll start with a money line because it’s the most common bet.
With a money line bet, you simply choose the team you think will win the game. Remember, when you look at the matchup, the team with the negative score is the one favored to win, while the one with the positive score is favored to lose. Let’s say Team 1 is favored to win over Team 2 with a spread of -150 to +300. This means that if you’re betting on Team 1, you’ll need to put down $150 to win $100. However, if you bet $100 on Team 2, you’ll get $300 if they win.
Total bets work similarly. You’ll be betting on what you think the combined final score of the game will be. Let’s say the final score was 5-3. That means the total score was 8. In a total bet, you simply choose an over/under. Therefore, if you said the score would be under 8.5, you would win. However, if you said the score would be over 8.5, you’d lose. There will be over/under odds like with the money line, so pay attention to this when you’re betting.
Advanced Bets
If you’re a little more knowledgeable about baseball, you might want to try a run line bet. This involves choosing what you think the spread will be in the final score. Usually, run lines are -1.5 or -2.5, meaning you want the team you picked to win by either 2 or 3, respectively. Usually, this type of bet is set around a 1:1 odds ratio, meaning you’ll get close to double your money if you win. For example, consider the run line is -1.5 for Team 1 with odds of -110. That means you’d win $110 if you bet $100 that Team 1 wins by more than 2.
You can also try betting on an alternative run line, which is when you choose the underdog team to win the spread instead. This option will pay out much more, as you have lower odds of winning. Using the above scenario, let’s say you chose Team 2 to win by more than 2, and the odds for that were -250. You’d earn $250 if you bet $100 and they win.
Futures or Season Wins
If you want to try an even more advanced bet, consider future or season wins. You’ll need to get your bets in before the season starts, so this year’s delay means you have plenty of time. For futures bets, you’ll place a season-long bet for your favorite team to win their division or the World Series. The less favored the team is to win, the more you can win.
A season wins bet is simply betting on how many games a team will win during the season. You’ll choose an over/under, and in most cases, the odds are around -110.
Korean Baseball Betting Tips
While the MLB season may be postponed, baseball is still in the cards. With Circa | Sports, you can get your fix and apply your baseball betting know-how to the 2020 KBO Korean Baseball season. If you’re new to the league, it consists of a 144-game season. Each game is about a 3-hour playtime, and 2019 games had a run range of 9.5 to 11.5 and averaged 9.1 total runs per game.
Betting on Korean baseball is similar to that for the MLB aside from the run range and lower level of play. Additionally, be aware that the KBO has ties after 12 innings, which may affect betting payouts. And while the scheduling of the games may be off from what you’re used to, the thrill of the game is still there with a growing fan base of avid bettors.
How to Bet on Baseball in Vegas
Now that you understand how to bet on baseball, it’s time to place your bets. Circa Sports is the ultimate sportsbook in Las Vegas for baseball sports betting. Stop by the D in Downtown Las Vegas to place your bets in person. Can’t make it into the sportsbook? Download the Circa Sports app on iOS or Android to have your bookie right in your pocket and bet wherever you are in Vegas.
Whether in person or on the app, join Circa Sports for your premier place to bet on baseball in Vegas.
