After a good chunk of the summer, baseball is back in the game. And so is MLB betting. If you’re a novice and this is your first season betting on baseball, well, you’ve chosen an interesting one. But, on a game-by-game basis, don’t expect it to be very different than any other year.
Now, placing wages on baseball games isn’t rocket science. However, it is quite different compared to football or basket betting. So, for novice baseball bettors who aren’t familiar with the money line, it might seem a little bit intimidating. But, don’t worry, once you learn the basics and figure it out for the first time, baseball betting will become relatively simple.
This article is a brief beginner guide to baseball betting and will answer all your questions.
Baseball betting explained
As mentioned above, baseball betting is quite different from football and basketball betting. With football and basketball, bets are made based on the point spread. Yet, baseball is a money line sport.
Now, when you bet the money line, you only have two options: the favorite, which is the team expected to win, or the underdog. However, here’s the trick: if you bet the favorite, you’ll win less money than you wagered if your prediction is correct and wins. Yet, if you make an underdog bet and win, this will usually bring you more than your wager back.
Also, in baseball betting, although it isn’t a very popular betting option, you can bet on the “spread” called “run line” in baseball. What’s more, you can also be on the over/under (or total), which, like in all other sports, represents how many runs will be scored in the game. So, you can bet on MLB odds if you are betting this baseball season.
There’s one more unique aspect of baseball when compared to other sports: it has a long, drawn-out schedule. There are so many games played every single day during the season that wise guys have endless opportunities to maximize their winnings.
As for how you can win more money with baseball betting, we have a few tips to get you started.
Baseball betting tips that novice bettors should know
If you are new to baseball betting, you may feel a bit overwhelmed about all the concepts and strategies. But, don’t worry, we have gathered some practical tips on how to bet on baseball and make money. Keep reading below!
Avoid big favorites
It isn’t a secret that recreational bettors prefer betting on favorites. And, oddsmakers know this and use it to their advantage by capitalizing on public bias and shading their lines accordingly. So, popular teams in this season are going to be overpriced because recreational bettors will bet on them even if they are -150, -180, or -200.
So, since there’s a huge minus number there, as a bettor, you’ll always end up in red even if the favorite wins or loses. It the team wins, you’ll get a small payout. Or worse, if they lose, you’ll get crushed. So, this strategy is simply not worth your money.
Make more money with plus-money underdogs
Did you know that you must win 52.4% of the time in order to make money and break-even? Yet, you’d only have to avoid big favorites like we’ve talked above and consistently take plus-money underdogs to win at a sub-50% clip and still finish the year with positive win results. Here’s the trick: when dogs lose, you only lose what you have betted with. Yet, when they win, you can also get valuable plus-money payouts.
Go against the public with your bets
The logic behind betting against the public is pretty simple: you find out what team the public is loading up on, and you bet on the other team. This strategy is based on the fact that the public loves to bet on favorites, teams from their homes, famous franchises, and teams with celebrity players. What’s more, the media also contributes to inflating this human tendency.
However, the public often falls for recency bias, meaning that if a team performed great in their last game, the public would bet on it. On the flip side, if the team looked awful, the public will fade it.
So, how do you win by going against the public? You will be able to capitalize on public bias and take advantage of the artificially inflated numbers. What’s more, when you bet against the public, you place yourself on the side of the books. And remember that the house always wins.
Make volume betting your strategy
No matter what sport you bet on, if you want to be a successful long-term bettor, you must remain disciplined and limit your bets to the most valuable games of the day. Yet, as mentioned above, baseball seasons have quite a lot of games every day. Thus, baseball is one of the few sports where volume betting is the way to increase your profits.
The trick with volume betting is that it beats percentage only if the volume comes with a winning percentage too. Even if you don’t have a high winning percentage, it must still be on the plus side. So, making more bets that are overall smart bets and value-based is the way to increase your profits with baseball betting.
Have a strict budget and realistic expectations
To be a successful long-term bettor, you must also be disciplined with your money and have a flat-betting approach. So, for example, if you have a budget of $100, you can bet between 1% to 5% per day. Yet, if you want to be a little more aggressive with your betting, you should bet 4% to 5%. Our recommendation is a good medium of 3%. Remember that the more you stay in the game and the more bets you can make, the bigger the odds to win more money. So, don’t bet everything on one or two bets, no matter how smart they seem.
What’s more, always have realistic expectations when it comes to sports betting. If you are in for fun and to win some extra pocket money, sports betting has your back. But it is doubtful that you’ll be able to win so much to make a living off of sports betting.