MLB Betting Guide
MLB betting offers bettors a nearly unlimited amount of gambling opportunities compared to other professional sports, and it can easily be your most profitable sport as an online sports bettor if you put in the time to learn the game.
MLB betting markets are potential treasure troves that many write off during the dog days of summer.
- More betting opportunities than other sports.
- An excellent sport to handicap while other professional sports are not in season.
- Profits can come with a much lower winning percentage due to lots of different prices.
- An ideal sport for those into advanced analytics and betting models.
Today’s online baseball betting sites and markets have significantly grown and options are expanding each season. With a good strategy, you’re likely to make a profit. Keep on reading to learn more.
More About MLB Gambling
Best MLB Baseball Betting Sites 2024
How To Bet MLB Baseball Online
Placing an MLB baseball bet online only takes a matter of seconds. If you’re new to betting or just new to betting on baseball, the process just takes a few minutes to learn. After a few wagers, it will come naturally.
Pick Trusted Baseball Gambling Site
Betting with dodgy operators or outright scam sportsbooks is one of the biggest problems people run into when choosing an MLB gambling site.
It is important ot choose a safe and trusted baseball betting site, like the ones we’ve listed above.Maximizing Sportsbook’s Baseball Bonuses
Baseball season is also an excellent time to cash in on extra bonuses. The majority of MLB betting sites offer players a first deposit bonus.
These bonuses can be great bankroll builders. Bonus funds can easily be in the thousands of dollars when it comes to free play.Deposit Funds At MLB Betting Sites
Baseball betting sites take traditional methods, such as credit and debit cards deposits, bank wires, and sometimes even money orders or paper checks by mail.
However, in the past few years, a new option has emerged, cryptocurrency deposits. At most online sportsbooks, these are free for both deposits and withdrawals.
They are also extremely fast and can be done for large amounts of money compared to other cashier methods.Baseball Line Shopping
Line shopping and getting the best price on your bets is the best way to win at sports betting and betting MLB baseball in particular.
Always check other betting sites for a better price before placing a bet. This is not a step to ever skip over.
Look for a site with dime lines, as it will save you money on betting fees compared to other online sportsbooks.Place Online Baseball Bets
The process is the same for most betting sites online. Though mistakes do happen, so reviewing a bet slip before pressing confirm will save you some extra headache if you make a mistake.
If you make a mistake, there is no way to “undo” your bet. The only solution is to bet the other side of the wager to offset your mistake.
Best Online sportsbooks To Bet On Baseball 2024
Picking a trusted sports betting site is essential before you place your MLB bets! BetUS is a great option for your MLB baseball wagers, they have a good number of bonuses you can redeem and use to your advantage.
| Rank | MLB Betting Site | Deposit Bonus | Highlights | Get Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bovada |
Deposit Bonus 50% Up To $250 |
Highlights
|
Bet Now |
| 2 |
BetUS |
Deposit Bonus 100% Up To $2,500 |
Highlights
|
Bet Now |
| 3 |
Betonline |
Deposit Bonus 50% Up To $250 |
Highlights
|
Bet Now |
Don’t Miss Our Best MLB Betting Sites
How To Handicap Baseball Games | Top Tips & Strategies
The best way to look at handicapping baseball is to bet on prices and not on teams. It’s excellent advice when it comes to betting sports, generally speaking, but even more vital when it comes to baseball.
There is a lot of short-term luck. The focus needs to be looking at teams at certain prices and searching for value. The baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint.
watch out for dime lines
Dime lines are another way to make sure you give yourself the best shot of winning when the baseball season is all said and done. Dime lines refer to the difference in price between the favorite and underdog.
Many betting sites have 20 cent lines or even 30 cent lines. 10 cent lines or dime lines are a must for MLB bettors.
If you’re betting at a sportsbook with dime lines, you’re going to save more money throughout the entire baseball season.
Advanced Stats Will Surely Help
Finally, diving into advanced statistics will help you get a better view of the game and odds markets. Baseball is an awesome sport if you’re into advanced stats.
These are especially helpful when playing baseball props, such as hits-runs-RBIs for hitters and K props for pitchers.
MLB Gambling Strategy Articles
Betting opportunities for MLB bettors far dwarf any other major sport due to the long 162-game season.
Simply put, if you can become a profitable baseball bettor – you’re going to have a lot of chances to win money.
Combining baseball knowledge with advanced metrics is the key to becoming profitable at baseball betting.
There is no successful baseball betting strategy that doesn’t use some sort of advanced statistics or metrics. It is a must if you want to become a winner.
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Baseball Betting Tips to Consider
Step #1 Use A Sportsbook With Dimelines
This is the most important tip on this list. Dime lines will save you a fortune over a long season if you’re betting MLB sides. They’re a must.
You need at least one sportsbook with dime lines.
Step #2Familiarize Yourself With Advanced Statistics
An absolute must for MLB betting.
Advanced stats will help you see through standard box scores and find value where others may not see it.
Step #3Prioritize Bankroll Management
The baseball season is long. You need to look for value and be sure not to risk too much each day.
Managing your bankroll throughout the baseball season is vital to success.
Step #4Don’t Forget About Totals
Like all sports, there is usually more value in betting totals rather than sides. The same is true for baseball.
Step #5Bet MLB Props
Props will always offer more value to bettors than sides and totals. This is particularly true for betting MLB baseball.
Strikeout props, in particular, can be incredibly profitable if you have knowledge of major league lineups, advanced stats and can react to breaking news.
Don’t waste your money on any of these.
Major League Baseball Online Bet Types
The proliferation of online sports betting has led to massive growth in MLB betting sites in the past decade.
Most of the markets that bettors are used to will be available for MLB wagering, aside from traditional point-spread wagering and teasers.
Moneyline betting is the standard wager type for baseball and is available at every baseball betting site.
Baseball Moneylines
Traditional point spreads don’t work with baseball due to the nature of the scoring. Instead, MLB baseball sides betting uses moneyline odds.
These work the same way as other sports moneylines, meaning bettors are only wagering on the outright winner.
Here’s a good example:
- New York Yankees +140
- Boston Red Sox -150
Odds vary widely between mlb games. In this game, the host Red Sox are moderate favorites over the visiting Yankees. It’s rare that two teams are both -110, which would signify an even matchup.
A large favorite is -200 in baseball, but depending on the matchup and starting pitcher, sometimes teams can be favored as high as -300.
More Info About MLB Moneylines
MLB Run Lines
While most of the betting action on baseball is on moneyline sides, MLB baseball run lines are another alternative to traditional moneyline betting.
They also have attached online moneyline odds, but add a point spread element. Using our above teams, here’s another example.
- New York Yankees +1.5 (-155)
- Boston Red Sox -1.5 (+135)
Notice how the Red Sox now are at +135, but were moneyline favorites in our previous example. This is because they are now laying -1.5 runs.
Boston must win by two runs or more for bettors to cash their ticket. Often, one run decides the outcome of baseball games. As there are no ties in baseball, laying -1.5 is a substantial number.
Likewise, the Yankees are now -155 favorites on the run line, while they were +140 underdogs in our moneyline betting example above.
The standard run line is 1.5, but some sites may offer varying run lines with different attached odds. These are usually between 2.5 and 3.5 runs. However, many MLB betting sites do not provide alternative run lines.
Baseball Totals
MLB baseball totals work the same as other sports.
However, there is much less scoring in baseball compared to other sports.
Using the same teams, let’s look at another example:
- New York Yankees +140
- Boston Red Sox -150
- Over (-110) 7.0, Under (-110) 7.0
The same over and under bets with the standard -110 juice is in play here as well. The total is the combined runs of both teams. Pushes are also in play if the total doesn’t have a half-point.
The average oddsmakers’ total is 7.0 runs, but when two strong starting pitchers face off this can be at 6.5. It’s rare that bettors will see a total lower than 6.5, but sometimes it gets down to 6.0 with two elite pitchers on the mound.
Any total above 7.5 runs is above average, and many can go as high as 10-11 runs or more. The latter is on the extreme end. Playing in an offense-friendly ballpark, such as Coors Field, lead to higher totals and run production.
5-Inning Lines in Baseball
These include ballparks like the Rockies’ Coors Field, Yankee Stadium, and more. Instead of halftime or quarter lines in football, sportsbooks offer 5-inning lines, which is essentially the equivalent of a halftime bet in football.
Also, available at many MLB betting sites is the “Grand Salami” wager. This is an over/under wager on the total number of runs scored in all games played that day. This bet is also common for NHL betting.
MLB Parlays
MLB baseball parlays will differ from the fixed odds parlays available in other sports.
While football and basketball parlays have payouts independent of a point spread or matchup, this is not the case with baseball because of the moneyline odds.
Like on other sports fields, in parlays all legs must win for bettors to win the wager.
Online sports betting sites use these calculations to determine baseball parlay payouts. Basing the odds on each bet in the parlay, rather than using fixed odds.
This allows bettors to get the “true odds” on their parlay bet, instead of a fixed amount based on the number of teams. However, this doesn’t mean bettors won’t be paying the vig.
Based on the odds of their selections, it forces a true calculation rather than the standard odds for -110 price bets.
Baseball Futures
MLB baseball futures are long-term wagers that take place at a later date.
The World Series or the American and National League Championships make up most baseball futures, but you can also bet on division winners.
Baseball futures generally offer higher payouts than most other bets because there’s a large field of contenders.
MLB Propositions
MLB baseball proposition markets are much smaller compared to other sports but are still a viable market for savvy baseball bettors.
Higher profile games, such as MLB playoff games, will have more markets.
Most bets will be team and player props, such as the number of runs + hits + errors by one team or the number of strikeouts thrown by a pitcher and the number of hits a batter might get in a game.
Baseball Live Betting
The live betting craze hit baseball last, but there are a surprisingly large number of bets available for MLB live bettors.
Players can bet on the outcome of an at-bat if there will be runs scored in a particular inning, and much more.
Baseball has many stoppages between live-action, giving the oddsmakers plenty of time to adjust the betting odds for live betting. Live odds, including moneyline odds and totals, are also options found at MLB betting sites.
MLB Betting FAQ
How do you read MLB odds?
MLB odds come in a variety of different forms but are mostly based on moneyline or American odds. If you understand American odds, you will understand baseball betting markets, for the most part. Totals, also work the same way as they do in other sports. Again, moneyline odds are used here, as well.
Is there a halftime in Baseball?
No, there is no halftime in baseball. For betting purposes, there are 1H odds or 1st five-inning odds. These allow you to bet on the outcome of the first five innings, which team is winning, or the total number of runs (over/under).
How do you pick MLB winners?
Through a variety of methods, including an understanding of MLB betting odds, advanced stats, and general baseball knowledge. There is no system or easy path to profits when betting MLB baseball.
