The first pitch of the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) season has been released and it’s great news for fans and punters alike. With professional hockey, basketball, and soccer more or less on hiatus as summer arrives in North America, it’s up to baseball and Major League Soccer (MLS) to keep bettors and fans entertained. With each of the 30 MLB teams playing 162 games per season, there’s definitely plenty of action going on every day, including the annual All Star Classic.
Betting on baseball is quite popular among serious bettors as it is considered by many to be the easiest sport to make a profit from. But oddly enough, the casual fan doesn’t bet on baseball games as regularly as they do on other major professional sports. One of the reasons for the lower betting activity in baseball could be the fact that some fans aren’t exactly sure how to go about it, so let’s address that situation early on.
In baseball you will find that there is no point in spreading usage as there is in many other sports and this could be a bit confusing to some people. The first thing bettors need to do is understand how the sport’s money line works. Some baseball bettors like to bet on the underdogs quite often as they can still make a decent profit even when they win less than 50 percent of their bets.
When betting on sports, you will also come across the running line, which is basically the money line and points spread combined into one. There is a constant 1.5 run spread in baseball betting and on rare occasions you may see this rise to 2 or 2.5 runs. The ball team that is favored on the money line will also be favored on the run line.
For example, on a regular money line, which means you are only going to pick the winning team, the odds could be +170 for the Toronto Blue Jays and -165 for the New York Yankees. This means Blue Jays bettors can win $170 on a $100 bet, while Yankees bettors will need to place a $165 bet to win $165. However, if a bet is made with a run line, the odds will change. For example, if the underdog Blue Jays are bet at +1.5 on the run line, the odds could be -125 and if the Yankees favorite run line is -1.5, then the odds could be of +105.
This now means Blue Jays punters will have to bet more than they can win, as it will take a $125 bet to win $100. However, these bettors receive 1.5 runs on the running line. This means that those who bet on the Blue Jays will win their bet even if Toronto loses the game by one run. Many bettors like to go with the big favorites on the running line as they can get reduced odds when they give up 1.5 runs. Betting on the racing lane basically makes the favorite the underdog.
You can also bet over/under when betting on baseball, which means betting on the total number of runs predicted for the game. These are usually called totals in baseball betting. The totals are the same as in other sports. While in ice hockey and soccer they are represented as goals, and in American football, basketball and rugby they are points, in baseball they are represented as runs. All you have to do to bet on an over/under is predict whether there will be more or fewer runs scored than those selected by the bettors.
For example, the betting line might read like this: Toronto Blue Jays OV 7.5 -120 and New York Yankees UN 7.5 +130. If you want to bet on Toronto with 7.5+ runs scored, you will need to wager $120 to win $100. To bet on New York with less than 7.5 runs at the plate, you can win $730 on a $100 bet. Just remember that in baseball, when you bet, extra innings count towards run line and over/under bets.
Pitchers are the key in most baseball games and the money line is decided based on who will pitch for each team. Sometimes the money line is adjusted if a scheduled starting pitcher is substituted. However, you can bet on the contest as ‘action’, which means that you want to place the bet regardless of whether there is a toss change. The bet will still be active, but the payout could be different as the odds may have changed due to a toss change.
If you bet on a baseball game based on the starting pitchers that have been listed by the sports book, the bet will be returned if any of the pitchers do not start. In addition, a bet can be made based on the pitcher of only one team. If you bet on a specific starter for a team and you don’t care who the other pitcher is, the bet will be active as long as the team you bet on starts the scheduled pitcher.
You can also bet on correct scores, at bats, hits, balls, strikes, home run leaders, innings played, etc. Bets can of course be placed on the division winners and World Series champions. There are many options when it comes to baseball betting and it is usually quite easy to understand them.
Since 2008 I have been betting on sports betting systems. And, in my first year and a half, what I discovered is that the systems available online just don’t work! I lost almost $32,000 of my personal money trying these systems. I then started creating my own tested systems with a standard of; 5 years of success, profitable every season and over 95% accurate! It has taken 3.5 years, but we now have 25 sports betting systems that meet this standard in 2013. Visit us at http://www.matrixsportsinvesting.com for a FREE e-book and FREE video tutorials on how to bet MSI profitably this year. year .