The Basics: Baseball Betting
Many long time, seasoned sports bettors will claim that by far one of the easiest major league sports in which to turn a profit through betting would be baseball. Surprisingly, however, it one of the least popular sports for bettors. Some of the theories behind this is that it’s confusing as there is no point spread and odds are calculated on a different system than what bettors are used to. This is something that I can identify with … I for one am a little put off by the fact that betting on baseball is different to betting on football. The first term that you’ll come across is the money line (which is instead of the point spread) and you’ll need to be familiarise yourself with how it works. There is no spread in baseball but rather a money line and it is this that determines the amount of money laid and the amount of money won. The favourite team will have the highest negative money line and vice versa for the underdog. So a money line of -130 on the favourite means that you need to bet $130 to win $100. Those who do place bets on baseball, usually place a bet on the underdog which is not a bad option since if you bet on nothing other than the underdog every time, you can still come out ahead in long term. It won’t be long until you’re comfortable with the concept of money lines. The team you wager on has to win the game outright, regardless of the end score. Money line is also used in hockey.
