Online Baseball Betting
Written July 23, 2008 by Jack Jones
While wagering on football games continue to be the dominant sport, baseball is the season for gamblers and the sportsbooks know this. Baseball is the least profitable sport for the sportsbook but many gamblers are confused when trying to understand the wagering concept for baseball. Unlike football or basketball with the standard line and total, online baseball betting does not deal with a line but instead moneylines, runlines, and totals.
Baseball Dime Line
Baseball is probably the best value in sports with the 10 cent line but not all sportsbooks offer a “dime line”. For a list of the best sportsbooks offering a dime line, click here. Before betting on baseball, be sure you are playing at a sportsbook with a baseball dime line. Examples of a dime line are shown below:
10 Cent Line
Houston Astros +130
NY Yankees -140
20 Cent Line
Houston Astros +130
NY Yankees -150
Baseball Moneylines
Betting on the moneyline is simply betting on the straight up winner with no spreads. Betting on the favorite (-140) is laying more in order to win a dollar. Betting on the underdog (+140) is wagering a dollar to win more than a dollar. A moneyline of -140 is where a bettor is trying to win $100 by risking $140 whereas an underdog of +140, a bettor is betting $100 to win $140. Favorites will always be represented with a minus sign and an underdog will always have a plus sign in front of it. The game is official after 5 innings and 4.5 innings if the home team is leading even if the game is called because of bad weather.
Pitchers
The opening line for baseball is greatly determined on the starting pitcher. With that in mind, you will have the option of “listing” a pitcher or just taking the “action”. Imagine in basketball if you could cancel your bet if Shaq wasn’t playing. That is basically what you are doing when you “list” the starting pitcher. If they don’t play, your bet is cancelled. If you take “action”, you will still have your wager on that game even if the starting pitcher does not go but your wager will be adjusted according to the new line for that game. It is a good idea to ALWAYS list the pitchers.
Run Lines
The runline in baseball is like a line or spread but is always fixed at 1.5 runs. When it involves a favorite, you are laying -1.5 runs and with an underdog, you are getting +1.5 runs with the moneyline adjusted. Below is an example of a runline:
Houston Astros +1.5 -130
NY Yankees -1.5 +110
If you bet on the Yankees, they would have to win by at least 2 runs or more to win and because of this, you can see the moneyline is adjusted to a plus amount. Runlines usually have a 20 cent line.
Totals
Baseball totals are the same as totals in all other sports. You are wagering on the total runs scored on the game. Baseball games have to go at least 9 innings for the total to count or it will be cancelled and 8.5 innings if the home team is winning. Totals for National League games will be lower because the pitcher has to bat. In the American League with the DH position, totals will usually be higher. Totals usually have a 20 cent line.
Online Baseball Betting Information
There is a lot of online baseball betting information on the internet, both good and bad. That is why we wanted to make sure there was a comprehensive list of quality information that will help you win this season.