Baseball is one of those sports that doesn’t get a huge amount of recognition outside of the United States of America. Yet, if you take the time to learn about it – at least the basics – then you’ll find it to be quite the riveting sport to watch. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the largest professional baseball organisation in the world, and it is this that sees the largest number of spectators every year. Not only that, but it’s the MLB that finds itself being wagered on by sports bettors more so than other leagues each year.
So, how do you go about betting on the MLB and other baseball leagues? Well, the first step to undertake is to find yourself a respectable and licensed online sportsbook. While there are many sports betting sites available online, not all of them can be considered as reputable platforms. You could visit the Efirbet website, which rates and reviews sportsbooks, casinos and more to provide bettors with relevant information on such. From doing so, you’ll doubtless be able to find an online sportsbook that caters to your own personal preferences.
Once you have found a platform and registered for a free account there, you can deposit money into it so as to start placing baseball bets. Naturally, it’s important to find a sports betting site that supports baseball wagers!
How to Read MLB Game Odds and Place a Wager
Mar 10, 2020; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Kevin Pillar (5) is congratulated by Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (19) as he scores a run during the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
If you opt to go for a moneyline bet, which essentially is the easiest option, requiring you to pick a team that you believe will win the game outrightly, then you’ll need to learn how to read the odds given for such. So, let’s say that the Boston Red Sox are entering into a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The odds will likely look like this:
Boston Red Sox -200
Toronto Blue Jays +160
With this being the case, Boston stands out as being the favourite to win, while Toronto is considered as the underdog. You’ll always see that the favourites have a minus sign before their odds and the opposite is true for the underdogs. In this particular scenario, if you opted to place a $100 bet on the Red Sox, you would receive a total pay-out of $150 (your initial $100 bet + $50 profit). On the other side, if you opted for a bet on the Blue Jays of the same amount, you’d receive $260 back (the original $100 bet + $160 profit).
As an alternative, you may opt to bet on the runline. This is the MLB’s version of the point spread. Before the baseball game starts, one team is given the advantage of 1.5 runs to create a more even betting field. The reason behind this specific figure is because baseball tends to be quite a low-scoring sport on the whole. Therefore, odds will usually look like this for runline bets:
Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5
New York Yankees +1.5
For the Dodgers to be able to cover the runline, they would need to secure the win by a least two runs. On the flip side, for the Yankees to cover this, they would need to win the game outrightly or not lose by more than a single run.
