While baseball is one of the most popular spectator sports the world over, the betting markets can get a little complicated at times – which is why it is always a good idea to get acquainted with various baseball bet types if you are interested in putting money down when the batter comes up.
Whether you want a team to win outright, or if you prefer to work to a spread to increase your chance of getting a bit more bang for your buck, there are various baseball betting guides out there to help break down the lingo and to give you an inside chance on winning big on home runs and more besides.
Some of the most popular bet types include:
- Money line betting
- Over/under bets
- Run line betting
- Spread bets
- Accumulator bet
- Prop betting
- Futures bets
You will be able to find out more about these bet types on this page.
This is a brief guide on what to expect from this type of betting – and whether you choose to play it safe and to go with simple outright baseball events or to fine-tune your experience, there are plenty of opportunities for you to take advantage of a huge number of markets and analyses online.
Since there are so many baseball betting sites on the web, it is important you are aware of how to place bets and which bets will get you the best odds.
Perhaps more so than ever – as while it may seem like a predominantly US sport, more and more punters in the UK and Ireland are sitting up and taking notice of the big hitters and markets. Without further ado, let’s try and break down those baseball bet types one by one.
Money Lines
Money lines are perhaps the simplest baseball bets around. These bets will require you to merely agree upon a specific outcome of any given game, meaning that you can choose which team you think will score the most when everything is said and done.
That’s keeping things at its most simple – money lines will advise you on what to expect from certain teams by giving you a specific numerical key – for example, a line of -200 will advise that you can expect to get £100 back from a £200 if you’re punting on a favourite to win.
On the other side of things, a money line of +200 will allow you to claim back £200 on a £100 bet if your team wins. This way, it’s easy to spot the underdogs and the favourites without too much difficulty. Go for money lines for outright match betting.
Over/Under Bets Baseball
It must be argued, however, that other baseball bet types exist to help make things that little bit more interesting. What if you were to bet on the total score of a given game – on a higher or lower basis?
Over/under bets baseball fans go for allowing you to wager on whether or not you think a bookmaker’s predicted total will be higher or lower than reality.
One drawback to this type of betting lies in what happens during the game – you’ll need a game to go all nine innings to win on an over/under bet, meaning that if an event is rained off, no action will be taken.
There’s a greater element of risk to this type of bet, and it perhaps keeps things a little more interesting than your standard money lines approach.
Baseball Run Lines
Baseball run lines get even more into the nitty-gritty of a given game that’s being played. Why bet on the outcome, or the score, when you can bet outright on how many runs are going to be score during any set of nine innings?
A bookmaker, such as William Hill bookies, will generally offer a presumed number of runs expected, and you’ll get to bet on whether or not the total will be higher or lower. For example, betting on a run line of +1.5 means you’re predicting your chosen team will win by at least two runs.
It’s another little extra bet you can sneak into your sportsbook alongside outright wins if you’re feeling particularly lucky.
These types of bet are ideal when you’re looking at particularly talented teams with solid form – it’s less easy to predict outcomes and run lines for teams who have rarely met, for example, or for those who have extremely varied form. Do your research!
Baseball Spread Betting
Spread betting does tend to be a US favourite when it comes to punting on various sports (American football can get particularly complex once you’re steeped in the nitty-gritty of it all) but put simply, baseball spread betting allows you to extend your run lines that little bit further.
Spread bets allow you to take things to either extreme, meaning that if you’re betting on an underdog, you can give yourself a little more of a cushion, or give yourself safe bets on favourites.
Baseball Parlay
The baseball parlay system is where things really start to get interesting.
Why bet on outright outcomes on one game when you can lay a bet down on several at once? This is somewhat like an accumulator – if you win the first game, your prize will get added to the overall claim – but if any of your other games fail to go the way you expect them to, your whole bet will be invalidated.
It’s a risky type of bet that only the most confident of punter really go for – once you’ve got a good understanding of teams, markets and forms, parlay betting can be a fantastic money-maker.
You can make use of these bets in a range of different betting shops, as well as online. Some of the most popular betting sites include Coral and Ladbrokes Sports.
Baseball Proposition Bets
Baseball proposition bets take punting to the extreme – the complete opposite of playing it safe, these bets allow you to place money on specific scenarios. This means that you can, for example, select how many strikeouts certain pitcher scores, how many runs will be scored in the third inning, or which players will win which awards.
This is perhaps the most varied and most interesting baseball bet type around, and a must for serious punters looking for variety in their sportsbook.
Baseball Futures
Finally, let’s look to the future(s). Futures bets are popular with punters who are experts on form – as these will allow you to predict how many games a certain team can expect to win across a whole season.
These bets are only available ahead of the first game, so you’d better do your homework!
For more information on the best betting sites to place these types of bets, please have a look around the rest of our website.
