(Photo credit: Keith Allison / Foter / CC BY-SA)
When it comes to baseball betting, there are MLB odds for just about everything.
You can make your MLB picks on who will win the game, how many runs will be scored, how many runs the winner will win by, the result of the first five innings or even the result of the next at-bat.
Regardless of which type of baseball betting you’re doing, make sure you get the best MLB odds by betting at one of the top baseball sportsbooks.
Here are nine popular ways to bet on baseball:
1. Baseball betting moneyline
The moneyline in MLB odds is based on the perceived probability of each team winning the game.
In order to bet on the favourite, you will have to risk more than you are trying to win. If you bet on the underdog, the amount you can win will be greater than the amount you have to risk.
2. Baseball betting Run line
The run line in baseball betting is like the point spread in football or basketball betting.
A handicap of 1.5 runs is taken from the favourite and applied to the underdog. This often results in the favourite paying an underdog price on the MLB odds and vice versa.
Before you bet on the runline, make sure you are aware of who is the home team, what the over/under is and several other important factors.
3. Baseball betting Total
The total in baseball betting is when you make your MLB picks on whether the combined number of runs scored by both teams will be over or under the total posted by the oddsmakers (generally in the 7-10 run range).
Which team wins the game is irrelevant.
Games must be completed in full in order for your bet on the total to win or lose. If a game is shortened due to rain or other reasons, your bet will be refunded — regardless of whether the game had already gone over the total or not.
4. Baseball betting team Totals
Team totals in baseball betting is the same as over/under, except you are just betting on the total number of runs scored by one particular team.
The team total is an excellent option when you feel one pitcher will either dominate or get rocked.
Check out our article about betting team totals on the MLB odds.
5. Baseball betting first half (first five innings)
In first half baseball betting, you only bet on the result of the first five innings.
This allows you to eliminate variables like bullpens and pinch hitters, allowing you to focus on the starting pitchers and the starting lineup.
6. Baseball live betting
Live betting in baseball allows you to bet on the game after it has begun. This can result in drastically different MLB odds than before the first pitch was thrown.
Some sportsbooks like Bodog or Sports Interaction even allow you to do baseball live betting on how many hits or runs will be scored in the following inning, or even on the result of the next at-bat.
7. Baseball betting alternate run lines
Alternate run lines is a less-known way to do baseball betting. Instead of betting on the standard run line MLB odds, you can bet on teams to win (or not lose) by a greater handicap and at different odds.
For example, instead of betting the Blue Jays -1.5 on the run line at +150 odds, you could bet the Blue Jays -2.5 at +300 odds.
The alternate run line is a way to maximize your profits when you feel very confident about a certain side and expect an easy victory.
8. Baseball betting player props
Player props is an increasingly popular way to do baseball betting. It allows you to bet on the performance of individual players, rather than their teams.
Player props are like over/unders, except you bet on whether a player will go ‘over’ or ‘under’ the sportsbook’s projected total of hits, runs scored, stolen bases, RBI, strikeouts or other statistics.
Think of it as fantasy baseball, except you only worry about one player at a time, not an entire lineup.
9. Baseball betting futures
World Series betting odds are the most commonly-known baseball betting futures. This is where you predict who will win the World Series (whether before the season or during the season) and can get some large MLB odds because there are so many teams that could win it.
Other baseball betting futures include winning the American League or National League championship, or MLB season win totals (where you bet whether a team will go over or under a certain number of wins that season).
Baseball betting futures can also be on individual player awards, like who will win the MVP, Cy Young, batting title or other awards during the regular season.
The biggest downside to baseball betting futures — other than that they can be hard to win, which is why they pay so well — is that they tie up your betting bankroll for months. We prefer betting the daily MLB odds so that when we win our bet, we can bet with that money again the next day.