How to Win a Bet on Baseball
While there is no science to picking who will win a baseball game, there are plenty of options to try to win a bet on a baseball game. There are many bets you can make, and many ways to handicap a baseball game that can make your experience betting on baseball more enjoyable and more profitable.
Instructions
-
How to Win a Bet on Baseball
-
1
Examine the pitching matchups. Most baseball bets start with the starting pitchers. The most common bets in baseball are the money line bet (who will win) and the total (how many runs will get scored). Both of these bets are dependent on the pitching.Analyze each game's starting pitchers, as well as each team's ability to hit off the opposing team. Putting this together can help you come up with an idea of what will happen for each team in a game. Most sportsbooks will provide a stat sheet that lists the current statistics of the starting pitchers. You'll have to do your own research to see how a team is currently hitting or have been hitting against the team they are facing. This is often as simple as picking up that day's newspaper and looking at the stats that are printed or online.
-
2
Examine the lines for that days games. If you want to win on a regular basis, you need to do more than pick the favorites that will win. In the long run, knowing what underdogs are good bets is more important than what favorites you expect to win.When examining lines, take the analysis you did in Step 1, and compare it to the lines. If your analysis says Team A will win, but they are a -200 favorite ($200 to win $100), and your analysis also says Team C will win, and they are +125 underdogs ($100 to win $125), you might consider only betting the underdog, even if you think both teams will win.These are hypothetical odds, but the idea is that sometimes the right bet is to just play the odds. Winning with underdogs is the key to success when it comes to betting on baseball.If your analysis says that a lot of runs will be scored and the total is just 7, you may consider betting the over.
-
-
3
Putting your analysis and the lines together is how you will conclude what your bets are going to be.Some people only bet on underdogs, some only bet on totals, and some people are content just parlaying favorites. However you choose to bet, you will determine what games you will bet on based on Steps 1 and 2.
-
4
Place your bets. If you live in the United States, you will need to be at a casino in Nevada, whereas there are many options if you reside outside of the United States. There are states that offer lottery style sports betting, but Nevada is the only state where you can legally bet against the house in an actual sportsbook.If you are outside of the United States, there are the options of legal sportsbooks and online gambling. Check the local laws and restrictions before engaging in sports betting.When betting in a casino, you will place your bet by number, which is found on the boards in the sportsbook or on a sheet in the sportsbook. Place your bet by number, not by team name. When betting a total, you can give the number of either team when placing your bet.
-
5
Specify your type of bet. If you only give the team number to the ticket writer, you will be betting on that team to win. If you give the team number and say "over" or "under," you are betting on the total of that game.If you only want action on a team if the listed pitchers both start the game, specify "listed pitchers" when you place your bet. If you do not specify this, you will have action even if one or both of the pitchers is scratched from the game. If this happens, you will get a new line, based on the opening line of the new matchup.
-
6
Put it all together and make your bet. When you go to the window, specify whether you are making a straight bet or a parlay, then list your bets by number. If you want an over or under bet, say so after the team number. If you want action only if the listed pitchers go, then say so after the team number as well.Pay the ticket writer and check your ticket.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
There is no need to specify "listed pitchers" on a total. If there is a scratch, there is no action.
Check for other baseball bets like 5-inning lines or run lines to have more options.
While it's a good bet to play the odds, remember that anything can happen in baseball.
Check your local laws before engaging in sports betting.
