Betting on Baseball
Baseball is a sport that has a following in many countries around the world, although the number of countries it is actually played in at any kind of professional level is a lot smaller than that. Predominantly based around the USA both in terms of how many people play and how many people watch, the sport is aiming to grow all over the world across the next decade. That has seen them recently bring a game to the UK, with the possibility of more to come in the future, something that will no doubt attract further interest.
What Baseball Leagues Can You Bet On?
When you think of baseball, many people will automatically think of the MLB, which is no surprise given that it is the biggest league in the world. However, this is not the only league you can bet on, which is great for those real enthusiasts of the game who want to dive deeper into it. Alongside the MLB, you will find good baseball bookmakers offering bets on the A-list minor leagues and the Japanese league, which continues to go from strength to strength. Although these leagues are never going to challenge the MLB in terms of popularity, it is nice to see options and a variety of different leagues available for punters.
Baseball Betting Markets
As the number of people betting on baseball increased, the bookmakers were quick to add more betting markets, which has given us the good range of options that we have today. You will no longer find the option to only bet on who wins the game, instead you will be able to put your money down in many different ways.
Money Line
If you are looking for a simple way into baseball betting than this is certainly it. Here all you are doing is selecting the winner of the game, with no other elements to worry about. This is a good place to start for newcomers, with accumulators covering a number of different games being popular choices with punters new and old.
Run Line
This is a slightly more complicated bet as it is based on who will win the game but with an additional element involved. This is the equivalent of a handicap line in other sports, so there is a fictional handicap to think about here. The majority of games have +/-1.5 as the line for this bet, so if you are betting for the favourite to win they need to do so by two clear for this to be a winner. Many people move onto this market as it is a way of finding value when you think a team will not only win, but win a game comfortably.
Over/Under Total Runs
This line and type of betting has become hugely popular with many different sports and baseball is no exception. The main reason this line draws in punters is because you are not choosing who will win the game, you are betting on the total runs. This offers a different element and we all love to see high scoring games, so betting on this can also be a way of betting on something exciting.
The lines are created by the bookmakers, so when betting on this line it is vital that you shop around as just one run difference on the line can be the difference between you winning or losing a bet. For example, if the line with one bookmaker is 8.5 and it is 9.5 with another, if you are backing over then you need to use the first bookmaker as you need nine or more to win, while with the second you need 10 or more runs to win.
Tri-Bet
Another popular punting option for those looking to make their bets a little more complex is the tri-bet. This is where you choose who will win the game between the two teams and on top of that you also choose whether the winning margin will be over or under the specified line. This is similar to the run line, but you can choose to back both teams to win by a margin here, whereas on the run line one of the teams will be getting a head start.
Other Baseball Betting Markets
The above markets are the common ways in which you can bet on baseball, but they are not the only ways you can bet on the sport. The best bookmakers will offer a range of further betting markets that you can use when you are comfortable betting on the sport. These include betting on the first innings, who will win it, who will score the most home runs and much more. You can also bet on individual player performance if you wish, with betting available for the number of outs, number of home runs and many other markets which are either designed for the pitchers or the batsmen.
In Play Baseball Betting
Just like many other sports, baseball is seeing a huge rise in the number of people betting in play. With games taking a long time to complete and things changing from hour to hour, this sport is perfectly setup for betting in play, and you too can join in if you wish.
When betting in play, you should have a large range of betting markets waiting for you, including many of the ones we have already mentioned. There are specially designed in play markets that will appear alongside these two, and these are often based on the next player, and whether he will score a home run, reach a base or be out.
If you are familiar and comfortable with in play betting on other sports and you have a little baseball knowledge you should be able to jump straight into the in play section on any website. The top bookmakers should also offer a streaming service on the big games, allowing you to watch as you bet so you can keep on top of the action.
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