Understanding the MLB Betting Line

By: Sebastien Veilleux
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:25
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Baseball betting is a little different than betting on basketball or football. Instead of a spread, it uses a money line mainly. This makes for an interesting adventure. Baseball bettors don't need to figure out how much better one team will be over another. They simply have to pick the outright winner and decide if the money is worth it.

Let me explain. Rather than have a spread, like – 3 points, the baseball money line morphs that spread into money. For instance, you might have the New York Yankees playing a really bad team—like Kansas City. If this were football, the Yankees might be a 14-point favorite. However, in baseball, the line is dollars and cents. So, you might see the Yankees at -245.

A line of -245 means that you must wager $2.45 for each $1 that you want to win. Not all games are this high. Many are -105 to -130. But, when a dominate team plays a weak one, the number goes up. Since baseball betting is about picking straight up winners and money lines, many bettors think it's easier to win money with.

The answer to this thought is mixed. First, it is easier in that all you need to do is pick a team to win the game outright. However, the trick is to not pay too much. Let's look at that Yankees game. Suppose you bet $245 to win $100 and they lose. You've lost $245. If you normally bet to win $100 per game, you would need to win 3 games to get back the money you lost on one game.

Here's a tip. If you are going to bet on baseball, don't bother with favorites over -165. Stick with favorites under that amount and you won't get nailed when a big favorite loses.

Author blogs on internet sports betting at AdvantageSportsBetting.com. He also writes weekly on bookmaker en ligne and pari en ligne.

Article source: Expert Articles

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