The 2019 MLB season is upon us, which means one thing: It’s time to start thinking about sports betting. As the name would suggest, MLB betting is a bit different from normal sports betting. Instead of just picking a winner, you might want to consider all the different stats and possibilities that exist in the league.
If you’re looking to get into MLB betting, here’s some basic information you need to know.
The Basics
Let’s start with the basics – what is MLB betting and how does it work? As its name would imply, MLB betting is played on baseball fields. However, it is not restricted to just the sport – stats, odds, and other information are accessible in other sports as well. For example, you can bet on college football, college basketball, and other sports that the Atlanta Braves will beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
The odds in MLB are usually very favorable to the bettor. For example, a $100 bet on the Chicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers will net you $160, provided the Cubs win. For reference, the spread (the amount by which the Dodgers actually won the game) is 3.5 points.
The History
MLB (Major League Baseball) was established in 1901 and is considered to be the greatest sports league in the United States. The history of MLB is rich with significant events that shaped the game we know today. The most famous of these is the Black Sox scandal, in which eight players are accused of throwing the World Series in order to fix the outcome. This ultimately led to the creation of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. The league offices are currently located in New York City, though it originally started in Boston.
MLB is the oldest of the four major sports leagues in the United States, and the second-largest, only behind the National Football League. It is currently comprised of thirty-two teams, making it the largest professional sports league in the world by number of teams. In 2019, MLB will begin playing the All-Star Game in Florida, which will be televised nationally.
The Rules
One of the things that differentiates MLB from other sports is its rules. Each game is played under its own set of rules, and while there are some standards that apply to all games (e.g., seven innings and a tie game), much of it is up to the judgment of the umpires. For instance, baseball is a game that is all about judgement calls and subjective decision-making, which makes it a bit harder to study. In the eyes of the umpires, a fair debate can ensue regarding whether a runner was safe or out, and so forth.
Another significant difference between sports and combat sports is that there is a time limit for a winner to be determined in a combat sport. In hand-to-hand combat sports, once one participant drops to the canvas, the fight is over. This is usually not the case in sports, where the fight can go on for an undetermined amount of time. For instance, in a basketball game that is tied at the end of regulation time, there will be a five-minute overtime period. During this time, the participants continue to attack each other while the referee tries to prevent injuries.
As stated above, much of what distinguishes MLB from other sports is the judgement call element. In other words, whereas other sports are mostly objective and rely on technology to determine who wins or loses, sports like baseball are more nuanced and are driven by the experience of the human eye. As a result, sports like baseball are harder to study and understand relative to other sports.
Where Can I Bet?
This is likely the most important question, as far as getting started in MLB betting is concerned. Given the difficulty in studying and gauging judgement calls in baseball, it is extremely important to find a reputable bookmaker that offers odds on MLB games.
In general, you will not find many bookmakers that offer odds on MLB games, as it is considered to be a highly improbable event for a bookmaker to make money off of baseball. However, there are a few reputable bookmakers out there that specialize in baseball, and you can find their odds by searching for your favorite team(s) or player(s).
Register With The NFL
The NFL (National Football League) was founded in 1920 and is one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States. It began as an NFL franchise in Chicago that played in the International Football League before switching leagues in 1921. The Chicago Bears are the most popular team in the NFL, having been named after the bear that is the league’s logo. The New York Giants have the second-most popular team in the NFL, and the Green Bay Packers are the team with the third-most popular jersey.
The NFL is one of the more difficult leagues to study, as it is full of oddities, such as the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders play in the same city (albeit in different stadiums). This is something that would not happen in any other sport. In addition, even the most basic statistical information is not readily available for the NFL. This is largely due to the fact that many of the games are not broadcast on TV, resulting in minimal online data being tracked.
What this means is that if you are looking to place a wager on an NFL game (more on this later), making sure that the bookmaker is reputable, has clear and understandable odds, and is accessible is extremely important. There are also other crucial factors that you need to consider (e.g., deciding on which teams you want to bet on), but you can find all the necessary information for an NFL game online.
Where Can I Bet?
The answer to the question above is fairly obvious – you can bet on MLB, the NFL, the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association), and the College Football, College Basketball, and College Baseball leagues. Just remember that there is always the potential for oddities and surprises when it comes to sports, so you should only bet on something that you can truly study and research.
Which Game To Bet On?
One of the primary questions you will need to ask yourself is which game to bet on. In other words, which baseball game will you bet on? The answer to this question is fairly straightforward – you should bet on the game that you know more about. In other words, if you know that the Atlanta Braves have a good chance of winning, but little else, then you should probably bet on the Braves. Similarly, if you know that the Los Angeles Dodgers are a good team, then you should probably wager on them as well. This is basically the opposite of picking games that are less well-known, as you might find that the games are heavily skewed in favor of the home team, and there is usually very little online data available regarding the quality of play.
On the other hand, if you have an affinity for a particular player or team, then you might want to consider putting your money down on that game. For example, if you like the Boston Red Sox, then you might want to lay down a serious wager on them when they play against the New York Yankees. Likewise, if you are a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, then you might want to lay down a wager on them when they play against the Chicago Cubs. This sort of thing can be a way of getting more out of a game that you are not very familiar with, as you will have to do some research to figure out the best odds for that particular game. However, as stated above, even well-known games are usually not as easy to study as one would like, so all the more reason to try to find the best odds for the game.
What Is The Spread?
This is the amount of points by which the spread is currently defined. For example, if you wager $100 on the Chicago Cubs and they win by one point, then you will win your $100 back plus $100 more. This is typically the case in sportsbooks that offer odds on all major sports. In order to make a winning wager, you will need to bet $100 plus the amount of the spread. One thing to keep in mind regarding the spread in sports is that while it may be +100 or -100, the vigorish (discount) that is applied to each and every wager is usually much greater, so an even $100 would become a $300 wager in total.