Baseball: How to play it and how to bet on it
Baseball is a team game played with a baseball and a bat. Each team has nine players (sometimes ten with a DH). The game lasts nine innings, meaning both teams are up to bat and play the field nine times. Baseball is America’s great pastime, and for this reason, all American bookmakers will offer bets on baseball. For those who have recently started paying attention to this sports game and want to apply their knowledge when betting in the bookmaker' office, we will explain the main features and nuances that need to be considered.
Teams change sides after three players of the team batting are called out (could be a multitude of ways: strikeout, thrown out, fly ball caught). The win is awarded to a team that scores more runs by the end of the ninth inning. There is no fixed time in baseball. A team up to bat just one inning could last anywhere from a couple of minutes to over an hour, depending on how well the other team plays the field.
If for some reason you don't know terms such as "inning," "run," "homerun," we recommend getting to know them in a special article on our website.
Important features
High odds can be not only on underdog teams but also on the leaders because of the instability of the games. In the United States league (MLB), the number of wins and losses is within 60/40. In baseball, there are no draws, and therefore it becomes slightly easier to predict the victory of one of the teams.
Types of bets on baseball
Betting on the winner ("P1" or "P2")
In baseball, there are two main bets on the outcome: the victory of the first or second team. As we have already written, there are no draws in baseball, but some bookmakers take bets on the victory of a team, taking into account extra innings. That is, if the teams fail to identify the winner in nine innings, an unlimited number of extra innings will be added until a winner is identified.
Winning with a handicap on the teams
The handicap in baseball, as in other sports, is a predetermined difference of runs between the teams. For example, if you bet on K1 with a handicap (-1.5), the final score in favour of this team for your win should be a winning difference of 2 points or more in favour of K1. In simpler terms, you must subtract the 1.5 from K1’s final number of runs scored. If you have chosen the odds of another team (1.5), the team cannot lose by two or more runs and you would instead add 1.5 to their score at the end.
Total
Total is the total number of points (runs) that teams can score in nine innings. Also, some bookmakers offer bets on the individual total of one of the teams, that is, on a specific number of runs scored by either the home team or the visitors.
We've only described the major baseball bets that bookmakers take. With the popularization of baseball, and especially in America, some bookmakers offer bets such as "who will score the first or last run in the inning?", "will there be extra innings?", "who will get the first hit and win the match?", "Will there be a home run and in what inning” and so on. Bookmakers are mostly taken by players who are well versed in all the intricacies of baseball. Beginners of betting in most cases play on the main outcomes, and about the extended line offered on baseball, we will talk about in a separate graph of this material.
Baseball betting strategy
As in any sport, to make a profit on bets, you need to understand it (although even then it will not be a guarantee). Baseball is no exception, rather the opposite: as it is considered a specific sporting event in which you need to know all the subtleties, so as not to lose the entire pot.
Live bets on a draw in the inning
Once again: baseball games do not end in a draw. Teams at the end of the game identify the winner in extra innings. But bets on a draw within the first nine innings are accepted. The probability of a draw in nine innings is extremely high, and therefore the strategy of "dog" is quite popular among players with live stakes for a draw.
The downside is that the odds of a draw in the inning do not exceed 1.85, which forces the player to have a solid pot and increase the bet several times to win back the previous loss and come out in plus.
Betting on underdogs
Baseball is one of the most unpredictable sports, where notorious underdogs sometimes win over the favourites. And the odds on them are quite high. Within a three or four-game series, there is a good chance that the underdog will win at least one game. Many distance players like to bet on the victories of teams that are at the bottom of the standings. If you lose, the bet on the underdog’s next game should increase. Again, to be in the plus, you need to thoroughly conduct pre-match analytics and have a solid account for betting.
Pre-match analytics
Baseball is one of the big four sports played in America, and information about past matches can be easily found. Before betting on baseball, study tournament tables, past and personal team meetings, as well as injuries and disqualifications of key players in the lineup.
Choosing a stadium
In baseball, all stadiums are different. They may be wider or longer, longer or shorter. Each stadium has its own wind rose, which means that the wind can both interfere with the players and help them by slowing down or accelerating the flight of the ball. For this reason, some sports facilities often host high scoring games, and others - grassroots. Many bookmakers pre-indicate the stadium where the teams will play.
Pitcher
Baseball, although a team sport, depends a lot on the individual skills of the athletes. Learning team pitchers is one of the most important factors in betting. A pitcher is a defensive player and put in the simplest way possible he is the one throwing the ball to batters. Almost the entire dynamics of the game depends on his throwing. In the pre-match analysis, special attention should be paid to the study of the starting pitchers of each team as well as possible bullpen options: their physical condition, motivation and, most importantly, the opposing lineup in the upcoming game.
