MLB Betting Tips For Beginners: What New Punters Must Know

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and Major League Baseball is one of the top leagues that generate the highest revenues in the American sports betting industry. However, despite its popularity, punters need to understand that, unlike other forms of betting, beginners often find baseball betting challenging, as it differs entirely in many ways. 

Football and basketball betting are based on the spread. However, this isn’t the case for baseball, popularly referred to as a moneyline sport. Gamblers can wage a prop or run line bet in a baseball event, but they aren’t popular, meaning gamblers will be left with the choice to pick only who wins a match instead of who covers. 

Baseball moneyline bet requires that you either wage a bet on the favorite — the team with a high chance of winning, or the underdog —the team that will likely not win. However, you should note that there’s no benefit in betting for a favorite because even if you win, you’ll gain less than you wagered. But if you bet on an underdog and win, your potential winnings could be high, and you’d have a significant profit.

As a punter, there’s no doubt that your reason for placing any bet is to win and make a profit. In this article, we’ll let you in on some MLB betting tips that you can start using to maximize your betting profit.

Don’t Bet on the Favorites

As a beginner who wants to win at all costs, it can be tempting to always place a bet on a team that is most likely to win a game. The bookmakers understand this bias, and they capitalize on it by tweaking their lines accordingly. For that reason, popular teams’ games would be overpriced because they believe some people will choose them even if their odds are far apart.

When you bet on a favorite, and they win, the money you’ll get is too small. And when such a team loses, you lose all your money. Summarily, it’s not worth the risk at all.

Target Plus-Money Underdogs

To break even in a baseball bet, you need to win 52.4% of the time. In MLB betting, you should avoid favorites at all costs and consistently bet on plus-money underdogs instead. When these lower teams win, you only lose the amount you bet, but you enjoy a massive plus-money payout when they win.

While it could be tempting to go for the quick wins without much value, it would make a lot of sense to wait for the big wins from this type of bet as they would be worth the wait.

Bet Against the Public

Even as a beginner, you don’t want to be too straightforward with your bets if you want to make more money. You should note that the public sometimes loses because beginners like you probably bet on favorites, home teams, star-studded teams, and teams that are likely to win. You don’t want to do that! 

Most of these people bet on teams just because they won their last games and against teams because they lost their previous games. This doesn’t usually work in MLB betting. By betting against the public, you can take advantage of the inflated numbers and win more.

Take Advantage of Divisional Teams

Major League Baseball teams in the division are familiar with each other because of their frequent plays. This familiarity and the level playing field becomes an advantage for the underdogs. Also, the public regards home advantage too much, giving the visitor an increased value.

However, divisional teams are usually not as publicized in the public space, and they usually don’t know a lot about each other as the frequency of play is reduced compared to the MLB teams. Betting on this team could bring a lot of value with the right strategies.

Study the Weather

Even though more money is made with moneyline bets, you can still try out totals. However, before placing a bet, an important thing you should consider is the weather.

According to studies, when the wind is blowing at 5mph, and above, the under will probably be around 960-781-89, a 55.1% move. In addition, when the wind is blowing in, it can turn the home runs into strikeouts, a piece of welcome news for the underdog, and when the wind blows outward, the ball will be flown into homers, which is an advantage for over betting. 

Look for the Right Sportsbook

Many sports betting websites are available, so you shouldn’t stick to just one as a beginner. Instead, you should open an account on different platforms and compare the lines in all to determine which one is favorable among them.

Using just one platform forces you to stick to whatever numbers you’re offered, even if it isn’t favorable. Many experienced and successful punters will tell you that choosing the right sportsbook is one of the most important decisions you have to make, and your choice will play a major role in your success and profitability. So, it will be wise to choose wisely.

Final Notes

Learning the baseball betting lingo and basics before placing a bet is important if you desire to get it right. The tips above will help you get started as a beginner, and you can continue learning and improving as you proceed on the journey. Remember to gamble responsibly!