The wait is over. Johnny Damon is back and looking rather dapper in a Yankees uniform and sporting a new haircut; and the Chicago White Sox, your defending World Series Champions, are back to officially open the start of the 2006 Major League Baseball season.
A record 74 million baseball fans made their way out to the ballparks in 2005 and even more are expected to woof down a few more dogs this year. Baseball is, after all, America's favorite pastime this season - so let's play some ball!
Even with its extensive schedule and rather lengthy season, baseball has traditionally been considered a slow season by bookmakers. But for online gamblers baseball is one of the busiest and most exciting times of the year. If you're new to online gambling on baseball, however, understanding the basics could help to make your online baseball gambling experience a profitable one.
MLB Baseball Betting at Bodog Sportsbook
Unlike football or basketball, in baseball there are no point spreads
When it comes to baseball gambling online, your first bet is to understand how the odds work. Unlike football or basketball, which uses pointspreads, baseball odds are expressed in terms of money (or a moneyline) and simply involve betting on the outcome of the game. Oddsmakers use the moneyline so that you, the bettor, must lay down more money on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides.
Favorites will always be represented with a minus sign (-) in front of a value, and underdogs, if they are represented, will always have a plus (+) in front of a value.
Therefore, whenever there is a minus (-), that means you must lay that amount to win a hundred dollars, for example. Where there is a plus (+), you get that amount for every hundred dollars wagered. The bigger the favorite, the less likely the underdog will win.
The importance of starting pitchers and other factors to keep in mind
While most bettors tend to wager on the moneyline, many online sportsbooks also offer run lines (by playing the run line, you basically create a line of 1 1/2-runs on the game and you then choose whether to 'take' or 'give' the 1 1/2-run spread).
Proposition betting (prop betting for short) has steadily increased in popularity as bettors look for more exciting ways to bet on an event. The growing popularity of fantasy sports has drawn more interest in props betting (fantasy players do so much research on individual players that being able to wager on individual players holds a lot of appeal).
Then there is the teaser on baseball totals. The baseball total teaser works the same way as teasers in football or basketball, except that the number of options is typically reduced down to one (in football you can tease 6, 6.5 or 7 points but in baseball teases to the total are always 2 runs). You must pick at least two totals in your bet and the payoffs vary from book to book.
Right now only a few online sportsbooks offer baseball total teasers, but as more football and basketball bettors make the move to online baseball gambling this should change.
Another factor to consider when gambling on online baseball: starting pitchers. Starting pitchers obviously play an important role in the outcome of the game, and oddsmakers make the money line with them in mind.
And as with any sport, when you're gambling on baseball online, you should also beef up your money management skills and shop for value. The season is long and you've got a lot of baseball action to wager on - keep a watchful eye on your bankroll!
Baseball Betting Online at Bodog Sportsbook
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