Baseball is the type of game that allows for any team to win on any given night. The 162 games are enough to overcome this variance and allow the best teams to advance to playoffs, but in any single game anything can happen. That being said it is still possible to be a profitable MLB bettor if you are patient and wait for advantageous lines. With each team playing 162 games each season, followed by the playoffs, there are more than enough games to be patient and still bet on a good amount of games. For some other solid pointers that apply to all sports, check our sports betting tips page.
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#1 Manage Your Bankroll
The first and most important tip for any bettor is to manage your money. If you bet too much of your bankroll on each wager you will inevitably go broke. Sports betting has variance and you have to be able to have a large enough bankroll to go through downswings that include losing multiple bets in a row. A good rule of thumb is to not bet more than 5% of your bankroll on any one sports betting wager. For example, if you have $500 in your betting account don’t bet more than $10 on any single game. In order to be a winning bettor you need to have money to bet!
#2 Primarily Bet Dogs
In all sports the house has less of an edge if you bet on the underdogs all the time, but this is especially true in baseball. In general this is true because the general public likes to win and they will usually think that a team that has an edge has a larger edge than they actually do have. Bookies know this and they adjust the lines in the favorites favor.
#3 Fade The Most Popular Teams
This is also true, but just like betting the dogs, in baseball it is especially true. And this is because it kind of goes along with the bet underdogs tip. Popular teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Dodgers are often both favorites and have a large following. Fans like to bet on teams they cheer for and bookies adjust the lines accordingly. Therefore, if the Yankees are -135 in a game, the Indians may be a -130 favorite in the same situation, even if the oddsmakers feel they have exactly the same chance of winning that game.
#4 Pitching
Pitching is very important in baseball today, so you should always know which pitcher is starting for each team and research their recent success, as well as how they have done on similar amount of rest or against similar hitters. Also, don’t forget to look at the bullpen as many games are won in the final couple innings.
As much as pitching is important, the difference between the 25th and 50th best pitchers in the league isn’t great. It is more important to look for trends in their pitching performance than simply saying one pitcher is slightly better than the other so his team will win the game. In fact it is often smart to go with the unheralded pitcher because the line will likely be inflated, making a bet on the underdog sharp.
#5 Hitting
Many baseball bettors consider hitting a bigger indicator of a game’s outcome than pitching these days. With hitting you can research how the team has hit against similar pitchers and look for trends that can give you the information you need to make an informed bet on each game. Hitting is becoming a more important part of the game as pitching parity improves. Look for teams on hot hitting streaks because hitting in baseball is a lot about confidence.
#6 Bet 10-cent Lines
It is very important that you bet with sportsbooks that offer 10-cent lines on MLB games. BetOnline.ag is our top rated MLB sportsbook because they guarantee 10-cent lines all the way up to -199 favorites. Other sportsbooks will switch to 15-cent or 20-cent lines, which gives them a bigger edge over the bettor. Click here to check out our BetOnline review to learn more…