Are you among the millions of MLB fans thinking about betting on the national pastime this season? Great! Come on in, baseball faithful, because the water's fine! However, you'll want to learn the basics before diving in fully and placing bets.
The biggest mistake any new bettor can make is to place bets without knowing all the ins and outs. Just because some people refer to sports betting as gambling doesn't mean you should throw your money away and "learn as you go."
Let's get right into our complete guide to betting on MLB in 2024, including how to bet on games, props, and futures. Good luck, have fun, and go make some money!
How to bet on MLB games
There are three traditional ways to bet on MLB games:
- Moneyline — betting the odds attached to one team (the favorite) or the other (the underdog) to win the game
- Runline — betting on the favorite to win by a set amount of runs (typically 1.5 or 2.5) or betting the underdog to either win or lose by fewer than that set amount of runs
- Total — betting that the game will go OVER or UNDER the projected amount of runs
What is MLB moneyline betting?
Moneyline betting is plain and simple because all it involves is picking a winner. New bettors love moneyline betting because of its simplicity, but it's not always the best bang for your betting buck.
Heavy favorites usually see much shorter odds, which means the payouts are greatly diluted. Winning moneyline bets on underdogs pay handsomely, but that's because they are a much greater risk (also known as a more volatile bet).
Reading moneylines is simple. Favorites have negative (-) odds, with the number indicating how much you would need to risk to make a potential profit of $100 with a win. Underdogs have plus (+) odds, with the number indicating what you would win on a successful $100 bet.
Let's say you have some interest in betting the Yankees over the Red Sox. If New York is listed as a -350 favorite, that means you would need to risk $350 to win a profit of $100 if the Yankees win.
If you think the Red Sox will pull off a miraculous upset, you could bet $100 on them at +350 and walk away with a $350 profit if Boston wins.
What is the MLB runline?
The runline is baseball's version of the point spread. When betting on the runline, the favorite is typically -1.5 runs or -2.5 runs on the spread, with the underdog at +1.5 or +2.5 runs. Betting on the favorite requires your team to win its game by either two or more runs or three or more runs.
More often than not, the runline is -1.5 or +1.5 with differing odds attached to either side. You'll only really see -2.5/+2.5 when the favorite is an overwhelming favorite — think the Dodgers with their ace versus the Athletics in a bullpen game.
What is betting on the total or over/under?
Betting the total is simple: the sportsbook lists a projected run total for a game, and you either bet on the two teams to finish with a combined score OVER or UNDER that total.
This couldn't be more simple. If the total combined score winds up higher than the projected total, then the OVER wins. If the final score total is lower than the projected total, then the UNDER wins.
What is MLB player prop betting?
Player prop betting has become wildly popular, much the same way that fantasy sports rose to massive popularity earlier in the 21st century. Props allow you to bet on players, teams, or games to go OVER or UNDER set statistical amounts.
For players, you can bet their OVER or UNDER on hits, total bases, home runs, steals, runs, strikeouts, walks, earned runs, etc. You get the gist. For teams, you can bet on total runs, total runs allowed, and more. For games, you're betting props related to the combined stats and totals.
Stat over/under totals typically have close to 2-to-1 odds, so bettors love them. But of course, the sportsbook will take home a piece of every bet, even the ones the bettors win.
The side that is slightly favored might have a little more juice (or "vig") so the sportsbook can cut into your potential profit and get a larger cut of your payout if you win. The side that's less likely (or generating less action or betting interest) will see slightly longer odds and a better potential payout.
You can bet over/under player props on all sorts of statistics. You can also bet yes/no props for various in-game situations like "What will be the result of the first pitch?" or "Will both teams score in the first inning?"
What is MLB futures betting?
Another fun method of MLB betting is the futures market, which allows you to bet on whether or not something will happen in the future. You can bet on a team to win the World Series, finish with the best record in its league or division, or make or miss the playoffs.
You can also bet on players to win MVP, Cy Young, or any of the other major awards, or to finish as the regular-season leader in specific stat categories like home run king. As these are far less likely to predict way ahead of time, these futures bets often yield longer odds and therefore carry much higher potential payouts.
Now that you know the basics of MLB betting, get out there and go build your bankroll! Just be sure to read Sporting News' MLB betting content on the regular so you have a leg up on the sportsbooks each day.
Popular sportsbooks
Practically all sportsbooks feature baseball betting, with some regions offering a greater selection of leagues than others. Below is a list of some of the most popular betting houses in the United States and Canada. Be sure to check to see which sportsbooks operate in your area.
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- ESPNBet
- Sports Interaction
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