How To Bet On MLB: Baseball Betting Guide & Tips

Yes, but it depends on where you physically are located.

Betting on baseball may be legal in your state, depending on existing law. Legal and regulated sports betting is becoming increasingly common in the United States with sports betting now legal in nearly 40 states.

All legal and regulated online sportsbooks offer wagers on Major League Baseball. As the summer is a relatively slow period for the sports world, baseball is an important offering for the industry during these months.

In order to wager on baseball, you need to sign up and deposit funds at any of the best MLB betting sites.

The moneyline, which is simply picking who wins a game, is the most common MLB wager. While there will always be true underdogs and powerhouse franchises in the league, the beauty of baseball is that anyone can win on any given night because of an extensive level of parity.

As a result, underdogs tend to perform well in MLB moneyline betting. Betting exclusively on favorites may seem attractive on paper, but it’s often a losing strategy and a common mistake novices make.

If you consistently bet on favorites, it’s worth knowing the break-even point. Exclusively betting on teams at -110 on the moneyline, bettors would need to have a 52.38% win rate to break even with the juice, with that percentage increasing exponentially as the favorites’ price increases.

Knowing which players will be playing when betting on baseball moneylines is essential.

It is common for starting pitchers to change and understanding platooning can also give you an advantage. When betting on moneylines, baseball offers a wealth of public data you can utilize. There is no such thing as negligible information regarding betting moneylines in baseball.

The runline is another popular wager on baseball games. Runlines are baseball’s version of a point spread. Because baseball observes far lower scoring than other sports, the runline is typically a 1.5-run handicap.

For example, if the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees matched up with the Dodgers carrying a -130 moneyline, they would have a runline in the neighborhood of -1.5 runs at +160 odds. In more lopsided matches, the runline can be as high as 2.5.

Sometimes bad teams can be great bets because they keep games close. For example, the 2024 Washington Nationals went 71-91, finishing with the sixth-worst record in baseball. However, they were 88-74 against the runline — the fourth-best mark in MLB.

This is a newer variation of the above market offering higher insurance or payouts depending on your bet. 

Traditionally, the moneyline favorite is attached to a -1.5 runline, with the underdog receiving the +1.5 runline from bookmakers. 

However, the reverse runline offers bettors the chance to flip those spreads. In that instance, the favorite receives the +1.5 spread, while the underdog receives the -1.5 spread. This comes with a high-priced premium to bettors, depending on the size of the favorite.

Depending on the underdog’s moneyline price, that can lead to larger plus-money prices if they can win the game by two or more runs.

As an illustration, here’s an example of this market in practice: 

• The Chicago Cubs are -160 on the moneyline and +135 to cover the runline. However, they’re -300 to win the game or to stay within a run.
• Their opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, are +135 on the moneyline and -165 to win or stay within a run. But, for bettors thinking the Reds win by two or more runs, the price inflates to +230.

Betting on totals in baseball requires different information than is required to bet on moneylines and spreads.

Totals betting, also called over/under betting, is a market where bettors don’t place action on the outcome of a game in terms of winning and losing. Instead, they bet on the final score of a game and whether it will end up higher or lower than the line set by bookmakers.

Many factors contribute to over/under betting, with starting pitching matchups, platoon advantages and weather playing particularly profound roles. For example, scoring occurs more at a high-elevation ballpark like Coors Field in Denver.

Some ballparks are smaller than others, like Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The closer the fences are, the higher the likelihood of a home run.

Sportsbooks are pushing betting on the result of the first inning to boost their bottom lines.

Often called YRFIs and NRFIs, standing for “Yes/No Run First Inning,” bettors gamble on whether either team will score a run in the first inning of a game.

Hardcore gamblers usually enjoy this wager.

This is a riskier wager compared to betting on the full-game outcome, but it’s appeal is simple. We recommend this bet if you might not watch the entire contest or if you’re targeting a starting pitcher or top of the lineup in a specific matchup.

Instead of betting on full-game moneylines, spreads and totals, bettors also have the option of first five innings betting markets. Some bettors prefer this gambling method as bullpens typically have less impact on the outcome of the first five innings of a game, unlike in a full game.

The markets that exist are typically the same as they would be for full-game betting but with different odds and totals. We recommend this baseball wager if you don’t want to worry about a bullpen impacting your wager.

As far as implied probability, these markets are no more or less volatile than first-inning or full-game wagers.

Some sportsbooks also offer markets for the first three innings.

Crafting parlay bets in baseball is one of the most popular forms of gambling on the sport, given the extensive options available for parlay legs.

There can be as many as 15 games, with hundreds of markets available on any given day during the season. The options are virtually limitless.

As with other sports, parlays are broken down into multi-game and same-game parlays.

Multi-Game Parlays

The more traditional style of parlay wagering on baseball is with multi-game parlays. Parlays of this nature combine bets across different games into one bet that carries exponentially longer odds with every added selection.

We recommend this baseball parlay if you can pay attention to multiple games at a time and are looking for more of a lottery-style betting experience. Sportsbooks have a higher hold percentage on parlay bets compared to straight bets, so, in the long run, parlays aren’t a good strategy if you are trying to build a sports betting bankroll.

Same-Game Parlays

Same-game parlays are similar to multi-game parlays, but they differ in that all the individual legs of the bet are from the same game as opposed to different games across the slate.

While most sportsbooks offer extensive same-game parlay options, some do not.

We recommend a same-game parlay for baseball if you prefer a lottery-style betting experience and just want to pay attention to a single game.

Baseball arguably has the most extensive prop betting catalog of any major U.S. sport. These prop betting markets include statistical production from hitters and pitchers, scoring props for the games themselves and different daily props.

Batter Props

Most batter props are typically based on statistics. These include whether or not a player will have a certain amount of hits, home runs, or RBIs.

The list of stat totals available to bettors extends much further, including stolen bases, runs scored and combined runs scored plus runs batted in props.

Pitcher Props

Pitcher props are less extensive, given the lack of counting stats attached to the position. The most common prop bet on pitchers is over/under betting on strikeouts.

Another popular pitching prop bet that has gained significant traction in recent years has been to place action on the over/under on a pitcher’s total outs recorded for a game. Hits, walks and earned runs allowed are also common markets.

Game Props

There are plenty of game props available at most betting sites. These include betting the over/under on the team total for one or both sides in a game.

Additionally, there are more intricate props, such as:

• How many runs will score on the first scoring play
• The inning of the game’s first run
• The game’s last score
• The game’s final winning margin

Correct Score

Correct score bets offer some of the longest odds of any bet in baseball.

It is extremely difficult to predict the final score of any game. With the wide range of outcomes in baseball in particular, it is challenging to succeed in this form of betting. It’s impossible to win in the long run betting on the correct score.

This betting type is available before a game begins but can also be found in live betting on most occasions. We recommend this bet for entertainment purposes only.

Daily Props

Daily props are a less popular market than the others outlined above, but there is still value here. Daily props typically account for the entire league’s day of games instead of one individual game.

This makes it much more difficult to succeed as bettors will have to get a grasp of every game to make educated bets as opposed to only having to handicap a handful of games.

• Will there be a no-hitter: Betting on whether the league will have a no-hitter on a given slate of games
• Daily total runs: Betting the over/under for how many runs are scored in the entire league on a given day
• Highest-scoring game: Betting on the highest-scoring game of the day’s slate
• Highest-scoring team: Betting on the highest-scoring team of the day’s slate
• Any team over X+ runs: Betting on the highest score produced by any team on a slate

MLB futures are an easy alternative to betting on a single game.

In most cases, oddsmakers will release new MLB futures odds following the conclusion of each World Series. Due to free agency, trades and other breaking news, these odds will change dramatically until the next World Series in October of the following year.

We recommend an MLB futures bet if you want some “skin in the game” and are content with waiting months before knowing whether your bet will win. These are possibly fun bets to place on your favorite team or player, giving you even more to root for.

Team Futures

Team futures are the most common form of MLB futures due to the wide range of gambling markets available.

Here are some of the most popular team futures:

• League Winner: Betting on a team to win either the American League or National League pennant
• Division Winner: Betting on a team to win its division
• Regular Season Wins: Wagering on the over/under for a team’s wins projection line
• Best Record: Betting on a team to have the best regular season win-loss record
• To Make the Playoffs: Betting on a team to make the playoffs
• Division Straight Forecast: Betting on two or more teams within a division to finish in an exact order in the standings
• Regular Season Win Streak: Wagering who will have the longest win streak during the regular season
• Winning State: Placing action on one of an entire state’s MLB teams to win the World Series

Player Awards

Since player awards futures are individualistic, they differ from team awards futures. The high-variance nature of MLB makes award winners far more difficult to predict.

The three major types of player awards futures found at sportsbooks:

• MVP: Betting on a player to win the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, usually coming with long odds and broken down into American League and National League
• Cy Young: Betting on a pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, given to the top pitcher in both the American League and the National League
• Rookie of the Year: Betting on a player to be the best rookie-eligible player in their respective league

Live betting has become an alternative for bettors who miss action on the pre-game markets. There are often alternative wagers that cannot be found before games begin.

Depending on the flow of the first few innings, live lines can shift dramatically.

This strategy can often be used to back favorites who fall behind early or to play underdogs with a boosted live runline if the favorite gets out to an insurmountable lead.

Live betting options are as extensive as pre-game options and provide even more value for savvy bettors who understand the odds shifts and what they mean.

Everyone deploys different strategies to help them win their MLB bets, but there are a few tips worth considering to help you win bets. 

First, don’t exclusively bet favorites. Favorites are favored for a reason, but the volatility of baseball leads to these teams winning less often than the average bettor would believe. 

Within that tip, it’s also wise for bettors to target divisional underdogs. Teams that play in the division are innately more familiar with each other, so there will be more unpredictable games that benefit the underdog. 

Additionally, bettors can benefit from fading what’s known as “the public.” These bettors often target favorites and overs, whereas “sharp” sports bettors often play underdogs and unders. 

Given the former group is wrong more often than right, bettors can use sportsbook data to identify popular public sides and take an opposite stance. 

Finally, utilizing the weather is very important for MLB total bettors, especially the wind direction. For teams that play outdoors, the wind direction can impact a ball’s flight and lead to more or fewer runs compared to calm conditions. 

The World Series is the pinnacle of baseball in the U.S. each year and creates a substantial handle for sportsbooks in October. All of the wagering options outlined above are available during the World Series at our favorite World Series betting sites.

Throughout the regular season, futures bets can be made on the eventual pennant and World Series winners. All regulated sportsbooks offer some form of World Series betting market, with unique prop bets introduced yearly.

The MLB Draft is a highly-anticipated event that occurs in the middle of the MLB season each year, and there is no shortage of bets on it.

The draft carries prop bets almost exclusively, as bettors can wager on who they believe the first, second and third overall picks will be, for example. Some operators also offer wagering options that pit two draft prospects against one another with odds for each player on who will be the first one drafted between the pair.

In recent years, college baseball betting has become somewhat popular as an alternative to MLB betting, especially during the College World Series.

Because of the large number of Division I college baseball teams, many games each year can be wagered on.

The same principles and wager types can be found in college baseball betting as they are in MLB in most cases. If bettors have a full grasp of MLB betting, they are also incentivized to try their hand at college baseball betting.