Baseball bet online handicapping for many bettors begins by looking at the starting pitcher. This handicapping factor is important but it is also the most overrated as the baseball bet oddsmakers also base their baseball gambling lines based almost entirely on the starting pitcher. Let’s see if we can do a little bit more than just look at the starting pitcher when making a bet.
Baseball online handicapping is based on money lines. This means, if you are going to pick underdogs you have to win the game. That means you could pick a really live dog and still lose. It is something to consider as you look at baseball bet online odds. Let’s consider some other factors beyond the starting pitcher. We know that Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Johan Santana and other top starting pitchers are going to be continually overpriced in baseball bet odds. If we want to find winners we need to look at some other bet online handicapping factors.
An area to look at as you begin your bet online handicapping is really very simple, and that is a team’s home and away record. If a team wins at home then you need to be careful going against them, regardless of the opposing pitcher. Conversely, if a team loses on the road then you really don’t want to be backing them in baseball bet online odds even if their best pitcher is going. You also need to consider other bet online handicapping factors like bullpens, injuries, weather, etc.
Starting pitching does not always tell the whole story as you look at bet online odds. A team that is playing very well, yet has a no-name starting pitcher could still be a very good bet. This particularly applies to good teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, etc. When they have their 4th and 5th starters going, they sometimes are worth a shot.
With baseball bet online handicapping we want to remember that starting pitchers only go an average of 6 innings. The bullpens become a big factor in nearly every game. The bullpens are almost never factored into the baseball bet online odds, but they should be. The oddsmakers look at starting pitchers to the exclusion of everything else. You can do more. If you can look at bullpen stats, home and away numbers, trends, etc. you can actually do a better job of making the baseball bet online odds than the oddsmaker and that is definitely your ultimate goal.