Online sports betting on baseball is based on a money line instead of a pointspread. Let’s take a look at the basics for baseball sports betting and make sure you understand the odds at the online sportsbook.
Online sports betting on baseball has terms like 10 cent, 20 cent, 30 cent, etc. Those terms refer to the amount of vigorish you are charged when betting baseball at the sports book. The lower the amount, the better it is for you in online sports betting. The best line available in baseball is usually a 10 cent line but a 20 cent line is more common. The 20 cents is the difference between the favorite and the underdog in online sports betting. It looks like this.
Baltimore Orioles +150 9.5 over
New York Yankees -170
If you like the Yankees you are risking $170 to win $100 or the 17/10 equivalent in online sports betting. If you like the Orioles you are risking only $100 to win $150 or the 10/15 equivalent. The 20 dollar difference is what is called a twenty cent line in online sports betting. If in the above example it was -160 instead of -170 then it would be a 10 cent online sports betting line. The difference in the take back continues to grow as the online sports betting price rises. It can get as high as 50, 60 or maybe even a dollar. Let’s say you have a big favorite at -400. Some books might only give you back +300. That is a really bad line for you because they are charging a horrible amount of vigorish on the game. A much more favorable take back would be something in the +350 or +360 range if the favorite was that high in online sports betting.
The total on the game is listed next to the prices at the sports book. In this case the total is 9.5 over which means you risk $120 on the over and get even money on the under in online sports betting.
One other area that is exclusive to baseball sports betting, is that the starting pitcher can be specified when you make your bet. You have the option of listing pitchers. The pitcher you list must start for your online sports betting wager to be valid. In baseball sports betting, the pitcher is so important, that the option of listing the pitcher is a normal occurrence. Those are the basics of baseball sports betting and the odds you are likely to see at the online sportsbook.