Hit Some Dingers With These 5 MLB Betting Tips!
Major League Baseball is one of the most popular sports. There is loads of potential action each and every night of the MLB season, with games stretching from late March all the way through the end of October in most seasons.
There are many different options to bet on MLB, so much so that it can be hard to whittle it down to the bets that make the most sense for you. If you're new to sports betting we recommend you to check out our guide on how to bet on MLB first.
If you got you’re basics covered, then check out these five MLB betting tips below.
Betting Tip #1 Don't Bet on Huge Favorites
It may be easy to just look at a huge favorite and bet on them blindly. Some of the best teams in the league such as the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to beat some of the worst teams in the league such as the Pittsburgh Pirates almost every single night. So, why not just place bets on those huge favorites and call it a day?
The main reason is the odds. Huge favorites will have huge odds attached to them, which doesn't make it really worth your while to bet on them. If the Dodgers have moneyline odds of -220 against the Pirates in a game, for example, you'd need to bet $220 just to win $100.
It's true that the Dodgers will win this game more times than not, but remember that this is MLB. There is a ton of talent on both teams, no matter how bad the teams are in the standings. And any one team can beat any other team on any given night.
So, just because a team is a huge favorite doesn't mean it's worth betting on them. A good rule of thumb is to just avoid betting on these huge favorites altogether, as it likely won't pay off for you unless you bet on them every single game throughout the entire season -- which isn't reasonable for most people.
Betting Tip #2 Jump on Underdogs in Divisional Matchups
Teams play the other teams in their division a lot throughout the season. This familiarity, as well as the added incentive teams have when they're playing divisional rivals, keeps these games closer than most others.
As such, one of the best MLB betting tips is to jump on underdogs in divisional matchups. This isn't something you want to do blindly, of course, but it could be considered a contrarian type of bet.
All you have to do here is browse the available MLB lines for a particular day, searching for the divisional matchups. Then, look at the underdogs in these matchups. The extra juicy ones are if a home team is the underdog in a divisional matchup. This could give you an extra edge that you’re dropping your bets.
Betting Tip #3 Analyze Individual Matchups
Baseball is all about matchups and statistics. With so much data available today on just about any angle you'd look at, you should analyze individual matchups for each game you're considering betting on.
This includes the matchups of one team versus their opponent as well as the pitcher and hitter matchups against each team and against each other. In other words, some pitchers might do particularly well against a certain team, for whatever reason. They also may perform well against a certain group of players. The reverse also may be true.
When you're armed with this information, it could give you an edge when you're betting on MLB games. Teams that traditionally perform well against a particular team or pitcher might out-perform expectations in a given game, giving you a surprise betting win. If a pitcher does really well against a team, you might be able to take advantage of that -- even if the pitcher doesn't have the best overall stats for the season.
Betting Tip #4 Wait for Good Odds
When you're betting on MLB, you always want to have a target line and/or odds in mind. Every minor difference in odds will have a huge effect on the quality of your bet and the payout of your bets.
After you have finished your betting analysis, check the odds at the sportsbooks that you are using. Then, cross-reference those odds to the odds that are offered at some other sportsbooks. You don't necessarily have to shop around and have accounts at multiple sportsbooks, but this will give you an idea of whether you are being offered solid odds.
Also, have target odds in mind for a bet. If your target is -120 on a moneyline, for example, you won't place your bet until the odds come down to that. If the odds are -130, for example, you'll stay away from betting it they don't come down to your -120 target. This will help keep you in line and on budget.
Betting Tip #5 Check the Weather
The weather can obviously have a huge effect on the outcome of any sport that's played outdoors. In MLB, you won't have to worry too much about wet weather, as most games that are scheduled for rainy days will be canceled.
However, other types of weather can have a huge effect on the outcome of a game. One of the most notable weather events is wind. When there is wind that is blowing from the outfield into the infield, it can really keep the score much lower than anticipated. This is best seen at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Cubs play their home games.
When the wind is blowing in, games are often very low scoring. When the wind is blowing out, it can have the opposite effect. Sportsbooks will take this into consideration when they set their total run lines. But, if you aren't aware of this information, you could think that an over is a great bet when in reality it isn’t -- and vice versa.
Also, keep in mind that games played in high heat and humidity typically result in higher-scoring games. That's because the baseball travels further in this type of air.