Baseball Betting Strategies

There are four baseball betting strategies that you are going to want to employ if your serious about winning at baseball betting:

1. Picking Winners
2. Pricing
3. Bankroll management
4. Record keeping

Picking Winners: Almost everybody I know thought baseball betting was easy to conquer the first time they looked at the odds. This is of course because there is no point spread to beat so naturally their first reaction was to be biased and lean towards picking the better team. Needless to say, they were rudely introduced to the silent but deadly bankroll killer, THE MONEYLINE.

We all did it, me included. Hey, Roger Clemens is taking the hill against Glendon Rusch the biggest gas can in the league? -200? Lay it! Bam, Rusch has his best outing of the year and I’m down -2.00 units right out of the game. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that -2.00 means that we are now playing from behind and have to win 2 games just to break even.

The point of the story is picking winners is easy. Beating the odds is not. More times than not, the -200 favorite will win a game like that. The problem is every time the much favored pitcher doesn’t, your put in a hole.

Stick to low priced favorites or better yet only bet on underdogs. A strategy of betting only on underdogs gives you an opportunity to win 50% of the time or less and turn a profit as the moneyline becomes your friend, not your enemy. We’d also like to say that there is no substitute for hard work/good handicapping.

Pricing: When you go to the grocery store, you undoubtedly price shop and compare items. If you don’t, your wasting money. Betting on bases is no different. If your looking at getting down on a game, you should compare prices at a handful of sportsbooks (See our recommended list at the top of this page) to make sure your getting the most bang for your buck. Not all sportsbooks are created equal. Prices can and will vary. We highly recommend that you have money deposited at “at least” three different places. We also recommend that these be dimeline sportsbooks to make “doubley” sure that your getting the best value. (Dimeline books are defined in the article, click it and read it but don’t forget to come back here, we’re not done with you yet!)

Bankroll Management: Nobody wants to hear it, very few practice it, yet not surprisingly very few win at sports betting long term. Take the hint as the sooner you apply it to your strategic approach the sooner you have a real chance at breaking even or winning. Just like life, you can’t get paid on Friday and blow all your loot on Saturday. You have to stretch it out and make it last spending a little more during the good times (winning streaks) and a little less during the bad times (losing streaks.) With that being said, never deviate from betting no more than 2% of your bankroll on any one game. Hmm, lets see, if your “roll” is $500 that means your maximum bet is a boring $10. Yes, we know, how BORING. Welcome to winning at gambling, a marathon not a sprint. If your not serious about winning ignore this advice. When you get tired of losing come back here and listen a little closer. You can put it together any way you want, but when it doesn’t run correctly rest assured that you can come right back here, read the directions and make it right again. We all didn’t listen in the beginning and we all lost for years before we even got a sniff of learning how to win. It’s ok, don’t be embarrassed. Just be glad that you figured it out AT SOME POINT as many never do!

Record Keeping: Uh oh, more BORING stuff. (And you thought this was all going to be exciting) Ya gotta do it fellas. Right down to the bare bones. Grab yourself a piece of paper. Start with “favorites” and keep a tally (record including win/loss and units won or lost) for each 10 cents of the moneyline. Do this for underdogs too. Example:

Favorites:
-100 to -109
-110 to -119
-120 to -129 and so on…

Also keep a win loss for overs/unders and runlines as well if you play them. The purpose of doing so is that after a while you will see what your strong points are and where your weaknesses lay. Once you’ve made a couple hundred plays, our recipe calls for a little more sugar and a lot less fat. Consider sticking to what works and eliminating what is NOT working for you.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article on strategies that will help you win at baseball betting. If you’ve got any questions about gambling on baseball or any sport for that matter, feel free to click the contact us link below and drop us a line. We’re usually pretty good about getting back to people within 48 hours or less. Good luck on the bases!

Related:
Baseball Betting Tips
Handicapping Bullpens
How Weather Affects Betting on MLB Totals
Using the Right Statistics to Handicap Baseball Games