MLB Season 2010

[luckyshades]

Since there appears to be at least some interest in Baseball betting this year, figured I'd start up a thread.

Baseball betting is a bit strange for those who have never seen it before.

You can, of course, bet on a team straight up to win.

IE The SF Giants to beat the Houston Astros tomorrow are paying about -147
(if you are going to bet American sports you really should learn what the
money-line is)

The unique part of baseball betting is that there is no ever-changing line as you see in other sports.

For instance in the NRL you might get the Tigers +2.5 this week against Nth Qld and the Raiders +8 vs the Eels.

In MLB betting, this doesn't happen - they have the runline.

In every game - no matter how big the favourite or underdog is, the run line is ALWAYS set at plus or minus 1.5 runs, and you will almost always get plus money on a favourite minus the 1.5 runline.

NB. On a site like Pinnacle you can change the runline and the price accordingly, but on most sites the runline is set at +/- 1.5 runs.

By way of example, this is the betting on tomorrow's games.

The SF Giants (led by their amazing pitcher Matt Cain) are at -147 or about $1.68 and the Astros are at +139 or $2.39 for the straight up win.

On the Runline the Giants -1.5 are +117 ($2.17) and the Astros +1.5 are -127
($1.78)

You can also bet over / unders and on most sites these days you can also bet for just the first 5 innings of a game.

Also, you should note that in 99% of cases that if a starting pitcher does not start the game, all bets are returned.

There is a bit more of a science about baseball betting, primarily because everything about the game is laid out in readily available statistics, from a pitchers ERA, a hitters batting %, fielding %s etc which make assessing individual players and teams a bit easier once you know what all the numbers and abbreviations stand for.

There are also more variables. Weather is a big one in baseball.

For instance at Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs situated right on Lake Michigan) the wind is a HUGE factor (moreso than any other ballpark). As most people know Chicago is nicknamed the Windy City, and this has a huge bearing on runs scored in the Stadium. Oddsmakers pay close attention to the weather, because it's been estimated that it can have as much as a 3 or 4 run difference on the game depending which way the wind is blowing and it can change from a pitchers dream stadium to their worst nightmare over night.

At the end of the day each team plays in excess of 160 games a season, and there are often more than 10 games a day to bet on - so for the Ali Khalil's of the world, there is always someone to bet on

[Zarlap]

Nice work lucky. Love my baseball, play it too.

Good site for matching up teams/pitchers - ESPN-MLB

[Duff85]

Not an expert on the baseball, but enjoy betting it to make the games interesting. So far 0-2 on the year after the Yankees and Blue Jays blew leads. Hoping to not have my gambooling roll diagf this year betting baseball. :-)

[Duff85]

I'm passing for the second day in a row.

[nickkaka]

2 from 2 today

I have no idea how the American odds work - just click decimal for me please.

[joshontilt]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to the world of American Sports betting - so where do you go to place your bets?

Cheers

[nickkaka]

I have tabs open on Lux Bet/Sportsbet/Sportingbet/Centrebt/TAB Sportsbet/Betfair and Pinnacle and go with whoever gives the best odds

Single selections is usually Pinnacle/Betfair - but not so with multis

[luckyshades]

Taking the Twins at $2.13 to beat the LA Angels.

The Angels are notoriously slow starters, and the Twins have one of the best batting line ups in all of the Majors with Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer and Thome batting in the heart of the order.

The Twins starter tonight was a gun last year (10-3 record) before picking up an injury. In contrast the Angels are going with a kind of journey man pitcher they brought in to replace John Lackey who was a star for them in LA.

The Twins also, in my opinion, have an edge in the bullpen and if they have a lead going into the final inning it's almost lights out as Jon Rauch is a very reliable closer.

Getting + money I really like the Twins here.

Slight lean to the under (9.5) aswell. Twins 5-3.

[GRETZKY427]

Like baseball but love my ice hockey got i missing playing it-fucking be game around i say...

[luckyshades]

Capitals are killing it this year

That Penguins v Caps series last year .. Ovechkin v Crosby, was just out of this World good.