Baseball Over/Under Guide
Baseball bettors do not have to bet on a team they believe will win, many don’t even bother with who will win. Their favorite form of wagering is on totals or baseball over/unders. To put it in a few simple words, an over/under bettor calculates the total number of runs the 2 teams might score and bets on this combined score.
How to Read the Numbers
Sportsbooks usually calculate a total score for each baseball game. The over/under bettor had to wager on whether the total score of the 2 teams involved is going to go over the total score set by the baseball betting site, or whether it will be under the total score. In the case of football, the price is usually -110 for both under and over. This means that betters have to risk $110 to win $100. In the case of football and most other sports, -110 is the standard money line. Sportsbooks online usually adjust the odds if they find that bettors are betting too much on the over and not the under, or vice versa.
There are, however, many differences between baseball and football. Baseball over/under bets, or baseball totals, are made on the basis of the total runs that the teams score. For instance, if a sportsbook posts the over/under odds of a game as 9, a person who bets under 9 wins if the total number of runs come up to less than 9, and a bettor who bets over 9 wins if the total number of runs come up to more than 9.
Understanding the Payouts
The total number of runs that can be scored is much lower than in football or any other sport. A single run is of great value to gamblers. For instance, a total score of 10 is pretty high and a total score of 6 is pretty low. People will notice odds such as under 8 set at -120, which means that if you place a totals bet under 8 can win $100 by risking $120. But if you wager the over on eight runs, the odds are +100.
For better understanding, consider the odds posted by a bookmaker on the internet for baseball teams A and B. The odds for Team A are OVER 8.5 at -130 and those for team B are UNDER 8.5 at +110. This simply means that if you want to bet that the teams will score a total of more than 8.5 runs will win $100 for risking $130. And if you wager that the teams will score a total of less than 8.5 runs will win $110 for risking $100.
In the example above, the sportsbook would read the following:
- Team A Over 8.5 (-130)
- Team B Under 8.5 (+100)
Useful Tips That Will Help You Win
Over/under betting is very popular among baseball bettors. Those who understand the totals odds will stand a chance of making a lot of money. If this is all new to you and you’re a beginner, however, you can make use of the following basic tips for wagering on baseball over/unders.
Try to avoid betting over/unders as much as possible before June. Usually, the weather doesn’t permit a good game to be played; and several excellent pitchers start off too slowly at the start of the season. In the meantime, you should use this time to make a close study of various teams, players, records, and playing schedule.
To be successful, you must make a comparative study of not only the performances of various baseball teams and players, but also the odds posted by various sportsbooks. Odds will vary from sportsbook to sportsbook and you want to make sure you are getting the best odds, and any little edge you can get will pay off in the long run. You can make a fortune in over/under bets if you do the research well before placing any wager.
