Most people know how money line and over / under betting works in MLB baseball, but very few casual bettors know what “race line” betting is all about. In this short article, I will explain how career line betting works for MLB baseball betting.

When betting on the run line you will be making a bet on one side (or team), but don’t confuse it with money line betting. When betting the race line there will be a margin that each team will have to cover, very similar to the NFL margin bets.

The most common line that almost all bookmakers use is a 1.5 line. The MLB team that is the favorite in the game will have to cover that 1.5-run margin, or in other words, win by 2 or more runs, for a bet placed on them to win. A bet placed on the MLB team that is the loser in the game will result in a win if they lose by 1 run or win the game outright.

Below is an example of what a race line might look like for MLB betting:

New York Yankees +1.5

vs. Philadelphia Phillies -1.5

The positive sign in front of the 1.5 next to the New York Yankees indicates that the Yankees are the losers. This means that a bet placed on them would result in a win if they lose the game by exactly 1 run or win the game by any score.

The negative sign in front of the 1.5 next to the Philadelphia Phillies indicates that the Phillies are the favorites. This means that a bet placed on them would result in a win if they win the baseball game by 2 or more runs.

There will be odds associated with each selection, which will be decided by each individual bookmaker. It is more common for the odds of the favorite to be higher when betting on the race line.

Now that you know how MLB career line betting works, you can mix up your MLB picks for the season and use your newfound knowledge with your money line and over / under bets!