While football and basketball are the most popular sports to bet on, baseball might be the easiest for beginners once you understand how to read the money line. The money line game is the main betting option for baseball bettors, which involves betting on the direct outcome of the game without taking into account the point spread. Punters use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides.

For example, our favorite rookie punter, Emily, is a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox, who are the favorites in most of their games as defending World Series champions. The Red Sox money line against the last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays could be -170, and sportsbooks have punters betting significantly more money on the Red Sox than the Devils. Rays because the Rays are more unlikely to win the game. In this particular case, the -170 means that a bettor who likes the Red Sox would have to bet $170 to win $100. Conversely, Tampa Bay would be +150 based on the common 20 cent line used in baseball (the difference between -170 and +150), meaning a $100 bet could yield $150.

Note that sportsbooks only generate a commission (also known as juice or vigorish) when the favorite loses. So if Boston loses, the book pays $150 to the underdogs while raising $170 from the favorites, for a profit of $20. If Boston wins as expected, the favorites get $100 while the dog bettors they lose $100, resulting in zero winnings for the bookmaker. The bigger the favorite, the less likely the underdog will win (and the less likely the book will collect its commission). To compensate for making profits less often, sportsbooks increase the spread between the favorite’s bet price and the underdog’s payout, making their commission higher when the unlikely underdog wins.

Some quality sportsbooks even offer a 10-cent line on baseball (also called a “tell me” line), which would generate a net profit of $160. The tell me line is especially attractive due to the fact that it offers half the juice of a normal football or basketball bet, so the bettor is charged half for placing a bet.

A critical factor to consider when betting on baseball is the importance of the opening pitch. With football and basketball, team vs. Team handicap is key, but with baseball you are twice as likely to find an advantage as both team and pitching matchups can offer a winning edge. Starting pitchers obviously play a big role in the outcome of the game, and bettors make the money line with them in mind.

An example would be the Red Sox showing up as a bigger favorite with ace Curt Schilling on the mound than when they send Tim Wakefield. Since Schilling is obviously the better pitcher, oddsmakers take him into account and would make him a bigger favorite than Wakefield as Schilling gives the Sox a better chance of winning.

Money Line Totals Over/Under

Total bets on baseball are based on the combined number of runs scored by both teams. For example, if the Over/Under total for a game is 9 and both teams’ combined runs add up to less than 9, the Under wins; if the combined runs total more than 9, the Over wins; if it is exactly 9, the total bet pushes.

Since there is much less scoring in baseball than football or basketball (which makes each run more significant), bookies often need to adjust the money line of the total in an effort to match the action of more subtle way. Imagine a game where the total of 9 is too high, but the total of 8.5 is too low. The standard money line on totals is -110 each way, but in this case the money line would probably be set to 9 UNDER -120, meaning you can bet under (the slightly too high number of 9), but the compensation is you. you must risk $120 to win $100; if you’re willing to bet over the top (the slightly too high number of 9), you can do so with the attractive +100 moneyline.