MLB Betting Odds, Spreads & Lines

Baseball is the quintessential American sport. It’s also the oldest; Major League Baseball has roots dating way back to 1876, and the first professional baseball game was played well before that.

Baseball bettors have been around just as long. Sports betting as we know it started with people making baseball picks with other fans at the stadium; thanks to the internet, we can now bet from anywhere we want, with up-to-the-minute odds at our fingertips. This quick guide will show you how to read the MLB odds and place your bets.

Making MLB picks is simple when you know how. It only takes a few seconds to look up the baseball odds for your favorite team, then choose the baseball picks you want to make. Of course, the more time and effort you put into studying the game, the better your results will be, but the mechanics of baseball betting are actually very easy to grasp.

There’s more than one way to bet on America’s national pastime. Here are the main types of baseball action you’ll find when you visit a sportsbook and browse the range of betting markets:

The moneyline bet is the traditional way to bet on baseball. Moneyline odds simply ask you to pick the winner of a game, straight-up. There will be a favorite (shown with a negative sign next to their odds, using the American Odds format) and an underdog (shown with a positive sign); winning baseball teams will pay out according to their odds at the time you place your bet.

Even if you aren’t an experienced sports bettor, you probably know what the point spread is in football. Run lines offer the same betting action in baseball; the favorite team will usually have to win by more than 1.5 runs to cover and get the payout. Betting volume on these baseball lines has definitely increased in recent years, thanks to the mainstreaming of online sports betting in general.

Baseball totals are another way to bet on individual games; these wagers ask to you bet on whether the two teams in question will combine to score over or under the posted number of runs – which is why the total is also called the over/under.

Short for "proposition" bets, prop bets are quickly becoming the most popular MLB picks of them all. Unlike moneyline betting, these wagers have nothing to do with the outcome of the game; instead, players bet on things like whether someone will hit a home run or the number of runs per game that individual players will score. There are game props and player props, offering a range of betting markets to help you boost your potential earnings.

MLB futures bets deal with events that won’t be resolved until a later date, like who will win the next World Series. You’ll find baseball futures at the sportsbook by visiting their dedicated MLB futures odds page; odds for winning the two pennants and the six division titles can also be found on the futures market.

All the bets mentioned above have to be made before the first pitch but live betting lets you continue to wager on games in progress, with the game odds updated in real-time. You can also bet on things like whether the next pitch will be a ball or strike. Consult your sportsbook’s online betting guide to see which live wagers they have on their menu.

As we mentioned above, making sharp baseball picks does take a bit more time and effort. You can learn everything you need for betting success by following our expert picks here at Bookmakers Review; we’ve also got you covered if you’re looking for a useful odds tool to help you formulate your betting strategy.

Regular season games usually start in early April, although Opening Day sometimes happens in late March.

Betting sites typically post their first game odds the day before the contest in question. If there is any uncertainty over whom the starting pitchers will be, the odds might be delayed until game day.

The underdog team often has the higher potential payout, but sometimes a favorite is underappreciated in the betting market, and therefore worth supporting.

World Series games bring in the most action, followed by earlier postseason rounds, then marquee regular-season games like the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox.

As long as you do business with trustworthy sportsbooks – specifically the ones recommended the most here at Bookmakers Review – your money should be safe. Do your part by using the same security practices you would when dealing with any other financial institution.