Baseball is one of the most popular sports in North America, and there are very few teams that are as popular as the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, after New Jersey’s Supreme Court victory in May 2018, many Americans can now legally bet on baseball. California sports betting is an estimated $2.5 billion market and will likely be legalized in the next few years, allowing locals to bet directly on the Dodgers.
Baseball presents a number of ways to bet on games. When wagering on Major League Baseball, you can bet on futures, the moneyline (winner), the run-line (point spread winner), runs-totals (combined score), or on the various player and team proposition bets that sportsbook offer for the season and individual games.
MLB Futures
One of the most lucrative and enjoyable ways to remain engaged with the action throughout the season is by placing a futures bet. Futures bets are generally placed before the season starts and can be placed on Division, League, or World Series winners. These types of bets often pay out long odds, though in the case of the Dodgers that’s not the case.
The Dodgers enter the season as defending champions and are currently the +500 favorites to repeat. The +500 means you would win $500 for every $100 you wager or 5-1. The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, are +4000 to win the World Series. That’s 40-1 odds meaning you’d win $4,000 on a $100 bet.
Understanding this particular market isn’t that difficult. You simply place your bet on the team you think will win and sit back and watch. Winners are paid out upon completion of the season.
Money Line Wagers
In baseball, the most common bet by far is the moneyline wager. The moneyline wager is a simple bet where you are picking the winner of the game. The payout is where it might get a bit complicated.
Both sides of each moneyline wager are paid on a different schedule. The favorite team on the moneyline (the team that’s favored to win) is listed with a minus (-). The underdog team (the team that’s expected to lose) is listed with a plus (+). These plus and minus signs signify how the wager will payout.
The minus side will pay less than the original wager, while the plus side will pay more. Using a $100 bet on the Atlanta Braves as an example of wagering on the Dodgers against the Braves. The moneyline on the underdog Braves is +150 and the Dodgers are -160.
A $100 wager on the Braves (+150) would pay $150 in profit if the Braves win the game. Betting on the favorite Dodgers (-160) would mean the reverse. You’d have to lay $160 to win $100.
Run Line Wagering
The run line is generally set at -1.5 runs for the favorite and +1.5 for the underdog. If you bet the favorite on the run line, they must win by at least two runs. Conversely, if we bet on the underdog at +1.5, you win the bet if your pick either wins the game outright or they lose by a single run. This is essentially a point spread for baseball.
Run line wagering is guided further by a similar payout structure as moneyline wagers, with underdogs paying out more, and favorites paying out less.
One final note. While the MLB run line is generally set at 1.5, some betting sites allow you to bet alternative lines of 2.5 or sometimes even 3.5 runs.
Runs Totals Betting (O/U)
Runs totals bets (over-under) have you predict whether the combined scores by the two teams will be “over” or “under” a fixed number. Runs totals do not predict who wins the game nor who will score, and unlike moneyline bets which have one favorite and one underdog, each side of a run total will typically have odds of -110; meaning you must bet $110 to win $100.
