Online Baseball Betting Tips

Look for the dime line

The dime line gives you the best value for your betting money. A dime line is the difference in lines between the underdog and the favorite. A dime line bet looks like this:

Royals: +130

White Sox: -120

Notice that the difference between the teams is not even. That difference is the juice the sports book takes home as profit. Some sports books offer 20 cent lines that look like this:

Royals: +130

White Sox: -110

The house makes more money off the 20 cent lines which means you make less money per bet. It might not seem like much money at the time, but if you consistently take 20 cent lines instead of dime lines, it will quickly add up.

Look at the pitchers

Since pitchers play such a big role in every baseball game, it only makes sense that you take the pitchers into consideration. Find out who the opening pitcher is, do your research and determine which team is going in with the best pitcher. Also look at how the pitcher performed in his last game. Pitching is a mental job. If he took a rough loss, he might not perform as well as if he was coming off of a big win.

Do your homework

You're not going to do well in baseball betting if you don't do your homework. You should be constantly reading sports news, researching statistics and reading everything you can about baseball handicapping. Remember the quote "the harder I work, the luckier I am."

Watch during the early season, bet during the rest of the season

It's harder to find an edge in the early season than it is after everyone has played a few games. In the early season the pitchers and hitters are still getting warmed up, managers are still tweaking the lineup and the weather is still a little wild. Use the early season to study the teams and then place your bets. Don't worry; you'll have plenty of games to bet on.

Consider the team mentality

Teams will be in different mindsets based on their last few games. If you have a team that just got done playing a big rival, there's a chance they will be taking a mental day off on the next game. After all the stress and excitement of playing a rival, the next game won't feel like as big a deal.

Look out for teams that won or lost by just a single run in their last game. Those close games remind the teams of how important the small things are. These teams will be pounding the fundamentals and looking for every opportunity, no matter how small, to gain an advantage in the game.

Don't bet against streaks

Baseball teams are about as streaky as they come in professional sports. Don't bet against a team that's on a winning streak and don't bet for a team that's on a losing streak. Winning teams have momentum and losing teams have a tough time getting out of the rut. Only bet on a team that won its last game.

Find the best odds

Different sports books have different outlooks on the same games so search around for those offering the most favorable odds. Every time you want to place a bet, do a little shopping around. It pays to find the best odds for your money every time.

Look for quality closers

Strong closers bring consistency to good teams. Even though you don't want to bet games based on the closers, it's smart to look at as many factors as possible. Check closers' save statistics to get an idea of their skill. But at the same time remember the save statistic doesn't always tell the whole story. Team managers choose when the closers are called in. Certain managers have been known to pad closers' stats by keeping them out of difficult save situations. This is where a little research goes a long ways.

Additional Sports Betting Tips

Looking for more general information about baseball betting? Find information about specific bets on our online baseball gambling page.