One of the easiest ways to become a better sports bettor is to ensure that you’re always getting the best line. Various sportsbooks will sometimes price the same markets differently. These differences are typically small – five to 10 cents of juice or half a point on a spread – but they can make a tremendous impact on your bottom line. Even if you’re saving just five cents on 100 bets each year, that’s still a lot of additional money for your bankroll.
That’s where Fantasy Life’s MLB Odds Grid comes into play. The Odds Grid allows you to easily compare betting lines across four of the biggest online sportsbooks – DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars. By comparing odds across the industry, you can ensure that you’re getting the best price on each wager that you make.
The MLB Odds Grid features three separate types of wagers: spreads, moneylines, and totals. Each wager will be priced separately by each sportsbook, so just because a particular location is offering the best price on one bet doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll also have the best odds on the other bets.
Moneyline Bets
Since spread betting isn’t particularly prevalent in MLB wagering, the sportsbooks will instead balance the scale with moneyline bets. Essentially, both teams will be priced differently to win a given contest. If you want to pick the favorite on the moneyline, they might be priced at -200. That means you would need to risk $200 in order to try to win just $100. If you were to bet on the underdog instead, you might then get plus odds such as +150. That means that a $100 wager would win $150 if the underdog were to successfully pull off an upset win.
Total Bets
Total bets have nothing to do with which team is going to win, but rather how many total runs will be scored. You can select whether you think the two teams will combine to go “over” or “under” a listed total. Most MLB totals are set between 7.5 and 8.5, but games that are expected to be especially high-scoring can reach double-digit runs.
Spread Bets
Spread betting isn’t nearly as popular in baseball as it is in other sports, but it is an available option in our MLB Odds Grid. You will still have to pay juice on certain teams in the spread market, though, unlike in the NFL, where both teams are typically priced at -110.
Reading MLB odds can be a bit confusing at first. However, we have a complete guide available to help you with the process.
Essentially, whenever you see a “minus sign” in MLB betting, that team can be considered the favorite. That applies to both point spread and moneyline bets. If a team is -3.5 on the spread – or 3.5-point favorites – they would need to win the game by at least four points to cover. If they’re -150 on the moneyline, they’re also favored to win the game outright.
A “plus sign” works as the opposite. Those teams are considered underdogs on the spread and on the moneyline. Underdogs have the potential to lose the game outright while still covering the spread, and they would net plus-money on the moneyline if they were to secure a victory.
Odds are preliminary set by the oddsmakers for each sportsbook based on a number of factors, including who will be on the mound and how each team performs offensively.
However, that’s just a starting point. A number of different factors then go into the equation. Injuries, home-field advantage, travel, bullpen rest advantages, the weather, and public perception are all factors in setting the lines.
One of the most interesting parts about sports betting is that the market is dynamic. It’s constantly evolving with lines sometimes changing right up until first pitch.
A number of different factors can move lines, but money is the biggest. The “sharps” – aka professional bettors – can use their money to tell the sportsbooks which lines they think are incorrect. If a team is getting tons of professional action as +120 underdogs, the sportsbooks will usually respond by dropping that team to +115 or +110 and continue adjusting as needed.
Injuries are another factor that plays a role, albeit less than in other sports. The lone exception would be at pitcher. If an ace pitcher is scratched with the team needing to call up a Triple-A pitcher to take his spot, that would unsurprisingly result in a huge change in the betting lines.
Weather can also have an impact. If winds are blowing in hard from centerfield – making it tougher to hit home runs – don’t be surprised if the total for that game then drops by a full run or more.
Occasionally, the sportsbooks won’t list a game if they feel that they don’t have enough information. This happens primarily when a team hasn’t announced a starting pitcher. If the sportsbooks don’t know who is going to be on the mound, it’s impossible to set an accurate line.
As more information becomes available closer to the game, oddsmakers will eventually put that game back on the board. Once that happens, it will be available in our Odds Grid.