Handicap Baseball Betting Explained

Baseball is one of the sports to become profitable at, especially if you want to earn a significant amount of money. One of the most significant mistakes that new sports punters make is betting on baseball end result of the game. There’re numerous other markets to pick from, including the likes of handicap baseball betting.

If you can research and learn to handicap in baseball accurately, you will have a few months of further wagering action and potential profits. Punters that do not place baseball bets are currently sitting on the sidelines when there’s extra dough to be made.

FAQ

⚾ What is a handicap in sports?

A handicap is a system used to level the playing field in sporting contests. It is designed to give all competitors an equal chance of winning, regardless of their individual abilities. The most common type of handicap is the points handicap, which assigns a certain number of points to each competitor based on their estimated level of ability.

⚾ How to handicap baseball games?

The key to handicapping baseball games is to look at the pitching matchup and the teams’ recent performances. You also want to consider any injuries or lineup changes that may impact the game. By doing your homework, you can give yourself a better chance of picking winners.

⚾ What does +2.5 mean in baseball betting?

The plus sign in front of the number indicates that the team is the underdog. The number itself is the amount of runs that they are expected to lose by. In this case, a bet on the +2.5 line would mean that you are betting on the team to lose by less than 2.5 runs.

⚾ What are the best baseball handicappers?

There are a lot of baseball handicappers out there, but not all of them are created equal. Some handicappers may have a better understanding of the game than others, and some may be more accurate in their predictions.

⚾ How is a baseball handicap different from handicaps in other sports?

A baseball handicap is different from handicaps in other sports because it is a lot more difficult to predict. In other sports, such as football or basketball, there are a lot more variables that can be taken into account when predicting the outcome of a game. With baseball, however, there are so many things that can happen during the course of a game that it is very difficult to predict who will win.

Below you will find handicap baseball betting explained, including the common handicapping mistakes. If you want to bet on baseball using cryptocurrency, check out the list of the best crypto betting sites.

Table of content

What is Handicap Baseball Betting?

Handicapping in baseball betting involves assigning an advantage between unequal participants or teams in a game. In other sports like soccer, this is, in most cases, done through point spread.

But when it comes to handicap baseball betting, there’s no point spread. MLB Handicapping in baseball is done via MLB run lines and moneyline odds.

There are various factors to keep in mind when handicapping. The starting pitcher isn’t the only factor when it comes to handicapping two baseball teams. But it’s the main factor in terms of deciding an advantage between competing teams.

baseball handicap mlb

The defensive and offensive prowess of a team, as well as the bullpen, are also important, but not as much as the opening pitcher.

Additional other factors to consider are ballpark, rest days, injuries, travel/fatigue, weather, and recent performances. Under recent performances, the things you need to note are hitting – last five games and pitching – last two or three starts.

Handicap Baseball Betting Examples

Let’s assume that teams A and B are playing. Sportsbooks offer to wager on team A to win with a -1 handicap or team B to win with a +1 handicap. If you wager on team B, your bet will lose if team A (-1 handicap) wins by a minimum of two runs.

baseball handicapping player running

If team B loses the game by a one run difference, your sportsbook will return your initial stake. And your bet will only win if team B wins, loses by one run difference or with a difference of a minimum of two runs.

Now let’s look at the second example that includes the 1.5 handicap. If we take the example of the match above, team A to win with a -1.5 handicap and team B to win with a +1.5 handicap.

The possible outcomes wagering on the defeat of team A (-1.5 handicap) include team B win – your bet wins, team B loses by one run difference – your wager wins, team B loses by a minimum of two runs – your wager loses.

Handicapping Baseball Games Guide

Understanding the baseball game will help you significantly when betting on baseball markets. As already mentioned earlier, handicap MLB games is a lot more than just looking at two teams or pitchers and concluding that team A will beat team B. That is the main reason why many punters lose at betting on baseball.

To be on the safe side, your primary focus needs to be on the numbers. Your primary aim when handicapping baseball should be to analyse and place bets on them rather than focusing on team A or B to win.

Baseball has a long season, and one team or side does not have a massive edge over another in terms of a single match. Your goal should be to win often and increase your bankroll betting on baseball games.

handicap baseball betting explained

How Baseball Games are won

You need to understand how to win a game of baseball in order to increase your chances of winning baseball handicap bets. Each baseball team is made up of 9 players and takes a turn to field and bat.

The home team always bat second and individual players take their turns to bat until three of them are struck out. When this happens, the two competing teams switch respective roles.

However, this varies depending on the playing rules and regulations. In some baseball leagues, the pitcher or bowler is allowed to choose an individual instead of doing it.

This batting period is known as an inning, of which every team has 9 to score an unlimited number of runs. If a draw occurs, the teams take part in extra innings to find the victor.

handicapping baseball gameplay

A batter is struck out anytime they fail a minimum of three legal consecutive pitches. Also, it is called out if they hit the ball and one of the fielders catches it. A legal pitch involves a ball that is thrown in the selected hitting area above the plate.

The ball needs to pitch between the shoulders and knee of the batter. If the delivery is outside the designated hitting area and the batter doesn’t swing at it, it is a non-legal delivery, popularly known as the ball.

A pitcher is only allowed to pitch a minimum of three non-legal balls. If the pitcher pitches a fourth, the batter walks to the first base. If the batter becomes a runner and manages to cross home plate just after touching each base in the recommended order, a run is scored. In total, there are four plates, which include the home plate, 3rd base, 2nd base, and 1st base. 

The team with many runs at the end of the tournament or competition is the winner. If a game is a tie at the end of the innings, extra innings are played until one team wins. And that means a draw isn’t available in baseball.

how to handicap baseball games

Baseball Handicapping Mistakes

There’re various mistakes that punters need to avoid when handicapping baseball. The mistakes can doom punters right from the start. Some of these mistakes revolve around sports betting basics since they do not change in terms of handicapping baseball. These mistakes include the following:

Not Using Dime Lines

A dime line is a price difference between the underdog and the baseball favourite. You need to use dime lines if you are betting on baseball games. Using dime lines in handicap baseball betting allows you to save a significant amount of cash on bookmaker fees.

Not Line Shopping

One of the biggest mistakes that baseball bettors make is not to shop odds. Most of them sign up with a single bookmaker and use the odds from that particular betting site for betting.

This’s a poor decision since it does not allow you to compare different sports betting companies in terms of odds and only bet on a platform that offers the best lines. If you decide not to line shop, you will not get competitive odds on your bets, reducing your potential profits.

mlb handicapping batting a baseball

Forgetting about the Totals

Many sports punters, in most cases, forget about wagering totals. What a lot of punters do not realise is that it is easier to guess how a baseball match might play out from a scoring point of view than the team that will win or lose.

Another thing to note is that betting limits on totals are usually lower compared to sides for all baseball games as well as events in all other sports.

Conclusion

Baseball handicapping involves collecting and analysing information related to the result of a match. While it seems that baseball is just a competition between the batters and pitchers, many contributing factors determine the result.

In baseball, the environment plays an important role, as does the stylistic matchups, umpire crew and the recent travel arrangements of each team.

best baseball handicappers

To find success through handicap baseball betting, you need to identify different variables and try to figure out how they’ll all blend to create an outcome. This can be as straightforward as comparing the strengths of a team with the anticipated strike area, opponent’s tendencies, and the ballpark.

The more time and research you put in, the more chances to increase your bankroll via handicap baseball betting.

Finally, always consider a reputable baseball sportsbook with dime lines. Also, you should maximise your bonus, learn baseball betting basics, avoid heavy favourites, know the umpires and don’t forget about bullpens.

If you follow these tips, you can be sure to enjoy a successful handicap baseball betting journey.

Dalius Mikalauskas

Sports Betting Expert

Dalius became interested in sports betting at the age of 16, although he could not place bets at that time (bets accepted from the age of 18). However, it was not forbidden to sell betting picks, which is what the author did actively on sports betting forums. Today, he has more than 18 years of experience in sports betting. In school, the auth ..
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