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Everyone talks about controlling your destiny to ensure a profit from sports betting, but few take the time to understand it and have it be a part of their everyday routine.
If you are truly interested in making money when sports betting, there are safeguards you can create that help you hang on to your cash when losing and making money when hitting a hot streak when wagering on a sport like baseball, which is mostly money line wagering and totals with higher juice.
Let’s delve into various methods that can be bankroll builders or limit losses when playing at top-rated sportsbooks.
Flat Betting Can Save Money if Used Prudently
For those unfamiliar with the term Flat Betting, in baseball, it means every wager is one unit.
- Betting $100 on an underdog would mean losing $100 if your wager did not win.
- Betting $120 on a favorite to win $100 would mean you lose $120 in the pursuit of profiting $100.
This does not suggest you would view taking a -200 favorite ( as one unit) to collect a $100. That would force the bettor to win three separate wagers on favorites to show a profit.
When betting baseball favorites, staying below -150 money line odds is best since you can cover a setback and have a favorable profit with two straight winners on your following wagers. The idea is to reduce risk, and essentially, betting a similar amount on each game will help build a bankroll.
Using Sportsbook Options to Contain Risks
Over the last several years in baseball, sharp sportsbooks have gotten more aggressive in pricing favorites. Lines that used to be -125 on favorites have seemingly risen to -135. These can be argued in many ways, however, probably, the best way to look at this is oddsmakers have more tools and they can make a truer line today because of more data.
Other than money lines, run lines are being used more than ever because any ML favorite of -175 or higher gets pricy, so you add the point spread into the mix of -1.5 to reduce the odds to close to even (+100) or even plus odds, depending on the number.
The downside is having to win by two runs to generate a profit, and with the way bullpens are used in the modern game, those two or three-run leads can be sliced to a single-run outcome, leaving you on the losing end.
New Strategies
One new addition from the sportsbooks is alternate run lines. Here is how this would look:
- Yankees ML -200 over Red Sox
- Yankees -1.5 RL +100 over Red Sox
If your handicapping shows Boston would have the ability to keep this matchup to a one-run outcome because of their pitching, yet, you still believe New York will win, you could choose the alternate run on the Yankees.
- Yankees -1 RL -130 over Red Sox
You would still have to win by two runs if you bet New York, however, you have bought a safeguard for a one-run final decision, which makes your play a Push instead of a loss. Granted, you would lose more with the juice if New York lost outright, nonetheless, a Push is better than a loss.
Having Multiple Sportsbooks Is Like Shopping Online
You are an online shopper and let’s say you need a new refrigerator or a big-screen television. You price check those for the best quality and deals you can find. Those are big decisions on costly products you only purchase so often.
However, the same should be true in trying to find the best odds for betting baseball. The baseball season is roughly six months for the regular season or about 180+ days. If you make three bets a day, that is 540 wagers. Having multiple sportsbooks enables you to shop for the best lines, which can enhance an underdog pick or generate a saving on a tough-luck loss with a favorite.
For those that say what’s a few bucks here and there, why do you drive out of your way to save 10 to 15 cents a gallon for gas at Costco, Sam’s Club or other similar places that have the same premise?
Smartly building bankrolls doesn’t happen by accident.
