Major League Baseball is almost at its midway point, so pay per head sportsbook agents must assess what has gone on during MLB season and what hasn’t. Check out a refresher on offering Major League Baseball options without losing money.
The Major League Baseball season has yet to grab the public’s imagination. Ratings are down.
So is action on baseball teams. Most pay per head agents are used to seeing action dive during baseball season.
If we don’t count prop betting, options you can offer through Premium Props, the sport is limited. But limitations, like your online racebook as an example, can produce the smartest, cagiest sports bettors on the planet.
Baseball handicapping experts win more than they lose, so if you do decide to offer MLB betting lines, and nothing says you must, it’s essential to pay attention to the following rules.
Check out the right way to run a baseball betting sportsbook. Doing so will ensure your PPH sports company remains in the black.
MLB Sportsbook Betting Lines: A Refresher
Every Major League Baseball team plays 162 games. With so many games on the line, future handicappers have plenty of stats and information to win future prop bets.
Bookie websites must spend most of the season managing future wagers. Check out the top future bets that require your attention.
MLB Vegas Odds Future Bets
All future bets follow Vegas odds. MLB odds set in Las Vegas flow to bookie websites. So if an oddsmaking shop at a sportsbook in Las Vegas sets odds on the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series at +325, all bookmakers set the odds at +325 to +350.
MLB Betting Lines: Win the World Series
Backing teams to win the World Series is one of the most popular bets baseball handicappers make. A sports betting agent can make big money on World Series future action.
But PPH sportsbook agents must be intelligent. The bet can also lead to massive losses.
The key is to set max limits on every available pay per head bookie option. Even if a player bets on the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the worst teams in MLB this season, you should set a ceiling.
MLB Sportsbook Odds: Win the AL MVP & NL MPV
The American League Most Valuable Player and NL Most Valuable Player are two other popular wagers. Winning the MVP is a huge deal.
Yankees star Aaron Judge is close to a lock to win the AL MVP. From 242 at-bats, Aaron Judge is hitting .306 with 25 home runs and 49 runs batted in.
Baseball Betting: Future AL Cy Young & NL Cy Young
The third most played future bet is on which players win the two end-of-season pitching awards, the American League Cy Young and the National League Cy Young.
Bookmaker software agents must watch for action on Houston Astros star Justin Verlander. Players have and will continue to call bookie agents looking to put money behind Verlander.
The Astros ace has 8-3 with a 2.30 ERA, 81 strikeouts, and a .89 WHIP. Verlander looks to be on his way to another Cy Young victory.
Set max limits on all Cy Young options in both leagues. Verlander should win, but pitchers can get hurt, and there’s an entire half left in the current MLB season.
MLB Sportsbook Odds – Classic Bets
MLB Betting Sites – Moneyline Betting
Placing ML wagers is, by far, the baseball odds bet to make. Every baseball handicapper starts the season thinking about what team to back during the 162-game season.
As a reminder, the moneyline is a simple bet. Which team wins is all the player cares about. Right now, the following five teams are dominating on the ML.
We’ve added their current win percentage, as of June 18 this year, so you get an idea of how your win-loss profit chances for every team these teams play.
- New York Yankees – 75.0%
- New York Mets – 65.2%
- Houston Astros – 62.5%
- San Diego Padres – 62.1%
- Los Angeles Dodgers 61.9%
Every time your players bet on the Yankees’ moneyline this season, you stand to lose 75% of the time. How can you prevent losing a lot of money on NYY?
Set max limits. It’s tough to change the odds. Players have choices. So a player could decide to ditch you and play somewhere else.
But you can set betting limits. So if the Yankees are at -230, set a limit of $200 to $500 on every bet.
-230 odds means for every $100 in profit, the player must lay $230. Setting bet limits ensures your payout on Yankee bets doesn’t destroy your book.
MLB Sportsbook Action – Run line
Think of the run line as a goal line in soccer or a puck line in hockey. A run line is a handicap line.
But unlike soccer, which has adopted the Asian handicap, the run line in baseball almost always sets at 1 ½ runs. Betting the run line is easy. If the favorite covers the 1 ½, wins by at least 2, players that bet on the favorite win.
But if the dog loses by a single run, players that bet on the dog win. Check out the top five teams so far for scoring money on the run line.
We’ve added run line money based on a $100 RL unit.
- New York Mets – $1,670
- Baltimore Orioles – $1,098
- Texas Rangers – $831
- Cleveland Guardians – $733
- St. Louis Cardinals – $643
The RL means that if your player had bet $100 every time on the New York Mets, they would have made a $1,670 profit so far this season.
So like ML bets, also set max limits on RL bets.
MLB Sportsbook Action – Total Runs
Total runs in Major League Baseball count all runs at the end of the game. Over bettors win if the total is over the MLB odds.
Under bettors win if it’s under the MLB odds. See current top five total runs records. The first number is over. The second number is under.
- Philadelphia Phillies – 37-26
- Washington Nationals – 36-29
- New York Mets – 35-27
- Atlanta Braves – 35-27
- St. Louis Cardinals – 34-29
Your betting program software doesn’t risk as much exposure on MLB total runs action as on ML or RL options.
Use your sports betting software and set max limits. But don’t worry so much about total runs. The action is never as much as on the ML. Nor will it cripple your book.
2022 Major League Baseball Season So Far
The New York Yankees are dominating
As of June 18, the Yankees have a 49-16 record. We already went over Aaron Judge’s stats, which is one reason the Yankees dominate.
The other reason is that NYY ranks first in Team ERA. When you rank first in Team ERA and first in runs scored per, it’s tough for any opponent to beat you.
The Houston Astros versus Yankees is shaping up as this year’s ALC
While New York is tops in the AL East, the Houston Astros are tops in the AL West.
The Astros’ record isn’t as excellent as the Yankees’. But this is the regular season. Once the MLB Playoffs start, things could be different.
Houston may have a better overall rotation than the Yankees even though their Team ERA is 3.03. It’s all about the top two starters.
So if it does come down to Yankees versus Astros, players will look to see whether Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes for NYY can outduel Verlander and Framber Valdez for Houston.
The Dodgers aren’t a lock to win the NL West
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season as the team to beat to win the World Series. They were at +325 to +375 to win the Fall Classic.
The Dodgers were at +110 to +175 to win the National League Pennants. LAD was less than even money to win their division, the National League West.
But heading into the second half of the season, the Dodgers are in a dogfight to beat the San Diego Padres. As of June 19, the Dodgers have a 40-24 record.
The Padres have a 41-26 record. LAD may not even win their division.
Four to Six teams can win the National League
The Yankees and the Astros look best to win this year’s American League pennant. In the National League, up to six teams can win the pennant.
Check out the five squads that can lock down the NL this season.
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Diego Padres
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Milwaukee Brewers
- New York Mets
- Atlanta Braves
Free bookie website consultation and more if you’re a new agent
Set max limits on all MLB sportsbook options, moneyline, run line, total runs, and all future bets, and you will ensure you profit from the 2022 MLB season. Then, you can turn your attention to readying your sportsbook for the NFL and NCAAF seasons.
If you’re a new agent, you can use our proprietary sportsbook software free for two weeks. We’re one of the PPH bookie software organizations that provides a way for you to make agent payments and collect online.
Call us even if you don’t intend on signing up. We’re offering no-obligation free bookie site consultations. Give us a ring at 1-800-605-4767 even if you don’t plan on switching pay per head service providers, and we’ll let you know what you can do to make more money.
