Baseball is bet on an odds basis. For instance, a bet on a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox may be listed as Tigers plus 110 and White Sox minus 120. This means that the person making the wager who bets on Detroit puts up $10 and wins $11 (collects $21) if Detroit is victorious. One betting on Chicago wagers $12 for the chance to win $10 (and collect $22). This “dime” line (so called in recognition that there would be a dime difference if bets were expressed as single dollar amounts rather than in terms of 100) produces the theoretical win of $10 per $220 wagered or 4.55 percent. As the bet odds increase, more money is bet, but the house edge remains at $10, hence the percentage edge falls. If the favored team demands a $200 wager to win $100, and the underdog a $100 bet to win $190, the house theoretically wins $10 on action of $590 (both player and house money), for a win of only 1.7%. For this reason casinos will abandon the dime line and move to fifteen-cents or twenty-cents lines on longer odds games. Hence, a bet may read Detroit plus 150, Chicago minus 170.
It is rare for the game to have a run differential – that is, a point spread, – but if the casino feels such is necessary, it awards 1.5 runs or more to one side, and then keeps the odds line (dime, twenty cents, etc.) the same.
Most baseball bets are made with pitchers for both teams listed on the betting proposition. The pitchers are usually listed a few days before a game. If by circumstances, a pitcher is withdrawn, and the pitcher listed was part of the bet, there is no action and all money is returned. For the bet to be effective, the listed pitchers must each make at least one pitch in the game as a starter.
Bettors are also able to bet on total runs, usually with a plus 110 and minus 120 edge. If the total runs are expressed in whole numbers, and the number is the actual game result, the bets are returned. Extra innings do not affect bet results.
Parlay bets are figured on the basis of the lines offered, with payoffs of each game multiplied.
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