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Betting on Baseball

The American summer game, baseball, is still the favorite with the betting public, even if more people turn out for football games, or watch football on television.

The season is still the longest in sports, and the number of teams is large, so baseball provides more action for gamblers than other sports.

Also, there's no point spread here. You bet the odds in baseball, just as in horseracing. You put your money on the team you think will win at the best odds you can get.

How do you determine which is the better team?

Basically, the strategy is the same as in any other sport - know the game, and know the records and conditions of all the players. Here, as in football, one player is more important than all the others, and that one is the pitcher.

If you really study the pitchers and know their habits and peculiarities, you may find yourself winning interesting side bets such as "So-and-So won't pitch any strikes in the first inning".

You'll know who can be counted on to pitch well even if something unusual happens - like he doesn't get enough rest - and who will go to pieces under what conditions. In football, for reasons unknown, quarterbacks who are traded often have very hot seasons the first year out with the new team, while with pitchers it's just the reverse.

All these things go into determining the winning team in any one match.

A few tips: If you're a beginning bettor, keep a record of your bets, without venturing any money, long enough to see if you really have a good line on things, or not. If your private record is good, then you're ready to try a small bet with money.

Bet only teams you really know well. Since you aren't a bookmaker, with a staff of eavesdroppers in every training camp, don't try to handicap more than two or three teams. Bet on the winner. The odds are worse than on bets favoring underdogs, but unless you have inside information, the odds are probably right.

In baseball, try to make your odds later, closer to the game. There's a risk here, too, if one player gets injured, a wife or mother dies, or a feud breaks out. It isn't necessary to actually attend baseball games to bet well.

Watching on television may actually be better, since you might pick up some clues from the sports commentators, who are often ex-players themselves.

The bettor, if they're not in the business themselves, have access to no such information. If you are going to bet, you should know as much as you can. Nobody but the most avid fan of a particular sport should consider making any substantial bets.

Fortunately, however, if you are willing to put a lot of thinking into it, a great deal of what the bookie knows is also available to you.