MLB Betting: Baseball Betting Rules
By Loot, MLB Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
When betting on Major League Baseball, it won’t take long before something comes up that might make you wonder what happens to the status of your wager. When playing a game outside that requires the weather to cooperate--things happen. And when they do, you might have a wager that falls into a gray area. Knowing the rules of baseball betting will spare you from the sense of mystery some bettors feel when a weird situation such as pitching changes, rainouts, electrical failures, earthquates, lightning, early stoppage, etc. arises.
Starting Pitchers: It is a key consideration when betting baseball. The identity of the starting pitcher on your team or the opponent can be the reason you’re making the bet in the first place. You have one of two choices.
Listed Pitchers: When you make a bet, you can specify that the wager will only count if both of the scheduled starters in fact start the game. After specifying that you want your bet only to count if the listed pitchers start, any change in that will result in "no action" and a refunded bet.
Action: When you indicate “action” on a straight baseball wager, the bet goes on regardless of any changes in the starting pitchers. However, you will now be betting with the new odds given the game in light of the pitching change.
Official Game: This is one that can really get your goat. When betting on a side (who will win the game), a game is considered official after 5 full innings of play, or 4.5 innings if the home team is leading. In the event of a tie, the game will be suspended and bets will be refunded. This can be a real letdown, in the event that you have a bet on a team that is losing and didn’t get a full chance to come back.
Totals: In the event of an abbreviated game, all bets on totals will be refunded. That means 9 full innings or 8.5 innings with a home team that is leading. This can go one of two ways. If you have the under in an 8-7 game, you can get bailed out by a weather stoppage. Then again if you have the under in a 1-0 game that gets stopped in the 7th inning, you might feel a bit cheated. Also keep in mind that unless you list the bet as “action,” any change in starting pitchers will result in the bet being deemed “no-action.”
Run-Lines: When making this bet, you might think it works the same way as sides. So if you have a team -1.5 runs and they’re winning 8-0 before rain stops a game late, you might think you notched a winner. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on which side of the fence you’re on, run line wagers are considered no-action in the event of an uncompleted game. These wagers can also be ruled no-action in the event of a change in the starting pitchers.
Series Betting: This is when you bet on who will win a 3-game series between teams. If one of the games gets cancelled, the bet is ruled no-action. However, unlike other bets, all series wagers are “action” bets, meaning any change in the starting pitching during the series will not affect your wager, which will continue on as normal.
Prop Bets: These wagers will also not count in the event of an abbreviated game or a change in the starting pitchers.
Grand Salami: This is an over-under wager on how many runs will be scored in all games on the schedule. A cancelled game results in all wagers being refunded.
Extra Innings: Nothing changes in the event of a game going to extra innings. All wagers on sides and totals go on as normal, with the action in the extra innings counting toward the bet. That also applies to any wagers on the grand salami, or any prop or run-line wagers.
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