MLB Totals Betting
MLB totals are the total number of runs scored by both teams in a Major League Baseball game. Bettors have the opportunity to wager over or under the total number of runs in a game, with the goal of wagering on the correct side.
MLB totals are sometimes an afterthought to MLB moneylines and runlines, but they can be a highly profitable market for baseball bettors.
Learning how to handicap MLB totals is a skill that is a must if you want to become a winning MLB gambler.
More About Betting MLB Totals
Top Online Sportsbooks For MLB Totals 2024
How To Bet MLB Totals
If you’re familiar with totals betting or placing sports bets at online sportsbooks, then wagering MLB totals is simple and straightforward.
However, we’ve outlined the steps below from signing up to a sportsbook to exactly how to place a wager on an MLB total.
- Sign Up At An Online Sportsbook – This is the easy part, but one that is still important. Firstly, you must sign up at any of the reliable MLB sportsbooks we reviewed for you. Second, be sure they have a lot of options for betting baseball if that is one of your favorite markets. Any betting sites with dime lines (or nickel lines) are ideal for baseball.
- Make A Deposit – If you’re depositing in the US, the best options are credit card deposits and cryptocurrencies. Credit cards are more convenient and familiar to players, but come with fees and can’t be used as a deposit method. Cryptos, such as Bitcoin and others, have a 100% success rate when making a deposit and have no fees on deposits or withdrawals.
- Find MLB Totals Markets – These will be simple to find. MLB totals are right with the other major MLB markets, like moneylines and runlines. They will be in plain view if you go to ‘MLB’ or ‘baseball’ on a sportsbook’s betting menu.
- Place MLB Totals On Your Bet Slip – The next part of placing a wager is choosing your selections and adding them to your bet slip. This can be done by clicking on the selection or market. You will then see the MLB total(s) you clicked on add to your bet slip.
- Place Your Bet – Before you choose the amount to bet, make sure your selections are correct. Then pick the amount you want to bet and hit the ‘confirm’ or ‘bet now’ button. Be sure to double-check your bet size and selection before confirming your bet.
To show you exactly how to bet MLB Totals, we will provide an example and break down the betting market to its bare bones.
As mentioned above, if you’re familiar with betting over/unders, then MLB sports betting totals will be easy to grasp.
Here is an example:
| New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox Total Runs: 7.5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Over 7.5 (-110) |  | |
| Under 7.5 (-110) | ||
Above is an MLB betting market between the New York Yankees and the Red Sox. We’ve left out the moneyline and runline markets, but those would normally appear here, along with the total.
Our objective here is to wager on the correct side of 7.5 runs. We can take ‘Over 7.5 runs (-110)’ or ‘Under 7.5 runs (-110).
If we take the over, then we need 8 runs or more to be scored in the game for our wager to be graded as a winner. If 7 runs or less are scored in the game, then the bet is graded as a loss.
If we are placing a bet on the under, then we need the game to end with 7 runs or less. If 8 runs or more are scored in the game, then our bet will be graded as a loss.
Important To Remember
MLB totals are the combined number of runs in the game by both teams. If you want to wager the number of runs scored by each team, then there are MLB team totals.
It’s also important to remember that MLB totals count all the runs in the game, regardless of whether the game goes to extra innings. Any runs scored past the 9th inning will still count towards the total runs in the game, and that is the number the oddsmakers will use to grade MLB totals.
Best Online sportsbooks To Bet On MLB Baseball Totals 2024
Picking a trusted sports betting site is essential before you place your MLB totals wagers! MyBookie is a great option for your baseball totals wagers.
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Looking for more top sportsbooks? Check out our list of the Best MLB Betting Sites review page
Tips For Betting MLB Totals
Even if you’re a regular bettor of totals, wagering on MLB totals takes some practice and insight. The best MLB totals strategies take into account the vital aspects of how to bet MLB baseball totals.
Below are top tips for betting MLB totals and the best ways to become a profitable bettor in this market.
Key Numbers In MLB Totals
For baseball, totals of 7 and 9 runs will be your major focus. Totals of 11 runs are also relevant but to a lesser degree. These totals have the highest “push rate,” meaning if you get on the right side of these numbers, you’re setting yourself as best as possible.
This means, trying to get under 7.5 runs and over 6.5 runs and over 8.5 runs and under 9.5 runs. For 11 runs, you would look to bet over 10.5 runs and under 11.5 runs.
Being on the right side of key numbers when handicapping MLB totals is the most important factor when you’re trying to increase your profits or gain an edge.
Don’t Forget About Bullpens
Not factoring in bullpens is a mistake that many bettors make when it comes to general MLB handicapping, but the same principle applies for totals. In fact, it might even be more relevant when learning how to handicap MLB totals.
It’s quite rare for a starting pitcher to complete a full game of baseball. Almost all of them are out of the game by the 7th inning and sometimes a lot sooner. In today’s game, bullpen health and the quality of arms coming out of the pen is a significant factor.
Keeping an eye bullpen usage and any injuries to closers or key members of a team’s bullpen are vital to success at wagering on MLB totals. The quality and health of a bullpen is a massive factor in how many runs will be scored in the game.
Lean Towards Unders
This isn’t a hard and fast rule. As you will likely be betting the over on many games throughout a baseball season, but generally, gravitating towards unders rather than overs is a profitable strategy.
Public betting patterns favor wagering on overs rather than unders, by default. We know the vast majority of people lose at sports betting, so following their lead isn’t going to be a winning strategy.
This is the least important of the three tips but still bears mentioning. As you become more experienced betting MLB totals and learn to handicap the sport, it is likely that you find yourself betting more unders, simply because that is where the value lies.
MLB Implied Totals
We can calculate our own MLB implied totals from the sportsbook’s odds. These numbers can be used to project how many runs each team will score in the game. Let’s look at an example below:
| Yankees vs. Red Sox Total Runs: 9 | ||
|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees -140 | | |
| Boston Red Sox +130 | ||
We can quickly get implied run totals from games using this formula:
If the moneyline is a negative number (-) or the favorite in the game, we can take it and divide it by itself, minus 100.
For example, we would have a formula of (-140/(-140-100)) for the Yankees at -140. After that, we take that number and multiply it by the game total of 9 runs.
The Yankees Calculation
(-140/(-140 – 100)) = 0.583 * 9 runs = 5.25 implied run total for New York.
The Red Sox Calculation
Okay, let’s look at calculating the MLB implied team total for the underdog now.
If the moneyline is positive (+) or an underdog in the game, we take 100 and divide it by the moneyline plus 100.
Let’s use the Red Sox at +130 for our formula, and we get (100/130 + 100)). Once again, we take that and multiply it by 9 runs.
(100/130 + 100)) =0.4347 * 9 runs = 3.91 implied run total for Boston.
Implied team totals can be helpful in wagering on MLB team totals markets, which are another popular and profitable market for betting on baseball.
Max Bets On MLB Totals
Maximum wagers on totals are also going to be substantially lower than MLB moneylines.
The best sportsbooks online will take up to $10,000 on MLB totals, but most hover around $5,000 or lower. Some smaller betting sites will take just a few thousand dollars on MLB baseball totals.
MLB Totals Betting System
Betting systems are usually fool’s gold, and when it comes to the best MLB totals strategies – betting systems are not one of them. Our tips above are much more valuable than any betting system when it comes to wagering totals.
There are a few MLB betting systems that do have some value when betting baseball. However, none of them are tied to wagering exclusively on totals.
Read Our Complete Guide About MLB Betting Strategies
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