What is Run Line sports betting?

Updated: June 2, 2023

• What is Run Line sports betting? (in Baseball).
• We Explain the type of sports bet in the context of placing a Baseball wager.
• See which of the best online sportsbooks we recommend for Sports betting.

Run line betting is gaining popularity with those who like a flutter on baseball, but many are not familiar with this type of betting or how it works. Here we will explain just how run line sports betting in baseball works.

Because baseball is a relatively low scoring game, even adding a single run to a game will tip the balance significantly.

Run line sports betting in baseball simply adds or subtracts runs from the final score.

This gives sports bettors a different betting option. Usually, this will mean making the favourite team the underdog, and the underdog the favourite.

The first thing that you should understand is that with run line sports betting you will be ‘picking sides’ in the same way that you would for ‘money line betting’, and choosing the one you think will ‘win’.

In fact run line betting is almost the same as NFL spread betting.

What is the Run Line? 1.5.

What this means is that you will be able to put a bet on the ‘favored’ team to win by 2 runs or more… or for the underdog to lose by 1 run or to win the game entirely.

Within a game the line on the favourite is set at -1.5, meaning they have to win by 2 or more runs.

The underdogs of the same game will be at +1.5 – so they, for your bet to win, would have to lose by 1 run or less or win the game.

As already stated, the run line is always 1.5 but some offshore betting sites allow people to set different lines – this is usually 2.5 but sometimes 3.5… with adjusted odds, naturally.

Run Line sports betting Strategy

The one mistake that many people make when using a run line sports bet in baseball is that they underestimate just how difficult it is.

• This is because they have the mistaken belief that a team that wins is perfectly capable of so by at least 2 runs.
• This is, in turn, leads them to take the run line bet over the money line, because of the higher odds.
• A major flaw in this thinking is that 30% of baseball games are won by just one run.

This makes it very difficult to predict is if a team is going to surpass the 1.5 run mark on the line.

Another consideration is the fact that the home team is at an immediate disadvantage.

The bottom of the ninth is not played when the home team is winning which leads to a lot of one-run wins.

• Possibly one of the best run line sports betting strategies is to try and ignore the temptation to place a 1.5 run bet on the favored team.
• Putting your bets on the underdog is potentially more profitable in the long run.

In the end it is all, obviously, about finding the value in the run line sports betting in baseball.

As with any other bet, look at the form of the team you are favouring – just be aware the odds are against you if the favourite is playing at home.

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