World Series Betting Sites

The World Series is an annual best-of-seven s’ between the champions of the American League and the National League. The winner becomes the Major League Baseball champion and receives the Commissioner’s Trophy. Also called the Fall Classic, this competition has been played since 1903, making it the oldest major sports championship in the United States that’s still being played.

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball played in the entire world. The MLB is divided into two separate leagues, the National League (or NL) and the American League (or AL), each with a unique set of rules. Each league consists of 15 baseball teams, equaling a total of 30 overall in the majors.

Of all the major sports, baseball is a favorite among sports gamblers. It is a game primarily dictated by data, which provides significant amounts of research materials for enterprising handicappers looking to find an edge. It is also the best sport for betting upsets, as the worst teams defeat the best at a higher rate than any other professional game. The most recent champions, the Houston Astros, were actually underdogs in their World Series matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Whether you’re betting on an average mid-season game or the World Series, the strategies and factors to consider when betting on a baseball game mostly stay the same. The main difference is that both league champions will have fewer weaknesses to exploit and will be closer in talent than two random regular-season opponents. There is still an edge to gain from proper research and analysis, but the deciding factors may take more effort to pinpoint.

In this guide, we will walk you through some of the most memorable moments in World Series history, cover some baseball betting strategies and highlight basic rules of sports gambling you should always follow. Furthermore, we will discuss what attributes to look for when choosing an online gambling site. Picking the right online sportsbook can be every bit as important as placing the right bets.

Online sports betting is so immensely popular that there’s bound to be scam operations out there trying to fool consumers into handing over their hard-earned money. We want to share the criteria we use when selecting a legitimate betting site, as well as provide a list of recommendations based on the research and vetting that our experts have already done.

Here is a list of the best rated and most trusted online betting sites:

Rank	Gambling Site	Deposit Bonus	Get Started
#1	BetUS Casino	250% Up To 5,000 USD	Visit Site
#2	BetOnline Sports	60% Up To 1,000 USD	Visit Site
#3	SportsBetting.ag	100% Up To 1,000 USD	Visit Site
#4	Bovada Casino	100% Up To 3,000 USD	Visit Site

The Factors We Consider When Choosing a Betting Site

Understanding the World Series

Home Field Advantage

Major League Baseball has been trying to find the fairest way of determining which team has home-field advantage for years. Home field is especially important for the World Series because the home team plays by their rules. If the game is in an American League stadium, the pitchers do not hit; a designated hitter does instead. But in a National League Stadium, pitchers must take at-bats.

Before 2002, the league settled to just alternate home field advantage between leagues annually. However, after a tie in the 2002 All-Star game, the commissioner wanted to add some stakes to the Midsummer Classic. It was decided that whichever league won the All-Star game would have home-field advantage in the World Series.

This system led to its own set of frustrations, and in 2017, the league made a change once again. Home-field advantage would strictly be determined by regular season records. The team with the most wins during the season gets home field. Thus far, people enjoy this system much more than previous attempts.

American League

The American League has been in existence since 1901 when it was established by the original 8 charter franchises. The league is separated into three divisions, the AL East, the AL West and the AL Central, each of which consists of 5 teams.

As stated earlier, in American League ballparks, a designated hitter replaces the pitchers in the lineup. This allows for more specialized positions and stronger hitting lineups, but requires less strategy on the part of the manager.

For the 96 years, the American League teams only played National League franchises in exhibitions or the World Series. As of 1997, the leagues engage in interleague play during the regular season that counts towards the actual record. The American League has won 66 of the 113 WS – a winning percentage of 58%.

Listed below are the teams that compete in the American League:

National League

The National League is even older than its counterpart and was founded in 1876. Like the American League, this organization also began with 8 founding clubs. The most successful team in NL history is the San Francisco Giants, which has won the National League championship 23 times.

When baseball is played under National League rules, the pitchers must occupy a spot in the batting line-up. This requires more well-rounded players and more strategizing for the manager to plan around the pitcher’s bat, as pitcher’s tend to be weaker at the plate. Depending on the game situation, managers are forced to use pinch hitters, pinch runners and double switch substitutions to give their team the best chance to win.

Of the two leagues, the National League has had less success in the World Series. They’ve only won 48 of the 113 World Series matchups.

Listed below are the teams that compete in the National League:

The Road to the World Series – MLB Playoffs

After the 182-game regular season has reached its conclusion, it’s time for the playoffs. Five teams from each league qualify. This includes the three division winners as well as two wild-card teams per league. The wild-card entrants are the teams with the best regular season records despite not winning their respective divisions.

The six division-winners automatically advance to the second round of the playoffs. The first round is a single-game showdown between the two wild-card qualifiers within each division. The loser is eliminated from the playoffs while the winner goes on to play whichever divisional champ has the best record.

The second round of the MLB playoffs consists of the American League Division Series (ALDS) and the National League Division Series (NLDS). The division-winning team with the best record faces off against the wildcard entry while the other two division winners compete against each other. All of the series in the divisional round are best-of-five. The winners advance to the league championship.

The final two teams in each division square off in a best-of-seven series to determine the winner of the pennant. The teams that win the pennant in their respective leagues advance to the World Series. These semi-final round of contests are called the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS).

Finally, the two league champions face off in the World Series. Like the previous round, this includes a best-of-seven series.

Memorable World Series Moments

Kirk Gibson’s Home Run – 1988

In Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, the game was tied in the ninth inning. In his one at-bat of the entire series, Kirk Gibson was called upon to pinch hit. Gibson was severely injured and barely capable of walking. The at-bat was a long one, with the Dodger legend fouling off ball after ball.

After each foul, he crumbled in pain, only to slowly drag himself back to his feet.Finally, the perfect pitch was delivered, and Gibson smashed a historical walk-off homerun. You will still see the clips of this moment in nearly all sports highlight reels.

Bill Buckner’s Error – 1986

Back in 1986, the Red Sox curse was still in full effect. Up two runs, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Boston looked poised to win their first World Series in sixty-eight years. All they needed was one more out. Mookie Wilson served up that out on a silver platter, grounding a ball in Buckner’s direction.

Rather than collect the routine grounder and complete the out, Bill Buckner committed an error that allowed the Mets to send home the game-winning runs. The Sox had one more game to make things right, but New York won out in the end, extending the tortured franchises curse for another few decades.

Derek Jeter Becomes Mr. November – 2001

Only two months after 9/11, the Yankees were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks in game four of the World Series at Yankees Stadium. Arizona was leading the series 2-1. Up 3-1 going into the ninth, the Diamondbacks were cruising to another win.

First, Tino Martinez tied the game with a two-run homer in the ninth, which pushed it to extra innings. The very next inning, Derek Jeter added another dramatic moment to his impeccable legacy with a walk-off homerun.

Willie Mays’ Incredible Catch – 1954

If you’ve ever watched baseball in your life, you’ve undoubtedly seen the Willy Mays catch. It was game 1 of the 1954 World Series, and the game was tied 2-2. With two runners on base, Indians slugger Vic Wertz came up to the plate.

He connected with the pitch and drove it deep to center field. Both runs were sure to score. Willie Mays had other ideas. The legendary Hall-of-Famer tracked the ball all the way to the warning track, where the ball dropped into his glove while in a full sprint creating one of the most iconic baseball highlights of all time.

Kirby Puckett’s Game-Winning Homer – 1991

Kirby Puckett’s legendary home run came in what many baseball historians consider the greatest World Series ever played. Five of the seven games were decided by the final at-bat. Puckett’s moment came in the 11th inning of game six.

The score was tied 3-3, and the Twins needed to win in order to see game seven. The slugger rose to the occasion and launched a walk-off homer to left-center field that pushed the series to a seventh and final game. Kirby’s Twins went on to win the series in that final matchup.

Types of Bets to Make on the World Series

Moneyline Bets

When betting on baseball, moneyline bets are the most common wager that you will find. When betting the moneyline, the underdog has a (+) in front of the three-digit number next to their name while the favored team has a (-) followed by a three-digit number.

When calculating the payout for an underdog, the positive number represents the amount of money won if you bet $100.

The favored team’s negative number represents the amount you must stake in order to win $100.

For more in-depth information about moneyline bets, check out this article:

Run Line Bets

Run line bets are a form of point spread or handicap betting. In baseball, the point spread is fixed at plus or minus 1.5. You can either choose to give the underdog 1.5 runs or take 1.5 runs from the favorite. Since the spread doesn’t change regardless of how uneven the teams are, each run line bet still has moneyline odds as well.

For example, a team may realistically be a four-run underdog. Since you can’t change the point spread, you can only make a heavy underdog into a moderate-to-light underdog. In this situation, if the team is sitting at +450 on the moneyline, taking them on the run line will move the odds to +220. Now you will only need them to lose by less than two runs.

Run lines are particularly helpful when betting on favored teams. The odds for a favorite may not pay out enough to be worth the bet on the moneyline, but if you bet the run line, you will get reduced odds and a better payout.

Totals Bets

Totals bets, also known as over/unders, are one of the most popular ways people wager on baseball games. These wagers are based on the total number of runs that both teams score in a game combined. Often, bookmakers will set a totals line with a half point added, which is called the hook. This guarantees that every bet placed will fall on one side of the line or the other, with no ties.

For example, you may see the totals value set at 4.5 for a game between the Astros and Red Sox. If the combined runs for the game equal five or more, bets on the “over” win. If there are four or fewer runs, the game went “under.”

You can find a more in-depth explanation for Totals Bets and the strategies behind them here:

Futures Bets

As their name implies, futures bets are made on the outcome of some event that will be decided in the future. For example, before the beginning of the MLB season, odds are offered on each team’s chances to win the World Series. There are also futures bets regarding which teams will win the AL or NL pennants and individual awards like MVP or the Cy Young Award. Due to all of the uncertainty, the earlier you place these wagers, the better they typically pay out.

You can find a more in-depth explanation for Futures Betting here:

Proposition Bets

Prop bets can be offered on anything. These are gambles that don’t fall into the other categories like moneyline or futures, and often don’t involve the outcome of the game. Instead, they will be offered on specific possibilities. For example, a World Series prop bet from 2017 offered odds on whether or not game seven would enter extra innings. This paid out 13/2 for “Yes” and 1/16 for “No.”

Another good example from last season was the wager on if “Cody Bellinger hits the first home run in the game.” This bet paid out 8/1 odds. While proposition bets aren’t always the easiest to handicap and probably aren’t the smartest long-term betting strategy, they do allow for more creative and entertaining gambling.

Parlays

A parlay bet is a combination of wagers combined into a single ticket. If any individual pick on the card losses, the entire card is lost.Conversely, if each pick on the ticket wins, you will receive a much more substantial payout than you would have collected had you placed each winning bet individually.

When a sports gambler feels they have accurately handicapped an upcoming game, a standard betting strategy is to parlay both the moneyline and a totals bet for the same game. For example, you would say you bet “the Dodgers and the under.”

You can find more information regarding Parlay Bets by following the link below:

Things to Consider When Betting on the World Series

Starting Pitchers

There is no more important position in all of baseball than the starting pitcher as they are the only player that is active in every play of the game. A starting pitcher’s performance correlates more with the outcome of the game than any other position.

The Ballpark

Baseball is the only sport in which the dimensions of the playing surface change from park to park. The bases and foul lines stay consistent, but everything else varies. Parks will have different distances to the various outfield walls, and the walls themselves can be different heights.

Some parks are more advantageous for pitchers, while others offer more significant benefit to hitters. When handicapping a game, don’t forget to research the effect that specific parks have on both offense and defense. Also, determine if it’s more beneficial to left-handed or right-handed hitters. You can then use this information to make more informed picks.

The Rules

In the World Series, a significant deciding factor in each game is which set of rules the game is being played under. Teams design their rosters to mesh well with their ballpark and the rules of their specific league.

Teams that are accustomed to having a DH in their lineup may struggle to adjust to having to replace that big bat with their pitcher. A National League team that is used to all of their player’s batting may not spend the same amount of money and attention to filling their designated hitter role.

Travel and Circadian Rhythms

Research has proven that jet lag and cross-country travel affect athletic performance. Circadian rhythm, our body’s natural internal clock, determines when we want to sleep, eat and wake up. A study done at Northwestern University discovered that these rhythms also play a part in athletic performance and that disrupting them may have an adverse effect.

The researchers found that teams flying from west to east while crossing multiple time zones, give up more home-runs while hitting fewer homers themselves. Each time zone traversed requires an additional 24 hours of adjustment before performance normalizes. Keep these facts in mind when the World Series is returning back to the East coast from the West!

Bullpens

While MLB betting odds are frequently decided based on starting pitchers, strong bullpens can be just as vital to a team’s success. One way to find excellent value is by wagering on teams with average starting pitchers, but strong bullpens. Since the odds are disproportionately based on the starter, this presents an opportunity to fade the public and grab favorable odds.

Similarly, finding teams with a quality ace that’s starting, but who is backed up by bullpens that blow leads for them are ideal for betting as well. These starters will bring in lots of action, creating a prime opportunity to fade the public.

Umpire Assignments

Knowing who will be behind home plate and what their tendencies are is vital information that often gets overlooked by the average sports gambler. After all, nobody impacts the outcome of a game more than the man who’s calling balls and strikes. Research has shown that while umpires don’t have a significant effect on which team wins or loses, they strongly influence totals betting.

The score of a given game is strongly correlated to the size of the umpire’s strike zone. Officials with a larger strike zone will result in lower scoring games and fewer hits, as this gives the pitcher an advantage. Umps with a smaller strike zone force pitchers to throw balls over the plate, leading to more contact with the ball and more runs.

Beginner’s Betting Tips

Bankroll Management and Staking

If you are planning to bet on the World Series or any other sporting event, it is critical that you adhere to responsible bankroll management. First, determine an amount of money that you can comfortably afford to lose and set that amount aside as your bankroll. Next, design a staking plan and decide how much you will be gambling per bet. Once your system is set, stay focused and don’t deviate from it. Lastly, resist any temptations to chase your losses or increase your betting amounts when enjoying a winning streak.

For an in-depth look at bankroll management, check out the link below:

Shop for the Best Odds

The difference between winning and losing in sports betting can be determined by the slightest of margins. For this reason, you should always take the time to shop for the best odds. It’s a good idea to have accounts open with several sites so that you may grab any extra value available if the website’s odds deviate from each other.

Carefully Choose Your “Experts”

You’ve probably noticed by now that there’s a ton of “noise” out there on the Internet. A never-ending army of experts and handicappers are continually trying to get you to sign up for their services and bet their picks. There’s nothing wrong with using information from outside sources, but you should ensure they are giving you good advice.

Keep track of the information you get from different sources, and note when this info leads to wins or losses. Over time, you will be able to see which experts are genuinely a help and which are leading you astray.

Data Collection and Analysis

Remember, being a successful sports gambler is all about identifying value in the odds. Most casual bettors base their decisions on mainstream narratives and useless talking points from the pundits on television. Instead, try to continually collect and analyze data. Discard what helps you, and keep what leads you to wins.

Once you get decent at predicting the outcomes of games, you can maximize the value of all your picks. As long as you can identify a team’s realistic probability of winning a game, betting is as simple as comparing the percentage of likelihood you discovered to the implied probability from the odds and betting whenever a wager holds positive value.

For an in-depth look at research and analysis, check out the link below:

Let’s Play Ball!

Baseball is a favorite sport among professional handicappers because of the plethora of data available and the predictable nature of the game. The same way Billy Beane used moneyball to identify underappreciated talent and market inefficiencies, we use research and analysis to find mispriced odds and exploit them for value. Betting on the World Series makes things even more interesting because the rules change depending on which team is playing at home.

Gambling on the World Series takes many of the same skills other forms of betting require. It’s always important that you find a reliable, trustworthy site with favorable odds to wager on. It’s equally crucial that you stay disciplined and organized with your bankroll and staking plans.

When handicapping World Series games, try to discover factors that impact the outcome of the game. While the majority of the public merely bets on starting pitchers or hot lineups, you should study the umpire’s tendencies, the recent travel both teams have experienced or the strength of the bullpen.

The World Series is the longest-running major professional sports championship in America. Each year, the best teams from the American and National Leagues face off to determine who reigns supreme for that season.