What is a Straight Bet?

A "straight bet" is making a direct wager on the event. It's the simple bet: one event, one odds. These are the most popular types of bets in most online sports betting. Every time you visit your MLB betting site to wager money on a game, you'll have dozens of betting options for that game. Among them, the straight bet is the simplest: You only have to choose a winner. That's it. There's no point spread, no additional conditions, nothing. It's just the two teams playing against each other, and it's up to you to choose which one will win.

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Straight bets are defined by what is called the moneyline (the American odds), and this is displayed next to the two teams on the betting lines. While the moneyline is the American system that baseball betting sites use to set the financial terms of all varieties of bets, in straight bets, they are also used by online bookmakers to illustrate which team is considered the favorite and which is considered the underdog in a given match. For example, look at the following straight bet:

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The Miami Marlins (+150) against the Atlanta Braves (-145)

In this bet, the Marlins are the underdogs, and a $100 bet on them can yield a net profit of $150. The Braves, being the favorites, yield much less, with a $145 bet only returning $100. Because this is a straight bet without additional terms or handicaps, the moneyline not only describes the net gain but also serves to illustrate which of the competing clubs is the favorite and which is considered the loser.

Example of straight bets on the bookmaker MrXbet during the Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers match.

Straight bets do not always have their odds in parentheses as shown above, but MLB betting sites will generally include them in parentheses in most other varieties of bets.

When to Place Straight Bets?

Straight bets aren't always your best opportunities to make big profits. So, if you're looking for when to make straight bets on baseball, you're likely to encounter several strategies and different viewpoints regarding their most profitable use.

Generally, there is a simple rule you can consider when deciding whether or not to place a straight bet: If you think the underdog will win, a straight bet is what you want to play. While it's often safe to place a straight bet on the favorite (that's why they are the favorites, after all), you'll have a better return on investment by using a handicap bet on games where you think that will be the probable outcome. In straight bets, favorites rarely have odds of -110, which is common in Run Line bets.

To reiterate: If you think the underdog will win a baseball game, you should place a straight bet on that team.