Major League Baseball (MLB) odds are integral to betting on America's oldest and most beloved sport. With a rich history that goes back to 1876, MLB has long captivated sports fans and offered up a variety of betting opportunities. 

Over the past few years, the internet has revolutionized the way that baseball fans can get in on the betting action, enabling them to place bets from anywhere, at any time. Real-time MLB odds are now readily available at your fingertips. This MLB betting guide will illuminate how you can read and understand MLB odds to make informed bets at your favorite online sports betting sites.

Deciphering MLB odds is easy to do once you've mastered the basics. MLB betting odds are usually presented in one of two formats: moneylines and decimal odds. Most sports betting operators will present game odds in the moneyline format. 

Betting on moneyline odds in baseball is very straightforward. Here's an example: 

Chicago Cubs: +140

Tampa Bay Rays: -160

There's a plethora of ways to utilize MLB odds when placing bets on baseball. While exploring the available betting markets on a sportsbook, you'll typically encounter these popular types of bets:

Moneyline betting is a staple in the world of MLB odds. Here, you're simply predicting the game's winner. The favorites are signified by a negative sign next to their MLB odds, while underdog teams have a positive sign. The payout for winning bets is dictated by the odds when the bet was placed.

Run lines are similar to point spreads in football, where the favorite team must generally win by more than 1.5 runs to cover and receive the payout. With the increased popularity of online sports betting, wagering volume on run lines using MLB odds has seen significant growth.

Total bets, or over/under bets, allow you to wager on whether the combined score of both teams will be over or under a predetermined number of runs. These bets provide another method of betting on individual games using MLB odds.

Prop bets, or "proposition" bets, are rapidly gaining popularity in the world of MLB odds. Unlike moneyline betting, these wagers focus on specific events within the game, such as whether certain individual players will hit a home run or the number of runs a player will score in a game. You may see team props, game props or player props depending on the book. 

Using MLB odds, futures bets allow you to predict events that will occur later, like the winner of the next World Series. These types of bets can be found on the MLB futures odds page of a sportsbook. Odds for winning the two league pennants and six division titles are also listed in the futures market. Sports bettors can also place futures bets on what players will win certain awards or distinctions at the end of the season, similar to player prop bets. 

Traditional bets, like those mentioned above, are placed before the game begins. However, live betting offers the opportunity to continue wagering as the game progresses. MLB odds are updated in real-time, and you can place bets on events like whether the next pitch will be a ball or strike.

As previously mentioned, making strategic bets using MLB odds requires some effort and time. Following expert picks and using our helpful odds tool can significantly enhance your betting success.

Several factors influence the odds, and understanding them can help you make better betting decisions. Sharp bettors will consider these factors every time they want to get in on the baseball action. 

By considering these various factors, bettors can make more informed bets on baseball games and feel confident when comparing baseball lines. 

The regular season typically begins in early April, though Opening Day may occur in late March. The teams go on to play 162 regular-season games until the season finishes, typically in October. 

The actual percentage will change every baseball season; however, historically, underdogs win 40-45% of all baseball games. 

Most betting sites release their MLB odds a day before the scheduled game. However, if there is any uncertainty about the starting pitchers, the odds may be delayed until game day.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting comfortably at the top of the odds board so far; however, there are plenty of regular season games left that could shake up the sportsbook odds. 

World Series games typically draw the highest betting activity, followed by earlier postseason rounds and high-profile regular-season games like those between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

It is safe to use sportsbooks and sports betting apps to place bets on baseball as long as you make sure that you are using a trusted platform, like BookMaker or Bovada.

The "First 5 Innings" bet, commonly known as "F5", is a popular baseball bet where your wager is based on the outcome of the first five innings of a baseball game.

The exact winning percentage for home teams can fluctuate each season but, historically, home teams tend to win around 53% to 54% of the games they play.

'Juice' or 'vig' (short for vigorish) refers to the commission that sportsbooks take on bets. This is the fee that players pay to sports betting operators for placing bets on baseball games. The juice is typically already factored into the baseball odds you read at online betting sites.