I’ll be going to Vegas for the weekend, figure I might ask about betting in baseball. They do this, right? Where do I go to do this, and what types of odds are played?
If it “is” than you can bet on it in Las Vegas.
When you get to your hotel somewhere on the main floor is the sports book. You can ask, follow the signs or just look for a bunch of TV’s and some old dudes sitting around smoking watching baseball, football, basketball, horse racing, tennis, golf, boxing, dog racing, and curling all at the same time. :eek:
Here is a page with all kinds of numbers on it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any idea what any of them mean.
Yes, you can bet on baseball.
You want to look for the sportsbook in your hotel. But not all of them have sportsbooks. The biggest/most famous ones are. . .IIRC, Caesar’s, The Stardust (is that still standing?), Bally’s. MGM Grand has a big one.
They’ll have a large board there and you’ll see something like this
44 Houston +150
45 Chicago -170
46 Over 7.5 -110
47 Under 7.5 -100
You might need to look for it becuase there will be hockey betting, football betting, everything.
So, if you want to bet the Astros to win the game, you go up to the window and tell them that first number, “44 for twenty dollars”.
The thing to keep in mind that that when you see a +150, that means that you need to bet 100 to win $150 (3:2 odds). So, if you were betting 20, you give them your $20, they give you a ticket. If Houston wins, they give you back $50 (your $20 and $30 more).
Conversely, if you bet Chicago in that situation, you need to bet $170 to win $100. So, if you only wanted to bet $20, you tell them, “$20 on 45”. Now, if you win, you’ll only get back like $32 or so, your original $20 plus the $12 you won.
You can also bet whether the run total of the game will go over 7.5 (that might be a different number) or under 7.5. In that case, you need to bet $110 to win $100.
To not look like a rookie, typically in that situation, you bet a multiple of $11 to make it easier. In that Chicago bet, you might want to bet $17 or $34 or $170 to make it easier.
If you bet “$33 on 46” then if you win, they pay you back your $33 plus $30, $63. If you go up and bet $30 (which would return like $57.30), they might even ask you “you want to do $33?”
That said, at each sportsbook, they should have a little pamphlet near the windows that explains all this in terms specific to that book.
Good luck. Get a bet down. It’s fun watching a game in a casino where everyone there has money on one side or the other.
Thanks for the detailed answer. The thing I don’t understand is the -/+ signs, what’s the significance of this?
Baseball’s going to be over tonight, baby! White Sox Sweep.
Told ya!!
Well, it’s kind of moot right now but if you want to bet some football or something. . .
-/+ indicates whether you’re laying odds or getting odds.
If there’s a +, that means you’re getting odds. In English, you win more than you bet but it’s on a rarer outcome. A +150 means a $100 bet will win you $150. Or, if you leave $100 at the window, and win, they’ll give you back $250, your $100 and $150 that you won.
If there’s a -, that means you’re laying odds. In English, you win less than you bet but it’s on a more likely outcome. A -150 means that you need to bet $150 to win $100. If you leave $150 at the window, and win, they’ll give you back $250, your $150 and the $100 that you won.
That also means that if you still are betting $100, you’ll only win $66. So, if you leave $100 at the window, they’ll give you back $166 if you win.
Here’s one thing to keep in mind. If the sportsbook views an outcome as 50/50 they still charge you a little. You need to bet $110 to win $100 ON EITHER SIDE.
In other words, you need to be correct 11 out of 21 times just to break even. You need to be right 52.4% of the time – on a proposition that the oddsmakers deem to be 50/50 – to win money. 52.4% is kind of the “magic number” for sports bettors.
However, if you’re just going to Vegas and want to play with some fun money, don’t get too caught up in all that. Just find the side you like and bet it. On AVERAGE, you’re only losing $5 per hundred dollars bet. You’re going to be right 50% of the time just by flipping a coin.
Did you bet it?
No, I’m not a betting man. I also just jumped on the Sox bandwagon a week or so ago, primarily because we could wear jeans and a Sox t-shirt to work instead of business casual. So I became an instant fan, even moreso today, since we get to wear jeans/t-shirt again because of the city celebration parade (which literally begins outside my office building).
And no, I’m not a Cubs fan either. Not real big on organized sports, though I will happily jump on any bandwagon when I see personal gain.
Well, just got back from Vegas. The second I walked into a casino, the Sox had won it. I’ll have to do it next year when the Cubs are in the World Series!
ROTFLMAO
Next year? NEXT YEAR???