World Series Betting Odds

Every year the winner of the American League and the winner of the National League face off to determine a champion. This is the World Series, which determines the Major League Baseball champion and is hosted annually in the fall and otherwise known as the Fall Classic.

MLB is the most-watched baseball league in the world, and for baseball fans across the globe, the World Series offers a special chance to watch the best players in the world duke it out on the biggest stage.

The tensions are high for every game, and they aren’t much lower for those who risk their money on every game. Gamblers love the World Series because of the high-stakes games and the multitude of options available for betting.

Betting on the World Series has a few slight differences when compared to betting on the preseason and regular season of the MLB campaign. The teams and players play slightly differently, and the format of the playoffs can alter what baseball wagering options are available.

To have the best time when betting on the World Series, it’s important to understand these slight differences as well as all the betting options that are available.

This guide will cover everything you need to know about World Series betting in the state of New York. It will cover how to bet and some World Series history, as well as answering all the most common questions.

Bet on the World Series in New York

With sports betting now legal in the state of New York, wagering on the World Series is now possible, depending on one’s location. Currently, gambling on sports is legal only at certain physical locations in the state. These are brick-and-mortar casinos that have received the green light to open legal sportsbooks.

These locations are all well-regulated, and if you travel to one of these locations, you will be able to bet on the World Series there. All the bets that you’re looking for will likely be available.

Another option is to wager online. Online sports betting has not yet been legalized in New York, though it might not be too long before it is. It is, however, legal in a couple of neighboring states, including New Jersey. For people who may live closer to a state with legal online sports betting than a casino location, it can make sense to drive there and use your phone to wager online. One thing to note about this is that you can set up your account and deposit money into the account while you are in New York. You only need to travel to place the bet.

DraftKings Sportsbook, BetMGM Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook all have a large presence in the online sports betting world. They have established themselves in states that have already legalized online sports betting and have shown a history of being strong oddsmakers.

One thing to look out for is the sign-up bonuses that are usually available at these online sportsbooks. Large risk-free bets, first deposit matches, and other promotions are usually available to first-time users.

Most popular World Series bets

There are a variety of bets you can place on the World Series. Here are explanations on the most common ones:

Futures

Futures bets are long-term wagers, just as the name suggests. For the World Series, this includes bets on which team will win that people make before or during the season starts. Odds for the next World Series are often released right after the previous one has concluded. These odds are often quite high as it’s difficult to predict the champion so far in advance. The World Series betting odds change throughout the season to reflect the shifting probability of each team winning.

Run line (spread)

The run line is one of the most common baseball bets during the regular season, and the World Series is no different. The traditional run line is a spread of 1.5. This means that the favorite will be -1.5 on the run line and the underdog will be +1.5.

Thus, for a run line bet to win, the favorite must win by at least two runs. On the other side of things, the underdog must come within one run for a bet on that team to win. The run line has different odds from the moneyline and thus can offer gamblers a riskier or safer bet.

For those who are looking to take it further, alternate run lines exist as well. Thus, if you thought a team was going to dominate, you might bet on that team at a higher run line such as -2.5 or -3.5 for a better return.

Moneyline

The Moneyline is the simplest bet to understand in all of baseball. It’s a bet on a team to win the game. No matter the score, a moneyline bet on the team that wins the game will cash.

Moneyline bets generally use American odds. This means that the favorite will have a minus sign in front of its odds. This represents how much you would need to wager on that team for a chance to win $100. For example, if you bet on the New York Yankees to win the game at -175, you would need to bet $175 to win $100, returning a total of $275.

The odds for the underdog will have a plus sign in front of them. This represents how much you would win on a successful $100 bet. For example, if you bet $100 on the New York Mets with odds of +150, you would stand to win $150, which, when combined with your original bet, would return $250.

Totals (over/under)

The total is another classic and popular bet. The total is the combined score for both teams in a game. Before the game, the oddsmaker will put out a line that represents the projected total for that game. You can then wager on if the game will go over or under that line.

The World Series will usually be slightly lower scoring than the regular season due to the increased attention of managers and the quicker pitching changes. Totals are often a good idea for live betting, as the lines can change heavily depending on the early goings of a game. If two offense-focused teams have a few low-scoring innings to start the game, the total can move down and offer a strong live betting opportunity.

Series bets

Series bets are wagers on a team to win the series that they are participating in. For the World Series, bets will be available the moment that the public knows which teams are participating. Sportsbooks can also list series bets with a handicap. The favored team will often have a series handicap of -1.5, which means it must win 4-2, 4-1 or 4-0. This option will have large potential returns.

Prop bets

Prop bets give gamblers the chance to bet on the smaller events within the game. An example of a prop bet would be gambling on a certain player to hit a home run in a game, or perhaps for one of the starting pitchers to record more than a certain amount of strikeouts. These player prop bets are popular among gamblers and an easy way to get some extra bets on the game.

Some other examples of prop bets have to do with the actions of the teams throughout the game. One common prop bet is to gamble on which team will reach a certain score first, for example for the Yankees to be the first team to reach three runs.

History of New York teams in the World Series

There are two New York teams in Major League Baseball. The New York Yankees are one of the most iconic teams in MLB and play in the American League. The New York Mets are part of the National League and, while they have not enjoyed the same level of success as the Yankees, have been part of several World Series moments of their own. Here’s a breakdown of the history of the two teams in the World Series.

New York Yankees

The Yankees have been to an amazing 40 World Series during their history as a franchise. Their most recent World Series title came in 2009, and their first was in 1923. Yogi Berra has the most World Series victories of any player with 10, all as a member of the New York Yankees.

New York Mets

While the Mets haven’t enjoyed the same level of success as the Yankees, they have their own World Series moments. The team has won it all twice, once in 1969 and once in 1986. In total, it has made five World Series appearances. One of those appearances, in 2000, saw both New York teams facing off for the title.

The Subway Series

The Subway Series is the name commonly associated with games between the two teams based in New York, the Yankees and the Mets. The games have this nickname because of the extensive subway system that connects the city, allowing for travel to every game.

In 2000, the World Series was New York against New York on the biggest stage in all of baseball. The series caused many festivities around the city and even the different subway lines were dressed up in the respective colors of the teams.

Unfortunately for Mets fans, the series didn’t last long, as the Yankees won four games to one. This championship marked No. 26 for the Yankee franchise.

How the MLB playoffs work

The current playoff format has been in place since 2012. Each division winner gets an automatic playoff berth, and the next two winningest teams in each league earn wild card spots. Thus, if you’re a strong team but stuck in a really strong division, it can be hard to earn a spot in the playoffs.

From there, the two wild card teams from each league play against each other in a single-elimination game. The winners advance to the next round, which marks the start of the playoffs for all the teams.

The next round is known as the Division Series and is the best of five games. The winners of the wild card games will play against the teams with the best regular season records in the Division Series. From there, the winners advance to the League Championship Series, which is a best-of-seven series.

The League Championship Series is the final round before the World Series, also a best-of-seven series.