There’s nothing quite like the thwack of bat on ball in the morning; or anytime of the day for that matter, which is why baseball is the beloved national sport of our transatlantic cousins.

This weekend marks the start of the Major League Baseball season with the L.A. Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks playing a two-game opening series in Sydney, Australia, as the sport looks to expand its number of followers outside of the States.

The MLB features 30 teams split into six divisions across both the American and National League, but the really big business kicks off in October, when 162 regular season games and two weeks of playoff matches have separated the wheat from the chaff, leaving only the strongest two teams to contest Baseball’s World Series.

The World Series of Baseball

Despite a consistent level of betting throughout the regular season, it is not until the post-season that sportsbooks and spread betting companies are inundated by armchair fanatics seeking a lucrative slice of the pie.

Ten teams progress to the post-season – five from both the American and National League, consisting of three divisional champions and two wild card picks. The first stage is the best-of-five Division series.

The winners then advance to the best-of-seven American League (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS). This then culminates in the greatest game of them all, the World Series, where the winners of the ALCS and NLCS meet in a best-of-seven winner takes all showstopper.

Difference between traditional baseball betting and baseball spread betting

If you’re looking to make a quick buck on the World Series then it is essential you know your stuff. One common source of confusion between spread betting on baseball and traditional betting on baseball revolves around distinguishing a Supremacy spread bet from a point spread and money line bet.

With a Supremacy spread, a spread betting firm gives a spread on the number of runs they think one baseball team will beat another buy. You can simply buy if you think the first named team will win by more than the spread. Or you can sell if you think the first team will win by less than the spread or if you think they game will be a draw or that the second team will win (when the market will end up with a negative make-up).

For traditional baseball betting, a point spread is effectively betting on a handicap given to the favourites over the underdogs, while you can also bet on the money line, basically a bet on the winner of the game.

Traditional baseball betting also offers the opportunity to bet on a run line, which is a combination of the point spread and money line. The biggest difference between baseball’s run line and a spread bet is that the run line is always set with the underdog at +1.5 runs and the favourite at -1.5 runs.

Spread betting on the World Series

When spread betting on baseball, as well as betting on a simple Run Supremacy bet you can choose from a 10-3 Supremacy bet. Here the spread is based on 10 points being awarded to the winning team and a further three points awarded per run won by. It allows for a little more volatility on the make-up, allowing for potential higher winnings if you get it right – but of course this also means that if the bet goes against you, you can end up losing more than your stake original stake.

Other in-play baseball betting options include betting on the Total Runs scored in the game and Cross-Runs; Team A’s runs multiplied by Team B’s runs in a game.

Baseball can often differ to other team sports when it comes to the actual match results. For example, you might assume that a strong favourite will win by at least 2 runs, however, if you look at the statistics, 27 percent of all baseball games are only won by one run.

Another factor to consider before placing any baseball bet is the effect of home advantage on the odds or spread you receive. In the majority of games, the home team will be the overwhelming favourites to win.

However, if the home team are up by just one run, they won’t bat in the bottom of the ninth, giving you half an innings less to secure the runs you need to win your bet. On the other hand, if the home team are behind on the bottom of the ninth, any victory they do secure will almost always be by just one run, which is another factor to be considered by baseball spread betters.

As well as match betting, you can also bet on longer-term options. One such market is Spreadex’s 2014 Regular Season Wins market.

Ahead of the start of the season, Spreadex had the L.A. Dodgers leading the way with a spread of 92-94 and the Diamondbacks some way further back on 80.5-82.5.

So who will end up as the 2014 World Series winners? Well this weekend’s series opener may give us some early indications of whether the L.A. Dodgers are right to be at the top of Spreadex’s Regular Season Wins market. As they say across the pond, batter up!!