A common question that arises when betting on baseball, is what constitutes a good line? Most of the time (though the Yankees were well over average in 1998, and the Marlins below) baseball teams will win between 40% – 60% of their games. The baseball bettor must determine what they believe are the chances of a team beating another in a given situation, and then relate that to what- price is being given by the bookmakers.
The following is a breakdown of what percentage of plays at a given price must win, just for a bettor to break even:
Underdog |
Favorite |
||
| Line | % Needed to win | Line | % Needed to win |
| -110 | 52.4 | -110 | 52.4 |
| Even | 50.0 | -120 | 54.6 |
| +110 | 47.6 | -130 | 56.5 |
| +120 | 45.5 | -140 | 58.5 |
| +130 | 43.5 | -150 | 60.2 |
| +140 | 41.7 | -160 | 61.7 |
| +150 | 40.0 | -170 | 62.9 |
| +160 | 38.5 | -180 | 64.5 |
| +170 | 37.0 | -200 | 66.7 |
| +180 | 35.7 | -220 | 69.0 |
| +200 | 33.3 | -240 | 70.4 |
| +220 | 31.3 | -260 | 72.5 |
| +240 | 29.4 | -280 | 73.5 |