Baseball season is finally here, and many sports betting fans are eager to try their hand. If you’ve never bet on MLB baseball before, here is a basic walkthrough to get you up to speed.

MONEY LINE
Money lines are probably the most common way to wager regardless of sport. It’s a simple, straightforward way to manage favorites and underdogs. Here’s an example of what a money line looks like at BookMaker:

Cleveland Indians (+145)
Chicago White Sox (-170)

The favored team is always indicated by the “minus” symbol—i.e. the White Sox at -170. The underdog team is always indicated by the “plus” symbol—i.e. the Indians at +145. So what do the numbers mean? If you want to wager on the favorite (Chicago), you must put up $170 to win $100. Conversely, if you want to wager on the underdog Indians, you only need to risk $100 to win $145. Essentially, by picking the team more likely to win, you’re paying a higher premium.

Remember, even though money lines are broken down into 100s, you don’t need to bet that much! You can wager whatever your sportsbook allows; money lines are simply a standard conversion rate regardless of how much you risk.

RUN LINE
Lines work a little differently in baseball. The “run line” is basically a mixture of a point spread and money line mixed together. The run line will almost always be 1.5 runs—there are exceptions, but they are rare.

So, when you see a run line at a book such as The Greek, you’ll actually see two numbers for each team—like this:

New York Yankees +1.5 (-160)
Boston Red Sox -1.5 (+140)

Here, the Yankees are favored at -160 but they’re receiving 1.5 runs—essentially, bettors are paying for a one-run cushion. The Red Sox, meanwhile, will pay out better but most win by more than a run.

STRATEGY
There are tons of different MLB betting strategies, some simple and some complex, but it’s best to start out easy at first. Baseball has a long season and, although there isn’t “parity” per se, it’s like the old football saying: “On any given Sunday…”

That means even the worst team in the league can top the best. There are so many factors involved—weather, starting pitchers, bullpen, injuries, lineup match ups, coaching factors etc.—that affect each individual game, you should avoid chasing anything too crazy. Instead, play it safe and stick with underdogs and small favorites to grind out profits.

Take this Wednesday’s Blue Jays-Rangers match up as an example. Texas’ Rich Harden (-185) is a heavy favorite over Toronto’s Brian Tallet (+155). On paper, there’s no question Harden is the superior pitcher; he has great stuff while Tallet is reliever stuck in a starting position on a bad team.

But even is a heavy favorite, does Harden really have that much of an edge? It’s his first start of the season, and many starters have to sort out their mechanics before they get rolling. What if Tallet cranks out a masterful performance? Even a broken watch is right twice a day. Or what if Harden throws a gem, only to see his bullpen blow the game?

Don’t overextend yourself. Start small, sniff out nice underdog and small favorites, and remember—it’s a long season; you don’t need to make all your money in the first week. Or, for that matter, blow it.

If you are ready to start wagering, try one of top sportsbooks such as The Greek or BookMaker