Baseball Betting Cold Streaks

Everyone who has been around knows about baseball betting cold streaks that bettors face during the hot days of summer.  It may bankrupt the sports bettor, or just make them frustrated and keep them away from betting on the sport at all.  Either way you would think the sportsbook would be happy to see them lose, but most of the time this is not the case.

It's been a busy month for online sportsbooks such as Bodog.

There were the NBA and NHL finals. The World Cup kicked off. The U.S. Open also drew widespread betting interest with the return of Tiger Woods and the final hole choke by Phil Mickelson.

With all these high-profile events going on about us, some people will forget baseball. It might not be the nation's marquee sport - at least until the playoff races heat up - but it's always around, with 15 games on most days just waiting to draw action. That means plenty of opportunity for smart bettors to cash in.

This year however it's been the bookmakers making the big bank deposits in June. Only the 23rd of the month stands out as a big loser at the Bodog Sportsbook.

"That was a really bad day for us," noted one member of Bodog Sportsbook's management team. "Eleven out of 15 favorites covered, including the heavily backed Yankees and White Sox."

Granted, complaining about one "bad day" might sound a bit greedy to some - especially to those bettors who got caught in the crosshairs of one of the best baseball betting months in recent memory for sportsbooks. And besides being greedy, it might also be misguided, meaning a few more bad days might actually have been preferable for bookmakers in the long run.

"It's not all gravy when sportsbooks go on a hot streak," the Bodog book manager added. "What's good in the short term can often be bad in the long term. Bettors get tired of losing. Some might stop betting altogether. Others might start chasing losses, which can bleed an account dry real quick. And when an account empties out quickly, the chances of it being filled up again go down."

So we have asked for a list of how bettors can handle their baseball betting cold streaks: 

Pick your spots: Just because you lost yesterday doesn't mean you have to bet today. You have an advantage over the sportsbooks in that you don't have to play every game so you can pick your spots. There are thousands of baseball games in a season, each with any number of betting options attached to them. If you don't see an opportunity, don't bet. Live to bet another day. It's that easy, yet it's one of the hardest rules to abide by in actual practice.

Keep your bet sizes consistent: The amount you wager should be related to your confidence on the particular play. It should not be related to how much your bankroll is up or down. Over betting your picks is at the root of most, if not all, financial collapses, be they sports betting or business-related. You only have to look at Enron for a classic example of how losses were chased with ever-larger rolls of the dice. (And we all know how that story ended.)

Also noted by the Bodog lines maker was the fact that some bettors continue to back big-name pitchers, regardless of how his team is playing. Atlanta right-hander John Smoltz is one chucker who keeps getting decent betting support despite less-than-stellar play from the Braves.

Not that Smoltz himself has been terrible. His 3.89 ERA is a fair bit higher than his 3.28 career number, but he's only surrendered more than four earned runs twice in 16 starts. His 1.20 WHIP is also 10th among National League pitchers.

The problem is that the Braves have one of the worst bullpens in baseball. They've blown a shocking 15 saves - converting just 52 percent of closing opportunities - so even if Smoltz goes out and gives his team a solid six or seven innings of work, a win is far from in the bag.

So keep these little tips in mind for all of your sports, but they will be especially helpful this summer if you are looking to avoid any long losing streaks.  We also can help you win from your sportsbook if you want to sign up for one of our baseball picks packages.