Speculate on Baseball
Baseball has a lot of ups and down in China dating back to 1863 when medical missionary Henry William Boone brought the game to the country.
By 1905, organized baseball games were established between the St. Johns University and the Shanghai MCA baseball and the sport has seen steady growth.
However, in 1959 Mao Zedong disbanded all baseball teams and the sport was outlawed. After the Cultural Revolution ended, baseball activities restarted, and the China Baseball Association formed in 1974.
By 2002, the China Baseball League (CBL) was formed. The CBL was the first professional Baseball league in China. The CBL showed solid growth until after the 2011 season, when the league suspended operations due to financial troubles.
However the CBL came back to life in 2014. Today, the league features 10 teams, playing in two divisions.
The CBL should not be confused with Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The CBL and the CPBL are two separate leagues.
Types of Baseball Markets
There are four common Baseball markets that you can speculate on, these are:
Point Spread Baseball Markets
The team wagered on must win by the given point spread. A typical Baseball point spread looks like:
| Tianjin Lions | -1.5 |
| Beijing Tigers | +1.5 |
The favorite is marked by the “-” sign while the underdog in marked by the “+” sign. If you bet on the Tianjin Lions, they have to win by 2 runs or more for you to win the bet. If the Tianjin Lions win, but they don't cover the spread (win by 1 run only), you lose the bet.
Money Line Markets
The team you choose to bet on simply has to win the game. A typical money line looks like:
| Tianjin Lions | -145 |
| Beijing Tigers | +110 |
Just like point spreads, the favorite is marked by the "-" sign while the underdog in marked by the "+" sign. If you bet $145 on the Tianjin Lions and they win the game, you win $100. On the other hand, if you bet $100 on the Beijing Tigers and they win the game, you win $110.
Run Line Markets
Run Lines are unique to Baseball. It combines the point spread and the money line markets. A typical run line looks like:
| Tianjin Lions | -1.5 | +110 |
| Beijing Tigers | +1.5 | -140 |
If you bet $100 on the Tianjin Lions, and they win by 2 runs or more, you win $110. If you bet $140 on the Beijing tigers and they lose by only one run, you still win $100.
Totals Markets (Over / Under Markets)
Bettors must wager on whether the actual combined runs of the two teams will either be over or under a specified number, called the Total, for the game. A typical Totals market looks like:
| Over | 8 |
| Under | 8 |
If you bet on Over 8, the combined runs of the two teams at the end of the game should be more than 8 runs for you to win. If you bet on Under 8, the combined runs of the two teams at the end of the game should be less than 8 points for you to win.
Propositions
Also called Props or Prop Markets, Propositions allow bettors to wager on the outcome of special events, like which team would win CBL Championship. For example:
| CBL Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tianjin Lions | +7500 |
| Beijing Tigers | +6500 |
| Guangdong Leopards | +5000 |
| Jiangsu Pegasus | +4000 |