Sports Gambling: Rules to Live By and Bet By

Making money by betting on MLB is easy. Just by choosing all the winners, at the end of the season, you can buy a new house.

OK, there is a little more to it than that, and I can’t guarantee you a house, but if you follow these tips, you will win more than you lose and isn’t that what really matters?

1. Money management

Simply put...take care of your money. You never want to bet more than you can afford to lose. There is nothing worse than loading your entire balance on a game only to find a game you like more.

You have to make another deposit or miss out. Most seasoned gamblers will tell you to risk somewhere in the range of 1-5 percent of your bankroll on any particular wager. This allows you to lose a few and still have money to keep betting.

Lucky for us, baseball gives us 13 to 15 games everyday to spread around our bankroll.

2. Put in the work

I read an interview with Pete Rose and he said some days he would call his bookie and say, "Gimme a dime on all the AL home teams and a Dime on all the NL away teams."

That doesn’t sound like a bettor who is doing his homework.

Take the time to find out who’s pitching and study them. Know their record and tendencies—do they get more groundouts or fly outs? Are they playing a power team or a group of speedsters? What direction is the wind blowing?

Starting pitchers control the outcome of the game and, of course, your bets more than any other factor, so take the time to arm yourself with the knowledge to make the smart bet.

3. Know when to bet

When you confirm your bet with a bookie or a reputable online Sportsbook, your odds are locked in.

This brings me to my next rule...you must know when to bet to maximize the money won or minimize the money risked.

Generally, bookies take the most action on the favorites, so when the money comes in, they will raise the price of the favorite and lower the price of the underdog. So, if you are betting the favorite you will want to make your bet as early as possible before all the action comes in and the bookie is forced to charge you more.

However, if you are taking the underdog in a game, it will be more advantageous to you to wait until close to game time when the underdog reaches its best price.

4. Compare the lines

When you make a major purchase, you shop around to make sure you are getting the best price and placing a wager should be no different.

I recommend that you have a funded account with at least four reputable Sportsbook. This way, when you want to bet on a game you can place your wager with the book that if offering the best price.

For example, if you can save 10 cents from each moneyline you bet, it will translate into hundreds or thousands of dollars over the MLB season that will stay in your bankroll and not end up with the bookie's coffers.

Follow these rules and you'll save some money and win a lot more. Stay Gold!