Runlines and Pucklines
In baseball and hockey, considering runlines and alternate lines is an essential part of your strategy. Additionally, in football and basketball, exploring alternate spreads can offer the choice to pay extra for security or take on more risk for the chance of a higher profit. If you are unfamiliar with this strategy, allow us to explain how these alternate lines function.
Runlines In Baseball and Pucklines in Hockey
Alternate lines are most commonly found in baseball and hockey. In these sports, you have the option to bet the moneyline, where you simply pick a team to win, or you can bet on the spread, typically -1.5. This allows you to choose whether you believe the favorite will win decisively or if the underdog will keep the game close. The introduction of spreads in these moneyline sports adds another element of strategy to betting.
The Strategy Of Runline and Puckline
The key to this strategy lies in the correlation with the moneyline. Many bettors have limits on how much they are willing to wager on a moneyline, such as cutting off bets if a favorite goes beyond -140 in baseball and hockey. In hockey, the puckline is crucial as teams often pull their goalie when trailing late in the game, potentially leading to a two-goal win for the leading team. On the other hand, a +1.5 play could be a smart move if the game is expected to be close and possibly go into overtime.In baseball, and to some extent in hockey, the runline strategy focuses on reducing the odds. For instance, betting on the runline could be a more affordable option when the best baseball team with their ace pitcher is facing the worst team, resulting in a high moneyline of -300 or more. By betting on the runline, where the favorite needs to win by 1.5 runs, the odds can be lowered to around -150, making it a more cost-effective bet.It is important to note that the correlation between the runline and moneyline in baseball may vary based on the favored team and the game location. Additionally, in baseball, the runline price accounts for the home team not batting in the bottom of the ninth inning if they are ahead, impacting the overall betting strategy.
Alternate Lines – Spreads, Runlines, Pucklines
Alternate lines are for the bold and the beautiful. That’s right; if you have some courage in your system and a good handicapper, you can find value with alternate lines.
Alternate lines allow you to give away runs or points (on the spread) to receive a better payout. For example, in baseball, the favored team will always be -1.5 on the runline. But if you want to bet an alternate runline, you could take the favorite +1.5. Of course, in that case, you’re expected to win, so that will cost you. On the flip side, you could take the underdog – the team that is not expected to win – and lay 1.5 with them. All of a sudden, that spikes your payout because that team wasn’t expected to win, but you’re betting them not just to win but win by two.
The same goes for football. Alternate lines are posted each week to give you those options. The oddsmakers set the lines a certain way and expect a game to land on a certain number. However, we all know that the games don’t play out on paper as they do in reality. If you think you’ve got an edge somewhere, you can get an alternate line, change the odds in your favor and try to cash in. It’s not a common form of betting. However, that’s the strategy of alternate runlines.