Running A Sportsbook

Posted By admin On 31/03/22

The runline is a form of spread betting for baseball. Similar to hockey’s puckline, the runline is not intended to handicap the game to create the opportunity for an even money wager. Instead, the runline creates a new set of odds for bettors – usually flipping the favorite and the underdog.

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The runline works by adding 1.5 runs to the underdog’s final score or subtracting 1.5 runs to the favorite’s, depending on which side of the bet you take. In practice, this significantly alters the odds of the game. To win a runline bet on the (moneyline) favorite, the team would now have to win by 2 or more runs.

A Case Study For The Runline

RunlineOddsMoneyline
Blue Jays-1.5+147-108
NY Yankees+1.5-160+100

As we can see, the New York Yankees are facing the Toronto Blue Jays. In the above we chart we see the moneyline odds and the runline odds.

In this scenario, the Blue Jays are coming in as a slight favorite at -108 moneyline odds (meaning a $108 bet would net you a $100 profit), the Yankees a slight underdog at +100 ($100 bet to win a $100 profit).

A moneyline bet is the most straightforward wager you can make. With a moneyline bet, you are simply betting on who you think will win the game.

With a runline bet, you no longer care who wins the game (at least not completely). Instead, you care about the spread. When betting the runline, you are betting on the game + or – those 1.5 extra runs. The runline can be a great way to shake things up and give you an alternate set of odds.

As we can see in the example above, the Blue Jays are the moneyline favorite at -108. But, when we look at the runline odds, the Blue Jays become the underdog at +147. This means that if you wagered $100 on the Blue Jays to win the puckline, you would have a potential profit of $147.

The runline odds also flip for the Yankees. They start as the moneyline underdog at +100. When you bet the runline, though, they become the favorite at -160. This means you would need to risk $160 for a potential profit of $100.

The odds flip when betting the runline because you are no longer betting on the simple, in-game winner. We can see that the runline is -1.5 for the Blue Jays and +1.5 for the Yankees.

This means that to win a puckline bet on the Blue Jays, they would have to cover the spread – win the game by more than 1.5 runs. Of course, there are no half runs, so they’ll need to win by 2. This is because the runline subtracts 1.5 runs from their final score.

Likewise, if you bet the runline on the Yankees, you are hoping that they will either win outright or lose by less than 2 runs since the runline adds 2 to their final score.

Let’s assume this is the outcome of the game:

Final ScoreRunlineWinner?
Blue Jays5-1.5
NY Yankees4+1.5X

If you bet the puckline on the Blue Jays, did you win?

Sadly, you didn’t. Although the Blue Jays won the game, they didn’t cover the spread of 1.5 runs. This means their “Runline Score” was really 3.5 (5 – 1.5) – less than the Yankees’ 4 runs.

Had you bet the runline on the Yankees, the result would be the opposite. Even though the Yankees lost the game, they won the runline! Their “Runline Score” would be 5.5 (4 + 1.5).

Another Example Of The Runline

Final ScoreRunlineWinner?
Blue Jays9-1.5X
NY Yankees7+1.5

In the above example, subtracting 1.5 runs from Toronto gives you a score of 2.5 – 2. This means your Toronto bet wins. As with our other example, if we add 1.5 runs on a Yankee outcome we end up with a score of 3.5 – 4, meaning your Yankees bet loses.

If this topic is still a little unclear, click over to our article about the puckline and spread betting explained, which gives you very similar examples and illustrations to this runline explanation.

What would change if this was the outcome of the game instead?

Well, betting the runline on the Blue Jays would cash! This time the Blue Jays’ 2 run victory over the Yankees is enough to cover the spread. Their “Runline Score” would be 7.5 (9 – 1.5).

Conversely, betting the runline on the Yankees would be a losing day. Their “Runline Score” would be 8.5 – still not beating the Blue Jays’ 9 runs.

Why Bet The Runline

The runline’s best asset is that it offers a new set of odds and adds excitement to the game. From our example (first chart), we see the oddsmakers think the Blue Jays and Yankees game is almost a toss-up. Betting the moneyline on either one is almost an even money bet.

Running

The runline gives you the chance to take a spicier bet. Instead of taking the favorite straight up, you can bet they’ll win by at least 2 runs. Now, you’re no longer getting -108 odds on the Blue Jays, but +147. The runline gives the confident bettor a chance to make more.

Running A Sportsbook

You could also be in a position where you don’t think the underdog will necessarily win, but you’re fairly certain it’ll be a close one. In that case, betting the runline on the original underdog can be a great strategy.

Indeed, you’re getting lower odds (+100 to -160), but you are also increasing your chances of cashing the bet. In our scenario, the Yankees are a slight underdog. However, when we’re adding 1.5 runs to their final score, the whole dynamic changes.

Should I Bet The Runline?

Historically, baseball bettors have done marginally better on the moneyline than the runline. This, at least in part, is because most sportsbooks take a larger vig on the runline than the moneyline. That being said, the runline is a betting option to keep in mind, especially when you’re betting on a blowout by the favorite or a close game by the underdog.

Tina Hodges, CEO of Tennessee sportsbook Action 247, discusses what it takes to outcompete some of the industry’s biggest operators in her home state.

What is the brief origin story of how Action 247 came to exist?

Is sportsbook legal

Is Running A Sportsbook Illegal

I knew immediately when sports gambling was to become legal in Tennessee that I wanted to launch a local sportsbook. After my nursing career, I've grown up in financial services, FinTech is the more cool name these days. I knew my skill set as an executive and an operator would be a good match for an online sportsbook.

What motivated you to step into the sports betting space?

As I mentioned above, I've been working in fintech for 20 years, and multi-state online for the past 5 years. I know I am uniquely positioned as one of few Tennesseans that could succeed in this exciting venture.

How does your experience as CEO of Advance Financial influence and impact your role at Action 247?

I've been the CEO and CXO of Advance Financial since 2013. It's the CXO skills, Chief Experience Officer, that are really coming into play at Action 24/7. I was surprised to see how poor the service is in the sports gambling industry. Our players are delighted that we answer the phone and solve their issue on the first call. I think we were all surprised to see this news coming out of NJ about sportsbooks delaying withdrawals and even incentivizing players to cancel withdrawals. We are the only sportsbook in Tennessee to offer same day pay, cash deposits and cash withdrawals. The service sports gamblers get in Las Vegas is top notch. But I haven't found that it is the same for online sports gamblers. We are certainly changing the customer experience here in TN.

What was the turnout like for the Super Bowl? How do you expect the Super Bowl to compare to March Madness?

The Super Bowl was definitely a big day for all of us. We are still so new and registering new customers every day. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have some days in March that are larger than the Super Bowl. Our book is just growing so much larger. It would make sense for us.

Is there still untapped potential in the Tennessee market for customer acquisition?

Running A Sportsbook Poker

I believe there is definitely more potential in Tennessee. There are lots of players still working with unlicensed sportsbooks. They've heard the stories of the licensed sportsbooks holding money and not paying out games for several days. When we tell them about our same day pay and cash deposits and withdrawals, we win them over. We've got a long way to go to bring all of those betters out of the shadows and into the regulated market, but we're doing it!

Running A Sportsbook Odds

The full Q&A with Ms. Hodges will appear in the upcoming March/April Gaming America magazine.