How To Bet MLB Opening Day Series: The Profitable Early Season Betting Trend

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For the first few series of the MLB season, the markets aren't yet privy to each team's fair, equilibrium price.

That means it's primetime to take advantage of this market-wide inefficiency.

Every year, several disregarded teams surprise experts, fans and players alike, finishing the regular season with a winning record, a wild card spot, or even a divisional crown.

And while the market generally corrects itself after a forgotten team goes on a flurry of wins, getting ahead of that trend early in the season can pay massive dividends.

But it isn't easy — especially before the season starts — to make bets on which individual teams will be mispriced game-to-game. Timing the market can often be a lost cause. Even the most well-respected sabermetricians across the ecosystem are wrong about 45% of the time.

With a proprietary betting system developed by the Action Network, you can indiscriminately wager on these types of teams without picking a horse of your own.

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Through the first six games of the MLB season, visiting underdogs with a moneyline of at least +140 (+150 fits, +100 is too low) have returned 14.6% on investment since 2005.

A $100 per game bettor would be up about $5,750 tailing the parameters of this system. Of course, scale this up or down based on your unit sizing. A $500 per game bettor, for instance, would be up about $29,000 overall — or roughly $1,600 every April.

The betting system allows you to wager across the board on teams that may be mispriced. And mispriced underdogs are worth far more than mispriced favorites over the long run.

In addition, a team on the road is given extra value on the moneyline due to home field advantage.

A few of these teams you'll be betting on will have been tossed aside in spring training — only to be firmly in playoff contention come early June.

Do keep in mind that because this betting system exclusively wagers on underdogs, you'll lose more often than you'll win.

While the system has gone 167-226 (42.5%) since 2005, because you're only betting plus-money, the ROI has settled at about 15% in profits over that timeframe.

In order to maximize profits on this betting trend, ensure that you're wagering the same unit sizing for each line that fits this system.

Opening Day Series 15% ROI Betting System

  • White Sox (+135) vs. Astros. 8:10 p.m ET
  • Rockies (+175) vs. Padres. 9:40 p.m. ET
  • Guardians (+145) vs. Mariners. 10:10 p.m. ET
  • Diamondbacks (+170) vs. Dodgers. 10:10 p.m. ET

All of the following market-best lines are at WynnBet.

About the Author
Avery Yang is an editor at the Action Network who focuses on breaking news across the sports world and betting algorithms that try to predict eventual outcomes. He is also Darren Rovell's editor. Avery is a recent graduate from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has written for the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, (the old) Deadspin, MLB.com and others.

Follow Avery Yang @avery_yang on Twitter/X.

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