
Vegas has caught on to how the defending champs score runs. Harry How/Getty Images
As One Shining Moment plays for the last time in our heads for the season, we look to other sports to fulfill our degenerate needs for action. Here are 5 random thoughts that can help you along your gambling ventures.
1) Betting Baseball
When wagering on Baseball, things work a little different than in other sports. Lineups are not released until closer to the first pitch making it harder to take advantage of "early" lines. Taking certain things into factors such as umpires, pitching rotations, ballparks, and teams giving players days off are all things to keep an eye on. Baseball has a ton of variables; you must stay on top of it to be successful.
2) Baseball Home Field Advantage?
When betting sports, we put a tremendous amount of emphasis on Home Field advantage. Especially in the NFL, where playing at home is usually worth 3 points to the handicap, but when betting on the MLB, playing at home may not play as much of an impact.
As you can see, in the regular season, Baseball carries the least amount of advantage of playing as the home team, while the NBA leads the way where teams hosting win 59.9% of the time.
In the postseason, however, things change, and the NFL takes the front, and home teams win 64.7% of the time.
3) Hottest MLB team to start the season
The season has just begun, and the journey is long-drawn, the Hottest teams thus far:
Runline Records
Minnesota 4-0-0
Seattle 4-0-0
Tampa Bay 4-1-0
Houston 4-1-0
Colorado 3-1-0
Washington 3-1-0
NY Mets 3-1-0
Pittsburgh 3-1-0
Toronto 4-2-0
Best Over-Under Records
Atlanta 2-0-2
Arizona 3-1-0
Colorado 3-1-0
San Diego 3-1-0
Seattle 3-1-0
Pittsburgh 3-1-0
As of 10:41 PM 4/3
The Hometown Defending Champion Astros (feels great to say that) have come out scorching hot as expected. The Astros are 5-1 vs. the Runline, and straight up. When the Astros win, they do it in fashion and cover the run line by an average of 1.7 runs.
The Over/Under in Astros games are 3-3 thus far, and much has to do with the inflated totals books are setting as traps knowing the public has caught on to this team's bats. A better strategy could be to bet Houston's Team totals separately, as they have scored 6+ in their last four games.
4) Rockets Playoff Run Update
A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece on what the best strategy to profit on the Rockets down the stretch is. At the time, you could get the Rockets in the +180/+210 range. Earlier this week, Bovada tweeted that for the first time all season, the Warriors weren't favored to win the title by themselves. Both Houston, and Golden State now sit at +120 giving merit to the mechanical parlay strategy I spoke about. If and when these two giants collide in the Western Conference Finals, the odds you get by rolling over the initial amount round by round will profit substantially higher odds than the current +120.
5) Poker tip of the week
A problematic situation you can catch yourself in on a poker table can be that of falling victim to an over-aggressive player. When playing vs. one of these table bullies you must:
A) Play position carefully, ideally you want to be sitting behind them, being you would like them to act first.
B) When involved in hands with the "hyper raiser," try and find yourself raising more often, rather than calling the villain's hands. To stop an aggressive player, you must take command of the hand when the time is right. When executed correctly, a good old fashion check-raise can be enough to get the bully off your back. Play the game, don't let the game play you.
For any question or comments reach me @JerryBoKnowz on twitter.
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It wasn’t just a win — it was a glimpse into the Astros’ future
Jun 27, 2025, 10:43 pm
Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.
The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.
On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.
Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.
It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.
The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.
How the mighty have fallen.
Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.
Screenshot via: MLB.com
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