With the onset of spring comes the first pitch of the Major League Baseball season. From now until October, the national pastime will be on television virtually every day, giving prospective gamblers plenty of wagering opportunities.

This becomes a welcome sight for sports fans and gamblers around mid-June, when the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup conclude, leaving very little besides baseball. But before throwing down money on the national pastime, let’s take a look at the most popular types of baseball bets. These bets only pay out on games that go at least nine innings – weather-shortened games do not count as official according to Vegas sportsbooks.

1. The money line bet: This is the most basic of baseball bets, as you are betting on the straight-up winner of a game. Of course, the odds tend to be more in favor of strong favorites (such as the Boston Red Sox), favorable pitching matchups (such as the Detroit Tigers’ Max Scherzer going against a fifth starter), and popular teams (New York Yankees). In a bet like this, if the Yankees are -150 to beat the Baltimore Orioles, you have to bet $150 on the Yanks to win $100. If the Orioles are +135 in the same game, then a $100 bet on Baltimore pays out $135.
2. The run line bet: This is similar to the point spread bet that you’ll see in sports such as football and basketball, as you are wagering on whether a team will win by a certain number of runs or whether it will stay within a certain number of runs in a loss. Almost all sportsbooks in Vegas use 1.5 as the default spread. In the Yankees-Orioles example, if the Yankees are -1.5, that means you can take New York to win by two or more runs or take Baltimore to win or lose by one run. The middle represents the house’s commission. There is less taken from picking a favorite in a run-line bet.
3. Over-under: This is the same concept of over-unders from other sports, as a total number of runs is established and the bettor has to either take the over (wagering that there will be more runs than the established number) or under (wagering on less runs than the number). These numbers are established by starting pitchers, weather conditions and lineups and usually have minimal juice associated with them.
4. Parlays: Parlays are a combination of two or more of the above bets as a single bet. If you win every bet you make in a parlay, you win your parlay bet. The payouts are much bigger on a parlay than a single bet (5:2 for a two-bet parlay, 6:1 for a three, etc) but you must hit every bet to get paid.
5. Baseball bets are also unique in the fact that you can base your bet on the listed starting pitchers instead of a team. You must identify this when you place your wager, but if the starting pitcher is scratched from their start, you get a refund on your bet.