The Nationals and Astros hadn’t even played Game 4 of the World Series before odds were already being predicted for Game 5.
Fans can check on odds for basically anything — from who will hit the first home run of the game, or even off-the-diamond happenings, such as whether President Donald Trump wears a neck tie. The online odds and lines service SportsBetting.ag has a whole host of circumstances that could happen during Game 5, along with the payout odds if they do.
The odds are written to reflect how likely or unlikely a given event is to occur. In practice, it looks like this:
The odds that any home run is hit during Game 5:
- Yes — -425
- No — +340
In this case, if someone wanted to wager that a home run would be hit at any point by either team during the game, they would have to risk $425 to profit $100. If someone wanted to stake the unlikely claim that not a single ball crosses the outfield fences, risking $100 will get you $340 back (plus your original $100) if there are no home runs hit.
Fans can see the odds that wunderkind outfielder Juan Soto hits a homer in his first at bat (Yes — +1,000), or the chances that the first inning ends in a tie (Yes — -120, No — +100).
For those who want to closely follow what Trump is doing during Game 5, there are a number of variables they can place bets on.
Will the president wear a tie to the game? Odds are favorable that he does (Yes — -300, No — +200).
Will he attend with one of his family members? Again, good chances there (Yes — -200, No — +150).
Does he sit in a box seat or in the stands? Very strong odds that he opts for the box seating. (Stands — +200, Box — -300)
Does the D.C. crowd boo the president when he appears on the scoreboard video screen? This one is close, but the odds say that he will be booed (Yes — -150, No — +110)
Among some of the least likely events that the site predicts is the chance for game to go into extra innings. (Yes — +700, No — -1000)