Best KBO Betting Tips

Want to bet on the KBO but aren’t sure where to start? There is a lot to gain in the world of KBO betting, but it’s wise to do a little research and gain some extra insight.

That’s where my top KBO betting tips come into play.

Betting on KBO games is not the same as MLB betting. There are a lot of things specific to the Korean Baseball Organization that you’ll want to know before placing even a single bet.

Ready to get your feet wet with some KBO bets? I’ve compiled the six most important tips for betting on the KBO League to help you win. 

Note the Time Difference

One of the biggest adjustments for sports bettors hoping to profit off of KBO betting is being prepared for the time zone difference.

These games are all played in Korea, and if you’re based in the United States, that can be a problem. A good example is if you’re in a US state going by Eastern Standard Time. If this is the case, you are an insane 14 hours behind Korea.

In other words, when you’re sleeping, these games are preparing to blast off.

There is so much that comes into play here beyond simply not being able to tune into the games regularly. But the list largely goes as follows.

• Injury news
• Lineup changes
• Weather news
• General fatigue
• Lack of live betting edge

I’m sure there’s more that goes into it, but this is already a lot to take in.

Obviously, no matter the sport, you want to have an edge. A lot of that edge is gained through monitoring news, checking lineups, and being ahead of the weather.

All of that news is at risk of coming to you late, or at the very least forcing you to be awake at odd hours when your body likely demands just the opposite.

The typical betting grind meets human fatigue in this situation. You can switch your schedule, only bet on certain days, or try to project the best you can. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the glaring time zone difference.

There isn’t a simple way to manipulate the time zone difference to your advantage, but it’s extremely easy for it to quickly haunt your bankroll. Just realize it’s a thing, embrace it, and counter it the best you can.

Foreign Player Roster Limit

A big mistake KBO betting enthusiasts can make is seeing a star player they recognize – usually a former MLB player – and automatically bet on the team they’re rostered on.

Perhaps it can be as simple as that a few times – especially if they’re a truly impactful player. If you do like that strategy, I’d probably lean harder on the teams with American pitchers, and less so on the teams with famous American bats.

But in all reality, you shouldn’t be placing bets based on anyone’s name. And you should also know that each KBO team can only roster up to three foreign players.

This means those star MLB players are spread across the KBO, and every roster has a fair shake at landing a few superstars from the US or other countries.

The rest of their roster is made up of Korean players, so understanding which rosters have the best Korean grown talent is important. Just as important, of course, is grading the foreign players they do have, and assessing their potential impact on a game-by-game basis.

Bet on the Over

You know you need to account for the switch in time zone and that there is a limit on those former MLB players and what their impact might be.

My favorite KBO betting tip, though? Hammering the Over.

Nothing is ever as easy as it sounds, but KBO games offer a lot of scoring potential for a variety of reasons.

• The stadiums aren’t as big as MLB stadiums
• Contact hitting promotes more base runners
• The league has a lot of good HR hitters
• The pitching isn’t nearly as good as in the majors

This logic can’t simply be applied to every single game. Matchups and talent still matter, and it’s still baseball, which is inherently a volatile and unpredictable sport.

Variance can rule the day in any setting and bettors should always keep that in mind.

That said, KBO stadiums are on the smaller side, so smacking homers is significantly easier in Korea than it is in the United States.

In addition, you’re working with limited US pitchers and the Korean pitching isn’t elite across the board (otherwise MLB teams would try to poach them more often).

All of this leads to a decent amount of power, but with a lot of the KBO players simply hitting for contact, you also get high batting averages, a lot of base runners and, in turn, a lot of runs.

You still want to account for pitcher talent and offensive production before betting on any KBO game totals. But overall, betting on the Over is regularly a viable bet.

Weather is a Factor

You need to account for weather for most sports, beyond maybe basketball. If it’s outdoors, you will probably want to watch for rain, pay attention to the temperature, and see if wind could be a factor.

This is even more important when betting on the KBO League.

KBO games get going when most Americans are sleeping, so simply the idea of staying ahead of the weather and researching potential impacts is obviously a concern.

But it’s more than that, as it’s also about the variety of ways the weather can impact a KBO game. Baseball in general can be thrown on its side depending on how the wind blows or how hot/cold it is.

If the wind is blowing in, you may like pitcher Overs and hitting Unders. The game total to go Under would also be appealing. If the wind is blowing out, you’d want to bet against pitchers and bet on hitter props to go Over, as well as the game total to go Over.

Looking at a warm weather game? Fade the pitchers, back the bats, and bet on the Over. Is it chilly? Go the other way.

Rain could also throw a fun curveball and completely wash a game out with a PPD, delay it to the point where it disrupts game flow or roster decisions, or simply linger to the point where it slows down player effectiveness.

Weather is a factor with most sports betting, but it’s extra important to stay ahead of it – and realize how it can impact your edge – when betting on KBO games.

Research Past Team Success

This KBO betting tips is a bit more on the generic side, as it absolutely can and should be applied to every sports betting market.

I definitely don’t think you should take past results as gospel, of course. History is a good indicator of the future, but it’s not a full-blown predictor of it.

That said, if a team is constantly high in the win column, scores a lot of runs, makes the playoffs, and/or has numerous KBO titles, it’s likely they’re going to be a safe team to bet on.

In what capacity you back said team is entirely up to you, but barring unforeseen circumstances or major off-season changes (that you’d also typically be aware of), betting on seemingly trustworthy teams makes sense.

Using this the other way is viable, too.

If a KBO team is constantly in the gutter, barely getting runs, and rarely winning games, it’s not crazy to imagine they will once again be floundering at the bottom of the standings.

To be fair, this KBO betting tip can probably be best applied to preseason futures like win totals or KBO title odds. Relying on historical data to curate a single bet for the present day isn’t quite as stable of a strategy.

In general, though, it pays to get familiar with the KBO. More on that in a second.

Monitor Rising KBO Stars

I’ll leave you with one of the top tips for betting on KBO; knowing the non-US star talent that is participating in these games.

Like, really knowing it. 

Not just reading through some boxscores or checking stats. That’s all fine and well, but it takes a deeper dive to excel with KBO betting.

If you’re betting on KBO games from the US, chances are you only know who the US-born players are in this league. It’s possible you don’t even know all of those players, to be frank.

The likelihood of you recognizing any Korean players and knowing who is trending up is even less. It will take some digging, but it absolutely pays to educate yourself on which KBO stars are on the rise.

Taking a look at last year’s results – both in the playoffs and during the regular season – can go a long way, as can tracking player stars over the years. On top of that, be sure to brush up on any roster changes going into the year and conduct mini scouting reports on any new faces.

A quick and easy way to do this is to look over updated KBO rosters and then research any players in question at a stat site like FanGraphs. There you’ll find all the data you need to discern which KBO players add serious value to their respective team.

Use These Tips to Bet on KBO Games

These six KBO sports betting tips could go a long way in preparing you to successfully place (and win) bets dealing with the KBO League this year.

Every single season of the KBO is different, and rosters will change on a regular basis. However, the actual process – and these KBO betting tips – don’t really change and can always be applied to your personal betting approach.

Research, stats, and general sports betting advice can be packaged together to help you win at any genre. When it comes to the KBO, though, you admittedly have to be a little more diligent.

The data is harder to come by, roster news isn’t always trustworthy, and the games themselves are typically firing off when you’re sound asleep. 

It will take hard work and dedication, but these KBO betting tips should put you in position to gain a considerable edge on this betting genre.