Before March Madness betting is upon us, the next major sporting event will be the World Baseball Classic. Those who bet sports are getting excited for the second ever World Baseball Classic but before you get to betting it, here’s a set of rules to follow before you place your bets:

Know The Rules

The rules for the WBC and Major League Baseball differ a little bit so bettors need to be conscious of it. Here are some of the major differences:

A pitcher cannot pitch until a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched. A minimum of one day must pass since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched. Also, a minimum of one day must pass since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched.

A pitcher cannot pitch more than 65 pitches per game in Round One of the tournament, 80 pitches per game in Round Two of the tournament or 95 pitches per game in the Semifinals and Final of the tournament.

A pitcher can still finish a batter's plate appearance even if the limit is reached, but must come out after completing the plate appearance.

A game will be a called game if the leading team is ahead by 10 or more runs when the opposing team has batted in at least seven innings, if 15 or more runs when the opposing team has batted in at least five innings.

Lastly, the DH rule applies for all the games.

Know Your Teams

The WBC is unique and online betting handicappers have to be on top of their game because the rosters are comprised of national teams. Does Alex Rodriguez play for the American team, even though he’s a Dominican player? Does Carlos Lee play for the Cuban team or the Panamanian team?

For starters, take a look at the roster and see which players you are familiar with. A lot of Major League Baseball players will participate in this tournament but some players like Mark Teixeira, do not.  Don’t just assume that the American team will be the strongest because they are chalk-full of MLB players. Do some research and see who actually accepted invitations and who will play.

Secondly, do some research on the teams that you don’t know about. In the previous World Baseball Classic in 2006, the Japanese team one. Outside of Ichiro and Daisuke, not many casual online sports betting handicappers knew about their team. It’s important to examine the rosters and see how it shapes up against the more familiar brand name teams.

Know How To Bet

The last one is the easiest: if you aren’t sure about how to bet sports, or you have some questions on online sports betting, you should check out some how-to’s. It’s very simple, but the last thing you want to do is invest your money into something without knowing how to do it.