Understanding MLB Wild Card Odds; How Does MLB Wildcard Work

Since wild card teams entered the playoffs, they have won the World Series eight times. 

Below is a brief summary of the teams who won championships despite failing to win their divisions.

Credit: MLB.com

The MLB playoffs include 12 teams, six from the AL and the NL. The rules for the four rounds of the postseason differ.

Wild Card Round

This round includes the three wild card teams in each league and the division winner with the worst records. The top two division winners get a bye from these best-of-three series, and the matchups are as follows:

Division winner with the worst record (#3 seed) vs. Wild card team with the worst record (#6 seed)

Wild card team with the best record (#4 seed) vs. Wild card team with the second-best record (#5 seed)

All games are played at the team's home ballpark with the better record.

Divisional Round

The American League Division Series and National League Division Series are best-of-five series that pit the top division winners against the survivors of the previous round. The matchups look like this:

Best division winner (#1 seed) vs. winner of #4 seed vs. #5 seed.

Second-best division winner (#2 seed) vs. winner of #3 seed vs. #6 seed.

It's important to note that the bracket is locked into this alignment regardless of which teams win the previous round. That means that if the #6 seed beats the #3 seed, the #2 seed will face a lower seed than the #1 seed, even though it had a worse regular-season record.

Championship Series

The American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series are best-of-seven battles between the division series' winners. Seeding is no longer relevant because each league has only two surviving clubs.

World Series

The last team standing in the American League faces its counterpart in the National League in a best-of-seven series for the MLB championship.

At the beginning of the MLB postseason, the six teams that earn a spot in the American League and National League are each seeded from one to six based on their records and whether they won their division.

The way they are seeded within each league looks like this:

• No. 1 seed: Best league record
• No. 2 seed: Second-best division winner
• No. 3 seed: Third-best division winner
• No. 4 seed: Best record among wild card teams
• No. 5 seed: Second-best record among wild card teams
• No. 6 seed: Third-best record among wild card teams

It's important to note that it does not matter if any of the wild card teams have better records than division winners. MLB teams that did not win their division are never seeded above others that did.

Tiebreakers

In some cases, teams finish the regular season with identical records, and they need to be separated in playoff seeding to determine a division winner or placement within the wild card field.

The tiebreakers are as follows:

• Head-to-head record
  The first tiebreaker is determined by the games between the two teams. The team that wins the season series is seeded higher.
• Intradivision Record
  If that's a tie, the teams' records in games against opponents in their division will break the tie. This is true even if they are not in the same division.
• Interdivision Record
  The next tiebreaker is how the teams compete against teams in their league but outside their division. So, for an NL East team like the Philadelphia Phillies, it would be the record against teams from the NL Central and NL West.
• Last Half of Intraleague Games
  If the teams are still tied, the next step is to examine their second-half records against teams within their league. These records come from the 81 games of the season, not the All-Star Break.
• Last Half of Intraleague Games Plus One
  If the fourth tiebreaker does not settle things, then the previous intraleague game on the schedule will be used. If that's a tie, the process is repeated until the tie concludes.

When looking at wild card markets at online sportsbooks, you need to know how to interpret odds.

For example, the New York Yankees might have +250 to make the wild card, meaning a $100 bet would win $250 if they do. The New York Mets might have +800 to make the wild card, so a higher payout because they are less likely.

Sportsbooks adjust these odds throughout the season based on team performance and other factors. For example, if the Yankees go on a winning streak, their odds might drop to +15. If the Mets lose a key player, their odds might increase to +1000.

Before making a wild card bet on your favorite team, remember that this bet will only win if that team specifically earns a wild card spot. If it wins its division, you will lose the bet. In this way, wild card odds differ from overall MLB playoff odds.

A bet on a team to make the playoffs will win regardless of whether they are a wild card team or division winner.

The MLB wild card is part of the postseason and gives teams that didn't win their division a chance to win the World Series.

This has been in effect in some form since 1994 and helps with competitive balance by giving more teams a shot at the postseason. Wild card odds are influenced by team performance, schedule strength, and player health and give an idea of which teams will get those spots.

For fans and bettors, it's important to know how wild card teams are determined and seeded and what the tiebreakers are. History has shown that although wild card teams have worse records than division winners, they still have a good chance to win the championship.