How To Bet On Basketball

Online sportsbooks are the best place to bet on basketball. They are convenient, trusted and offer a wide variety of fair odds for betting on basketball. Having some money riding on a basketball game enhances the games excitement. Even a game that is ten points apart with two minutes left could be very exciting to someone who bet the spread. An online betting account allows you to place basketball bets easily and securely from your computer or mobile phone. Simply put, online sportsbooks are the most popular way to bet on basketball games for a reason.

Best Sportsbooks for Betting On Basketball

In terms of the leagues offered to bet on, basketball betting at NetBet is certainly one. From this Netbet overview, it’s easy to see how after 17 years. College basketball betting strategies and upcoming matchup odds and futures. Learn how to bet on college basketball. Tutorial covers easy and exotic bets. You have a better chance of a winning wager when you bet on professional basketball than on other major North American. Deciding how to bet include the.

• Most popular betting site worldwide
• Top quality live betting platform (including streaming of many events)
• Fixed odds betting for horse racing

• Accepts players worldwide
• Competitive betting lines
• Fast & easy deposits and withdrawals (including Bitcoin)

• Accepts players worldwide
• Competitive betting lines
• Old style website that is easy to navigate

How To Bet On Basketball Online

Betting on basketball is extremely easy and if you follow the three steps listed below you will be placing NBA wagers in no time.

Bet On Basketball – Step By Step Guide

1. Open an Online Sportsbook Account – The three sportsbooks listed above are our top three recommended NBA betting sites for your location. We suggest you visit one of those sites and set up an account. Opening a new account just takes a minute and you will only have to provide basic info such as your name and email address.

How To Bet On Basketball Totals

2. Make a Deposit – You can’t bet on basketball online without first funding your account. To make a deposit head over to the cashier section of the sportsbook and follow the depositing instructions. Credit card deposits are generally the most popular, but you can deposit via a wide variety of methods including e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, etc), Bitcoin, bank transfers, and more. If you have trouble depositing contact customer support and they will go out of their way to help you fund your account.

3. Place Your Basketball Bets – Now it’s time to start making money with your basketball knowledge. Head over to the basketball betting section of the sportsbook and begin to build your bankroll by placing sharp bets on basketball games!

Types of Basketball Bets

The three most popular types of basketball bets include betting the spread, the money line and the over/under.

Point Spread

Spread betting is generally the most popular and the most exciting type of basketball bet because it puts the two teams on an even playing field. In order for a spread bet on a favorite to win that team must win the game by more than “spread” amount. For example, if the Indiana Pacers are -4 point favorites over the Magic then the Pacers must win by 5 or more for a Pacers spread bet to payout. On the other hand the Magic must either win outright or lose by 3 or fewer points for a Magic spread bet to payout. If the Pacers win by exactly 4 points then the spread bets are “pushed” and the wager amounts are refunded.

Money Line

With money line betting you are wagering on which team will win the game outright. The odds associated with each team determine the amount a bet on either team wins with a certain risk. Continuing with the Magic vs Pacers example the odds might be something like -155 for the Pacers and +135 for the Magic. This means that you would have to wager $155 to win $100 betting on the Pacers, while you would have to bet $100 to win $135 betting on the Magic.

Total (Over/Under)

Over/under betting, also known as totals betting, involves wagering on how many total points will be scored in a game. The bookmaker sets a “total” and you can wager on whether there will be more or fewer than that many points scored in the game.

Other Bets (Props and Futures)

Some other fun bets that can be made on basketball include prop bets and futures. Prop bets are any wager that isn’t directly affected by the final outcome of the game (how many points a player scores, which team scores first, etc). Futures bets include such things as which team will win the NBA Championships or the March Madness NCAA tournament.

Basketball Betting Odds

We touched on odds a little bit in the types of basketball bets section, but we will provide another example here. Typically you will see the American odds format when betting on basketball so let’s look at another example of that:

Xavier -5 (-110)
Butler +5 (-110)

In this example Xavier are 5 point favorites over the Butler Bulldogs. For a spread bet on Xavier to win they must win the game by 6 or more points and vice versa with Butler. The -110 indicates that you must bet $110 in order to win $100 betting on either outcome.

How To Bet On Basketball Point Spread

Basketball Betting Tips

• Home vs Away Games – Where the game is being played matters quite a bit in basketball. The fans play a roll in the game and it’s important to keep in mind if a team is at home or away before placing a bet.
• Streaks – Basketball seems to be more of a streaky sport than most others. When a team is firing on all cylinders they feel like they can’t lose and when things aren’t going their way it feels like they can’t hit a shot. You should include streaks in your basketball betting strategy.
• Be Patient – Keep your eye out for sharp bets, but don’t feel like you have to bet on every basketball game taking place on a given night. Betting on every game is a recipe for loss.
• Compare Lines – You will see this tip on nearly every page here at BetOnIt.org because it is that important. You should try to find the best line for the outcome you are choosing in order to have the best win rate and biggest return.

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How to Bet On Sports > How to Bet on the NBA

“You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” – Michael Jordan

Introduction

For over a decade Sports Insights has been a leader in the sports information industry and our “How To” articles are designed to help our members to grasp the fundamentals of sports investing. This article will focus on the ins and outs of wagering on the NBA. The seemingly eternal NBA season starts in late October and the Finals occur in early July. The long season provides many opportunities to build your bankroll, but before you can become a sports investor, you must learn how to bet on the NBA. This article discusses the different wager types the NBA has to offer, including: Spread, Moneyline, Parlay/Teaser, 1st Quarter/1st Half, Halftime, and Futures.

Spread

Any fan of the NBA will tell you that games can become high scoring affairs as teams are only given 24 seconds on every possession to score. Due to these high scores, bookmakers use a spread, or line, to equalize the chances of either team winning a wager. It is not uncommon to see 15+ point spreads, something that is rarity in the NFL. The example below from the SI Archive should help clear things up:

The example above demonstrates the opening line for a regular season match-up between the Celtics and Knicks. The -2 indicates that the Celtics are the favorite, despite the Knicks playing at home. The ‘-110’ next to the line is what’s known as the vig, or juice, which is simply a fee the sportsbooks charge to use their service. A bet of $110 on Boston would improve your bankroll $100 as the team covered easily by 8 points. A ‘+’ symbol always indicates an underdog, whereas a ‘-‘ always indicates a favorite. A two-year study on NBA point spreads concluded that games fall within .5 points of the spread 5.5% of the time, which is why shopping for the best line is crucial to the smart sports investor.

Moneyline

The Moneyline is a type of wager that provides different odds based simply on who will win. The Moneyline (ML) odds can be drastic when the powerhouses of the NBA face-off against the lower level teams who are struggling to stay above .500. The example below demonstrates a typical Moneyline wager in the NBA:

The example above shows drastic moneyline odds, indicating that the Spurs are the big favorites in this contest. In fact, one would have to lay $850 on the Spurs to collect a mere $100 in profit. On the other hand, a wager of $100 on the Warriors would earn the bettor $600 in winnings. The Moneyline and point spread are not necessarily released simultaneously.

The Spread and Moneyline are contributing factors for Sports Insights’ Steam Moves and Smart Money plays, both available in our Sportsbook Insider Pro plan.

Totals

A total wager is one placed on the COMBINED score of each team. This number is determined by the bookmakers and the bettor places a wager on the over or under (O/U). The NBA is the highest scoring sport of all the major U.S. sports, so it is not uncommon to see totals in the +220’s. The example below should help makes things clearer:

The final total for this contest was 194 points, falling just 3.5 points short of the bookmakers’ predicted total. Due to the increased juice, a wager of $115 on the under would earn $100 profit. Totals lines can fluctuate from their time of release, so make sure you consult SportsInsights.com’s Betting Trends Data before placing a wager.

Quarter/1st Half Lines

A 48-minute NBA game is broken down into four 12-minute quarters, and bettors are able to place bets on the 1st quarter and 1st half lines before these contests begin. These bets can be best thought of as the game within the game. The 1st quarter line (generally ¼ of the entire game’s spread) lets you dictate who you think will be covering the spread at the end of one quarter of play. The 1st half lines are essentially the same, only they extend through the 1st half of play. Like other sports, some teams are known to jump out of the gate quickly and build an early lead, while others are “4th quarter teams” who like to play from behind. These situations are some of the inspirations for 1st quarter and half lines. (you can keep or delete this above sentence, I couldn’t decide)

Halftime Lines

For most people, the dawning of halftime means it’s time to change the channel, but for the avid sports investor, halftimes can become a thing of profit. Halftime lines are available DURING halftime only. The halftime lines take into consideration what transpired in the 1st half to create an entirely new spread for the remainder of the game. Think of the 2nd half as a completely new game with a new spread to accompany the remainder of the contest. The example below should shed light on this concept:

If you were to think of the start of the 3rd quarter as 0 to 0, the final score would be 44 to 37, meaning the Bulls would have covered the halftime spread by 3 points. Halftime wagers are not nearly as popular as bets placed before the game, but a winning wager still creates the same profit.

Parlay/Teaser

How To Bet On Basketball Online

Like any major American sport, you can parlay, essentially combine, your bets to increase the payout. For your parlay to hit, or win, ALL of the bets must cover. You can combine spread, totals, and moneyline bets to increase the payout of a parlay. A teaser bet is essentially the same as a parlay wager only the booksmaker gives you points to increase your odds of winning, but decrease your overall payout. For example, if you are wagering on a 4-point teaser and the Boston Celtics spread is -10, it would become -6. This 4-point advantage is included on each part of the teaser wager. The chart below shows payout structure for a typical spread parlay:

How To Bet On Basketball

Futures

How To Bet On Basketball Online

Futures bets are proposition bets placed on which team will win what conference or the NBA championship. Futures are not only limited to teams. For example, you can place bets on who you think will the league’s MVP. There are even bets available at the beginning of the season as to the over/under win totals for a specific team. As the season progresses, the odds fluctuate, and once a team has officially been placed out of the running, they take down the odds for them to win in all. It is not uncommon to see teams fall from this list before the end of March. Despite the fact that only 8 different teams have won the NBA championship in the last 30 years, many bettors like to wager on a dark horse team due to the better odds these teams receive. A bettor may choose to place wagers on several teams to win the big game in order to increase the chance of a decent payout.