HOW TO BET BASKETBALL, BASKETBALL betting 101, How to bet on basketball, Basketball betting
How to Bet on Basketball
Basketball, both college and professional, is one of the more popular sports for bettors. There are a number of different ways to bet on basketball, but the most common methods of basketball betting are moneyline, point spread, and totals bets. To have success in betting on basketball, it helps to understand these three traditional bets.
Basketball Odds
Before we begin to understand how to bet on basketball, it is essential that bettors know how to read odds. These are expressed as a numerical value with a plus sign (+) in front of the underdog and a minus sign (-) in front of the favorite. See the example below.
Boston Celtics +110
Miami Heat -110
The Heat is the favorite in this case with the Celtics as the underdog. The numbers themselves represent actual odds and are based on a $100 bet. The -110, for example, represents that a bettor must wager $110 in order to win $100. The extra $10 is the juice, or commission, that the sportsbook earns for taking the bet.
Betting on the Moneyline
A moneyline bet in basketball is simply a wager on which team will win a game. We can use the same example from above. This time, though, the odds will reflect a team’s probability of winning.
Boston Celtics +220
Miami Heat -260
The Heat are favored to win. In order to win a $100 on a Heat victory, a bettor must wager $260. A bet on the Celtics is a little riskier as they are not predicted to win. However, a $100 wager on Boston would pay out $220 if the Celtics were to win.
Betting the Point Spread
Two teams are usually not evenly matched in an NBA or college basketball game. Oddsmakers can add a point spread which gives bettors an alternative to picking one team to win over the other. The underdog is given a certain number of points to start putting the favorite at a disadvantage.
The bet then is on whether a team will cover that point spread or not. Let’s take another example using Golden State and Minnesota.
Golden State Warriors -14.5 (-110)
Minnesota Timberwolves +14.5 (-110)
The Warriors are the favorite and must win by at least 15 points to cover the spread. If they do cover, a Golden State bettor would win $100 on a $110 bet. Likewise, a bet on Minnesota wins if the T-Wolves lose by 14 or fewer points or they win outright. Again, a $110 bet wins $100.
Betting Totals
In its simplest terms, a totals bet is one on whether the combined final score of a game goes Over or Under a set number of points. This bet has nothing to do with the outcome of the game.
Golden State Warriors O 220
Minnesota Timberwolves U 220
If you bet the Over in this game, you need the combined final score to add up to 221 or more points. A bet on the Under would need a combined total of 219 or less. If the final score totaled 220, the result would be what is called a “push.” Bets are typically refunded in such cases.
Like moneyline and point spread bets, totals bets are available for college basketball games too. The posted total is typically a lot less in a college game than an NBA game. College teams play for 40 minutes. The NBA plays for 48.
There are a number of other ways to bet on basketball. These three are the most traditional and the most common. Check back periodically for more information about how to bet on basketball.