Basketball is one of the simplest of the four dominant sports to wager on. This game, along with football utilizes the point spread for gambling on teams and an over-under number. Thus, if you already know how to gamble on football, you also know the fundamentals of how to do so on basketball.
The website TopRatedBettingSites.co.uk states that the most popular way to bet on basketball includes the point spread. This is a handicap that the bookmakers appoint on one team to make both of the clubs equal regarding betting on them.
Thus, with the point spread, the favorite team is the one that is assumed to win, while the other team is assigned the name underdog. The so-called favorite lays points to the underdog for gambling purposes, which we will explain later on.
If the NY Knicks are playing the Celtics, most punters would bet on the latter to win the game. However, imagine that the point spread will make the team a 10-point favorite. Thus, the Boston Celtics will have to win by more than 11 points for its punters to win their bet, while the ones who wager on the Knicks will win their bets if their team won the match, or lost by less than 9 points.
When you bet versus the point spread, you will be requested to lay 11 to 10 odds. Thus, you will win $10 if you risk $11.
This is how the bookmakers make their money. If you bet $11 on the Celtics and I bet $11 on the Knicks, the sportsbook will collect $22 from us, but will only return $21 to the winner. The left dollar is the fee that the bookie receives for accepting our bets.
Totals
The next most common method of betting on basketball is in gambling totals. They are also called over-unders. Fundamentally, a total is the anticipated score of the 2 teams that are playing.
A figure will be posted in the form of a number, and the punters can bet more than the assumed total points that will be scored, or over. Alternatively, they can wager less than the anticipated total score of points, or under.
In the hypothetical game we mentioned earlier between the Celtics and Knicks, the over/under number will most likely be 188. The gamblers who bet on the over would obtain their bets if the entire combined score is more than 189, while the punters who bet on the under will win their wagers if the score is less than 187.
This is similar to the point spread because the punters are requested to lay 11 to 10 odds, thus risking $11 to win $10 on every over/under bet. To overcome the odds, sports punters rely on the best online bookmakers so you should click here for promotions, bonuses and other forms of useful gambling offers.
Money Line Bets
While wagering on totals or against the point spread makes up the mass of basketball bets, punters have a few other available options. One of them is the money line bet. Simply put, this is a wager on the victor of the match without the point spread. But, since some teams receive a better than 50% chance to win, moneyline bets are made using odds. Thus, if you bet on the team that is expected to be victorious, you will be asked a to risk a lot more than you will potentially win.
For example, odds for money line odds for our hypothetical game will look like this:
New York Knicks +240
Boston Celtics –300
This means that the punters who bet on the Knicks will have to risk $10 to win $24, while those who think that the Celtics will win will have to put up $30 to win $10.
At one point, all sports betting used to be done with money lines. However, since too many people wagered on the obvious favorites most of the time, the point spread was introduced, and since then sports betting has not been the same. If you are still confused about odds, we advise you to check out this article. It will explain more about how probability works.
Teasers and Parlays
The other types of bets that involve basketball come in the form of teasers and parlays. These can sometimes be considered as exotic bets. If you use parlays, you will have the option to bet against the point spread by using the money line. On the other hand, teasers were created using the point spread, and you can adjust it in your favor.
The catch about teasers and parlays is that all of your teams have to win or the whole bet will be a loss. For example, even if you pick 5 out of 6 games correctly, a teaser or a parlay bet will still be considered as a loss.
Betting on basketball is not difficult, and it usually ranks second regarding betting dollars, while football is in the first place. A lot of fans will find that dealing with totals or the point spread is much easier than using the money line.