There is no lack of basketball bets that you can make, and those bets are pretty easy to understand. From the typical spread and total to futures bets and proposition bets you have a lot of choices when wagering on the hardwood.
Before making a bet, you should do a little homework to find the best basketball betting lines and odds possible. Between basketball sportsbooks online the odds will not differ much, but if you can get the best odds why not take them to get the best payout and best chance to have a bet be a winning one?
The Spread
The most common basketball bet is the spread where the favorite will be giving points, and the underdog will be getting them. In an example of “spread,” a sportsbook has the Cavaliers at -3 and the Celtics +3. The Cavs are the favorite denoted by the – in front of their number, and they are giving three points to the Celtics, who are the underdog denoted by the + in front of the number.\ In the example above if you bet on the Cavaliers, they have to win by more than three points, they are giving, for you to win. Conversely, if you bet on the Celtics, they have to either win or lose by less than three points for the wager to be a winning one.
Often a sportsbook will put a .5 after a spread, as well as total, bet. A team cannot win by half a point which means a push bet cannot happen if there is a spread with a half point added to it! In the example above the Cavaliers are the 3-point favorite, and if they win by exactly three points the bet is a push, and you will get your original stake back.
Totals Betting
The totals bet in basketball is the easiest one to understand. The sportsbook will have a “total” listed for a game such as Lakers vs. Jazz of 197. You are wagering on if you think the total number of points scored by both teams will be above or below the posted total. It is that easy.
Moneyline Betting
In a moneyline bet you are betting on one team to win outright and rather than giving or getting points the odds will reflect the favorite. For example, if the Bulls are at -130 and the Knicks are at +150 and using $100 as an example you will have to bet $130 to win $100 betting on the Bulls and bet $100 to win $150 on the Knicks. The payout is better for the Knicks, but they are the underdog, and you are not getting any points.
Parlay Bets
There are also basketball parlay bets where you will be stacking up multiple bets inside one bigger bet. There are also complicated teaser and pleaser bets where you wager on more than one game, but the premise is the same, as you have to win multiple bets in one to be a winner.The payout is much better for a parlay bet, which can be spreads, totals, and both, but you have to win all the games in the bet for it to be a winning one.
Prop Betting
Proposition bets are known as prop bets, and you can make them for teams and players. A couple of examples of prop bets are will the Celtics score more than 100 points in the game or Will LeBron James score over or under 28 points. A prop bet is a bet that is not determined by the outcome of the game, and it can be a fun bet to make.
Future Betting
There are also futures betting in basketball where you are betting on some future outcome. For example, if the Warriors are the favorite to win the NBA title before the season begins and they have odds of +300 if you wager $100 on them and they win it all you win a cool $3000. Futures bets are harder to win, as you are picking a team to win a title, conference, or division and the bet is not over until the season is. Also, you can make futures’ bets during the season, but the odds will change and do so deposing on how that team is doing during the season.
There is a look at how to bet on basketball. Once you understand all of these different line types and betting options, you will know how to bet on hoops better.
Before you start sports betting, you need to develop a betting strategy, here at Apex Network we can help you find it. Visit our comprehensive sports betting sites for, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, nascar, tennis, golf, horses, boxing, soccer, for the highest-quality sportsbook and betting information.
