Basketball wagers are among the easiest to make among different sports offered in internet gambling.
With over 12,000 professional and college games each season, betting lines are available online daily for regular season games, tournaments and playoff action.
The National basketball Associat.ion (NBA) alone features 30 teams playing 82 games each in a span of 8 months (from November to June).
Meanwhile, College Basketball features 347 schools in 32 Division I conferences. The season starts November and culminates with the much anticipated Tournament in March, aptly called "March Madness".
With so many games to choose from and handicap, Basketball wagers can be daunting for novice bettors. But if you put in the time and effort to gather and analyze as much information as you can about the teams, you can be a consistent winner!
Basketball wagers use much the same procedure as wagering on American Football - point spreads are used to handicap the favorites and underdogs for any given game.
Money Lines and Over and Under Totals are also popular for Basketball wagering as well. Online sportsbooks usually require 43 minutes of play for wagering to take place at the NBA while at the NCAA, 35 minutes are needed.
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Here are 10 easy to follow basketball wagering tips to help you win your basketball wagers:
You often hear this adage from coaches who are trying reel in an out of control player. And you should listen to it too. An NBA season is 10-months long. There are plenty of opportunities to bet.
Use the early part of the season to gauge the tendencies of each team. See how the new players are jelling, look at the system of the new coaches, etc. Make your own bench mark for each team to block out the preseason hype.
And when wagering time comes, look for lines getting steam, especially close to tipoff.
Odds makers already have their tried and tested formula for spread and money line wagers. But in basketball, any player is capable of scoring big (or getting shutdown) each night. This makes the Over / Under wager a sharp bettor's best friend.
Key players (even coaches) may be unavailable for the next game. Injuries, suspensions, off-court issues, even designated rests can affect player availability.
During the first three season of Lebron James' return to Cleveland, the Cavs are 129-43 in games with him and 4-18 in games without him. When Lebron sits, you're almost sure the Cavs are going to lose.
The NBA releases its schedule weeks before the start of the regular season. Sports pundits are quick to mark marquee matchups like Christmas Day games, the first rematch of the previous Finals' teams, etc.
But value can be found on games that are NOT nationally televised. You can more objectively weigh the odds of each team winning without the media hype or drama from the big teams or star players.
The NBA schedule is one of the most brutal in all of sports. Teams travel cross-country and play on back-to-back nights. Sometimes three games on four nights, even four games in five nights. Despite the NBA's efforts to spread out games throughout the season, some teams still get this tough schedule as many as five times a season.
Teams on the tail end of a long and tedious road trip may not perform well, affecting the game's Over / Under and outright result.
Trades and free agent signings are part of professional basketball and professional sport for that matter. Yet, many players still part with their team with animosity. Look for players who have an axe to grind against their former team and are out for a breakout game.
Consider Dwayne Wade's first game against the Miami Heat after he got traded to the Chicago Bulls. He may have scored only 13 points, but his key plays propelled the Bulls for the 98-95 win.
Or Derrick Rose's double-double performance against the Bulls after he was sent to the New York Knicks. Rose's stat for the night – 15 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists for a 117 – 104 Knicks win.
Even Kevin Durant lit up the Thunder for 40 points and 12 rebounds in his first game against his former team after moving from Oklahoma to Golden State.
Games, especially towards the end of the regular season, can be meaningful to some teams, while meaningless to others. Teams which have locked up their playoff position may opt to rest their star players. Meanwhile, other teams who have yet to secure their post season spots will go all out.
There's good value in rooting for teams who will fight tooth and nail for your hard earned bankroll.
As the long basketball season progresses, some teams will find their groove and win consecutively. The 1971–72 LA Lakers holds the longest winning streak in the NBA at 33 games. Meanwhile, the lowly 2017 Heat surprisingly won 13 straight games after the all-star break (they would go on to win 23 of their next 28 games). Continuing a winning streak certainly adds to player motivation, but try to stay away from overwhelmingly favorite teams, even if they are on a streak. Odds makers usually add a premium to teams on a winning streak.
On the other hand, some rebuilding teams may purposely choose to lose (tank) games in an effort to have better chances at getting a higher lottery pick, which makes picking the money line as easy as picking a cherry.
There are literally thousands of basketball games out there and you don't have to bet on all of them. Just bet the ones that you think have value – underdog home teams, teams going up against opponents on a long road trip, teams with unavailable players, etc.
Successful basketball teams are often disciplined basketball teams. Disciplined in running their offense and disciplined in imposing their defense. As a bettor, you should have a disciplined approach too.
Just by flipping a coin, you will be right 50% of the time. At odds of 1.91, only 52.38% of your bets have to win for you to overcome the bookmaker's profit and break even. You only need a very small edge to become a winner.
Winning 55% of your wagers is definitely achievable and a 60-65% winning percentage is a realistic target. At those levels, you will have an extremely profitable and enjoyable hobby.
DATE | MATCHUP | SPREAD |
---|---|---|
Sun, Oct. 20, 08:05pm EDT |
Minnesota Lynx at | (+6) -115 |
New York Liberty | (-6) -105 |
Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
PLAYER | ODDS |
---|---|
Alexandre Sarr (Perth Wildcats) | -150 |
Zaccharie Risacher (JL Bourg) | +150 |
Nikola Topic (KK Crvena Zvezda) | +10000 |
Reed Sheppard (Kentucky) | +4000 |
Matas Buzelis (G League) | +5000 |
Ron Holland (G League) | +4000 |
Rob Dillingham (Kentucky) | +10000 |
Stephon Castle (UConn) | +7500 |
Donovan Clingan (UConn) | +425 |
Zach Edey (Purdue) | +10000 |
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Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
PLAYER | ODDS |
---|---|
Over | +120 |
Under | -160 |
Wager on your favorite basketball team or player now!
Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
PLAYER | ODDS |
---|---|
Over | +135 |
Under | -175 |
Wager on your favorite basketball team or player now!
Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
PLAYER | ODDS |
---|---|
Alexandre Sarr | +170 |
Zaccharie Risacher | -120 |
Reed Sheppard | +1000 |
NIkola Topic | +3300 |
Donovan Clingan | +500 |
Rob Dillingham | +7500 |
Matas Buzelis | +2500 |
Stephon Castle | +2000 |
Wager on your favorite basketball team or player now!
Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
PLAYER | ODDS |
---|---|
Cody Williams | +3300 |
Reed Sheppard | +130 |
Alexandre Sarr | +1400 |
Zaccharie Risacher | +1000 |
Stephon Castle | +650 |
Nikola Topic | +1100 |
Ron Holland | +2500 |
Matas Buzelis | +1000 |
Rob Dillingham | +2000 |
Donovan Clingan | +250 |
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Monday, June 24, 2024 | 10:00 EDT
PLAYER | ODDS |
---|---|
Los Angeles Lakers | +400 |
San Antonio Spurs | +200 |
Dallas Mavericks | +1000 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | +1600 |
Charlotte Hornets | +600 |
New York Knicks | +1600 |
Boston Celtics | +1200 |
Chicago Bulls | +1000 |
Miami Heat | +900 |
Phoenix Suns | +1200 |
Wager on your favorite basketball team or player now!
Thursday, October 31, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
TEAM | ODDS |
---|---|
Atlanta Hawks | +10000 |
Boston Celtics | +325 |
Brooklyn Nets | +30000 |
Charlotte Hornets | +20000 |
Chicago Bulls | +12500 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | +4500 |
Dallas Mavericks | +600 |
Denver Nuggets | +800 |
Detroit Pistons | +50000 |
Golden State Warriors | +2200 |
Houston Rockets | +20000 |
Indiana Pacers | +4500 |
Los Angeles Clippers | +2000 |
Los Angeles Lakers | +2200 |
Memphis Grizzlies | +2500 |
Miami Heat | +3500 |
Milwaukee Bucks | +1000 |
Minnesota Timberwolves | +1200 |
New Orleans Pelicans | +6600 |
New York Knicks | +1600 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | +950 |
Orlando Magic | +6600 |
Philadelphia 76ers | +1600 |
Phoenix Suns | +2200 |
Portland Trail Blazers | +50000 |
Sacramento Kings | +6600 |
San Antonio Spurs | +8000 |
Toronto Raptors | +20000 |
Utah Jazz | +30000 |
Washington Wizards | +50000 |
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Monday, June 17, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
TEAM | ODDS |
---|---|
Las Vegas Aces | +160 |
News York Liberty | +190 |
Connecticut Sun | +700 |
Dallas Wings | +5000 |
Washington Mystics | +45000 |
Indiana Fever | +10000 |
Minnesota Lynx | +700 |
Los Angeles Sparks | +25000 |
Atlanta Dream | +7000 |
Chicago Sky | +10000 |
Phoenix Mercury | +4000 |
Seattle Storm | +1000 |
Wager on your favorite WNBA team now!
Monday, June 17, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
TEAM | ODDS |
---|---|
A'Ja Wilson | -200 |
Breanna Stewart | +2500 |
Alyssa Thomas | +750 |
Caitlin Clark | +5000 |
Jewell Lloyd | +5000 |
Sabrina Ionescu | +5000 |
Kelsey Plum | +5000 |
Arike Ogunbawale | +5000 |
Nneka Ogwumike | +4000 |
Jackie Young | +4000 |
Aliyah Boston | +7500 |
Kahleah Cooper | +3300 |
Napheesa Collier | +850 |
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Monday, June 17, 2024 | 07:00 EDT
TEAM | ODDS |
---|---|
Caitlin Clark | -900 |
Angel Reese | +1200 |
Cameron Brink | +1200 |
Rickea Jackson | +4500 |
Kamilla Cardoso | +4000 |
Wager on your favorite WNBA team now!