In North America, basketball (along with baseball and hockey) is one of the most popular sports, and basketball bets take a significant place in total sports betting. It is not just the fact that North America is home to the strongest basketball league in the world – the number of equally likely outcomes that the basketball line has to offer.
The vast majority of professional players and bookmakers, of which there are many in America, play just such “half chance” outcomes in order to get the most even profit over a long period of time. In any basketball game, there are at least two equally likely events on which you can bet – handicap and total. It is because of this property that basketball has become one of the most popular objects for big bets.
Advantages of basketball betting
A large number of equal probability events. As already stated, basketball is one of the most suitable sports for betting on equally likely events.
High betting limits on the NBA. The vast majority of big bettors bet on the NBA, including the lion’s share of players from the United States, who traditionally place big bets. In pursuit of this traffic, the best betting shops try to create the most comfortable conditions for basketball bettors, offering generous betting limits on major outcomes, as well as handicaps and totals. True, this feature is more peculiar to large Western bookmakers’ offices, as well as in general the loyalty program is always more interesting in Western online casinos.
Low Margin on the NBA. The same competition between bookmakers and casinos in the fight for the biggest players has caused almost all leading gambling establishments in the world to have lower margins on NBA games than on all other competitions and sports offered in the lineup.
Regularity of games. The fact that most basketball teams play two to four games a week makes this sport the most attractive for fans of statistics in calculations – the sample of analyzed NBA games is very solid and allows you to make fairly accurate predictions. In addition, the NBA is often the only competition on which you can bet on any day, including holidays – even on December 31 and January 1 the league always plays at least two or three games.
Disadvantages of basketball betting
Low limits and odds for European competitions. In contrast to NBA matches, Eurocup matches and European championships usually offer very modest upper betting limits; odds are also mostly 3-5 points lower than NBA odds. All this makes betting on the same Euroleague not the most profitable business.
Weak coverage. The vast majority of bookmakers offer a weak coverage of basketball games. Many are limited to handicaps, totals and main outcomes. Despite the fact that professionals are more than enough of this coverage, many players, accustomed to betting on soccer, it may seem very poor.
Betting types
Main outcomes
The number of main outcomes offered on a basketball match depends on which bookmaker’s office you play. Some gambling establishments open three main outcomes: P1, X and P2, adding a win including overtime to the spread, while others offer just two outcomes – P1 and P2 (which means that in case of a draw the winner will be determined in overtime).
Handicap
A handicap in basketball shows the final score difference in favor of one of the teams. You are required to guess whether it will be more or less than the specified value. For example, if you bet on a team with handicap -5.5, you need the team to win by at least 6 points. In case you bet on the team with a handicap of +5.5, you would expect the team to lose by at least 5 points. Handicaps in basketball are not much different from handicaps in other sports and most bookmakers allow to buy more handicaps, in which case the odds usually fall by 8-10 points for each point purchased. Adding up is usually possible from 4 to 12 points (the exact value of each office defines for itself).
Total
Total is a bet where you try to guess if the final result of the game will be more or less than the offered value. Almost always the odds for “more” and “less” are the same. Totals, as well as handicaps, can be topped up, and both up and down. The dynamics of change in odds in this case is often similar to the dynamics of changes in odds quotes.
Basketball total betting strategy
The strategy for the total in basketball at first glance seems simple. It is enough to look at the previous results of the teams and analyze how many points they score per game. However, it is not that simple: anything can happen in one particular game, and several factors can affect the game of the team at once: from the psychological state of the players to their physical condition.
Betting on basketball in quarters
This type of betting is very popular with those who like to bet on basketball. A quarter in basketball is a mini-match. The head coach uses different tactics, played combinations, there may be constant replacement of athletes on the court. The fatigue of the players, accumulated over the previous quarters, also affects the result. Often in betting lines you can see a bet not only on the outcome, handicap and total of each quarter, but also on the comparison of the performance of the quarters: scored more points, committed more fouls, etc.
The quarter by quarter strategy in basketball also has its own peculiarities. Here it is necessary to have an idea of how the team plays in the first half of the game and how it plays in the second half, what are the peculiarities and differences in the actions of the team in different quarters. In case of betting by quarters, you should follow more closely what happened on the court in the previous quarter.
Other suggestions. In addition to the standard set of positions, the vast majority of bookmakers include in their line extra coverage. This additional lineup may offer a variety of betting options: on handicaps and totals for each quarter, on individual team totals, on individual totals of leading basketball players, on the presence or absence of overtime, etc. There is also a bet called “odd-odd”. Basketball is a game in which a large number of points are scored. And the score at the end of a meeting or quarter will necessarily be even or odd. This is also what bookmakers offer to bet on.