Aug 07, 2017 Basketball Money Line Odds and Betting Betting the “ML” simply means picking who you think will win out-right. The only caveat is that you will need to wager more on a favorite to receive a substantial payoff, while a winning underdog comes with a better payout. Jul 12, 2019 The same general rules apply for basketball and are quite easy to follow because of the inherent simplicity of the bet. When it comes to betting sports like baseball and hockey, the standard bets are made on the “ money line ” – an established number for both teams to win the game outright.
As a fast-paced end-to-end game, basketball offers bettors an exciting way to try and make a profit. To help those who want to learn how to bet on basketball get started, we’ve explained a few basic bet types that are vital to basketball betting. Continue reading to find out more.
Money line basketball betting
Money line markets are the most common and simplest market for a bettor to understand the cost of a bet. This form of basketball betting is simply placing money on a certain team to win the game. For example, look at these money line odds for Boston Celtics vs. Utah Jazz:
Utah Jazz: 1.364
In this example, the Utah Jazz (1.364) are the favourites to beat the Celtics (3.440) at home - in American odds this would be -275 and +244. If you staked £10 on the Jazz, you would get a return of £13.64 – which includes your £10 stake. The profit would be £3.64. However, if the Celtics had won, you would win nothing and lose your £10.
If the Celtics win, your return would be £34.40 including your initial £10 stake, which would leave you a profit of £24.40.
Handicap basketball betting
Once you understand how to bet on basketball using the money line, betting on the handicap can become a valuable tool when one team is heavily favoured over their opponents. With handicap basketball betting, to counter the perceived bias in ability, bookmakers offer a handicap to level the playing field.
The handicap number (displayed as either + or – a value, such as +7.5 points) is factored into the final score to determine the game’s outcome for the purpose of the bet. This means that the handicap result is sometimes different from the actual result. For example, look at these two handicap bets:
Golden State Warriors: (+7.5) 2.050
Indiana Pacers: (-7.5) 1.862
If the Pacers won the game (100 – 96), bets on their handicap would actually lose. This is because for the purpose of this bet they started the game with -7.5pts, and therefore we have to subtract 7.5 from their final score. This makes the match outcome 92.5 – 96 in the Warriors’ favour.
If the Pacers won 104-96, the adjusted handicap result is 96.5-96, which means the Pacers still win. This is referred to as “covering the handicap”.
Totals basketball betting
Totals betting (also known as Over/Under) is a bet on whether the combined points scored in a game will be over or under a set number. For example, look at the totals odds for the Sacramento Kings vs. Miami Heat below:
Over 210.5: 1.962
Under 210.5: 2.110
If you bet £10 on the game to be over 210.5 points, and the result was 116-98 (an aggregate total of 214 points), you would make a return of £19.62 (£9.62 profit). If you had backed the total score as under 210.5 with the odds of 2.110, you would have lost the bet.
Despite this article outlining the basic forms of basketball betting, giving a solid grounding in understanding how to bet on basketball, there are more advanced bet types that can be implemented now you know how to bet on basketball.
Basketball Odds Explained Diagram
Money Line betting video explainer
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Basketball online match betting has many markets available that are similar to American Football, soccer and ice-hockey gambling. Because basketball has 4 quarters there are many markets available both for the final result of the match and for individual period and half-time results.
Like the other sports, match bets may be made on the results and on the statistics of the matches. Different basketball leagues are more or less popular than others so how much betting activity there is on a specific Basketball competition or match will depend on how popular it is. The NBA and European leagues attract the larger gamblers and therefore will have more markets available to gamble on.
Please find below the various markets available for basketball match betting:
Final Result Bets
The three most common final result bets in basketball gambling are:
Money Line - This is a Win / Lose match bet - if you think Team A will win you select that team.
Spread - This is also a Win / Lose Handicap bet - the bookmakers will give one team some points before the start of the match and other team will have to win by more than the points given at the start to win the bet. (a basic handicap bet in soccer betting):
Italian Lega Basketball Spread Bet:
Brindisi (-6.5) 10/11 vs Pallacanestro Cantu 10/11
If you gamble on Brindisi to win then they must win by more than 6.5 points for your bet to win.
Winning Margin - In this bet you choose which team will win or lose and by how many points.
Double Result - This bet is exactly the same as the Soccer Double Result bet where you choose which team will lose, draw (tie) or win the first half and then the match.
Period Betting
Period betting is the same as Full match betting except, of course, your bets are only for the period or half.
Result After Period - A simple Win / Tie / Lose bet on Team A
Spread after period - This is a Win / Lose bet however the bookmakers will give one team some points before the start.
Period handicap - This is similar to the spread bet however there is more than one 'spread' offered - so punters can choose between many spreads (points advantages).
Alternative Handicap - This is a type of handicap win/lose bet however the margins are generally higher and offered to the favorite or stronger team (in a standard handicap bet the margin is offered to the weaker team)
Basketball Betting Odds Explained
1st Half winning margin - This is the same as the Winning Margin bet in the match betting section but is only for the 1st half of the match. Spin earn money online.
Statistics Basketball Betting
As with Soccer and American Football and Ice Hockey, statistics are often recorded during each match and so it is possible to find many statistic markets also in Basketball, the following betting markets can be found in both, the full match and period betting markets:
Total points - In this bet you can choose whether the total number of points scored by both teams at the end of the match will be higher or lower than the points the bookmakers choose. The odds will be 10/11 Lower and 10/11 Higher.
Total Points Odd / Even - This is a bet on the total points of the match finishing 'Even' (any number ending in 0,2,4,6 or 8) or 'Odd' (any number ending in 1,3,5,7,9) 10 / 11 Odd and 10 / 11 Even
Alternative Total Points - You bet on the total points at the end of the match to be higher or lower. It is the same as the Total Points bet but with a different points total and different odds. Here the odds offered will be 2/7 Lower and 5/2 Higher
X - Alternative Total points - You bet on the Home team's total points at the end of the match to be higher or lower than the points shown by the bookmaker.
Home Total points - This is a bet on the points total for the Home team - you can bet higher or lower. (Basically the same as the X – Alternative Points but with a different margin and odds)
Away Total points - This is a bet on the points total for the Away team - you can bet higher or lower.
Basketball Odds Nba
Period Total points - This is the same as the Total points bet for the match but this bet is only for the period given.
Will there be overtime? - For 'overtime' to happen the game must finish in a 'tie' (both teams have the same points) so this is a bet on whether the game will be a “tie” or will not be a 'tie'.
Other Bet Types
Parlay Betting (Doubles, etc) - These bets mean you can gamble on more than one result and then combine them into one single bet - depending on the number of bets you put together into one bet will depend on the name of the 'parlay'. For example if you select two results and want to make it into one bet then you would select a 'double' bet, three selections makes a 'treble' and 4,5,6, upwards are called 4, 5, 6-fold accumulators.
Prop Betting - These are bets made on specific individuals to do something surprising or unusual in a game. For example: 'Any Player to score 20 x 3-point baskets' 20/1
Teaser Betting - These are large accumulator bets usually from a minimum 8 selections chosen to a maximum 12 selections, they are attractive as they offer huge returns with very small stakes.