You’ve probably heard the expression ‘never put your money on a game you can’t win’. Well, there’s a sports betting line where you can actually win money! Here’s how you can start making money from fans trying to beat the odds and win big on basketball games.
The Basics Of Basketball Betting
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. It’s highly competitive, and even the toughest teams can be beat with the right betting strategy. If you’re new to gambling, basketball betting might seem like a wild ride – but it’s actually a reliable way to make money online. Let’s take a closer look.
The Basics Of Betting
To best understand how to win at betting on basketball, it’s important to first discuss betting in general. The basic idea behind sports betting is that the odds are often greatly favorites in one sport over another. For example, a football (American) football odds (American) football bookmaker might give you a 2.5 or 3 to 1 (two and three to one spread, respectively) ratio on a New England Patriots versus New York Giants game. That’s because New England is considered one of the most powerful teams in all of football, so bookmakers feel like they have to make money off of them. The underdog NY Giants are usually the favorite in these type of games, and it’s mostly considered a good bet (especially when the line is slightly in your favor).
The Difference In NBA And NHL Basketball
There’s a notable difference between the NBA (National Basketball Association) and the NHL (National Hockey League). First, the NBA has only 30 team members, so it’s fair to call it the smaller of the two leagues. Second, basketball is a more physical sport, and therefore, it’s more difficult to bet on. The game is faster paced and more athletic (some might even say it’s more violent than the NHL). In general, NBA betting is less reliable than NHL basketball because the teams are more equal. Every team in the NBA contributed equally to the success of the league (with the exception of the Boston Celtics, who were considered the first franchise to dominate the NBA). There’s no such thing as ‘hot streaks’ in the NBA; every team is on an even playing field. Finally, the NHL makes a point of having a larger variety of opponents – the New York Rangers might play a game on a Wednesday night, for example, and then on another weekend, play a Pittsburgh Penguin team. In the NBA, the same team plays the entire season, and therefore, you’ll only ever see the twenty or twenty-five most recent games in the history of the sport.
Basketball Strategy
With basketball strategy, you’ll want to follow a few basic principles. First, you should look for games that are predicted to be low-scoring. Scoring gets extremely high in these types of games, and you can usually find a safe spread (more on this below). Second, you want to avoid games that are between two top-notch teams. These games are usually very competitive, and it’s usually a winnable bet. Third, you want to consult signals (teams that are considered to be strong candidates to win or cover the spread – typically, they’re playing above their current form, and therefore, a bit risky). Last, it’s a good idea to check for line movement – in the above examples, you can see that the Giants line has dropped from 3.5 to 1 to 2.5 to 1.5 (a 6 percent drop), which is considered significant, and you might want to rethink your betting decision if the line drops again (or vice versa, if the line has gone up – it’s just a matter of luck).
Why Do Bookmakers Favor The Underdog?
There are some logical reasons why bookmakers may prefer to take the odds on underdogs in certain games. First, the overdog is usually a favorite in a sport, and therefore, betting on them is less difficult. It’s not like you’re betting against someone you consider to be extremely good, so it’s not like you’re taking a big risk. Second, bookmakers prefer to take the odds on a team that they feel is missing a piece of equipment or isn’t fully prepared for the sport. For example, they might feel that the Atlanta Avengers are not fully capable of winning a game of basketball without their star Guard, Shaquille O’Neal.
NBA Betting Expertise
If you want to bet on NBA basketball, you can’t do better than to check out BetOnline (a safe, superb sports book operator that takes US Dollars and other worldwide currencies), or Rivalry (a US Dollars only bookmaker that also takes US Dollars and Canadian Dollars). While there’s nothing wrong with either of these two books – in fact, they’re both safe and secure sports books that you can trust to handle your betting wishes – you may find that Rivalry has a bit more of a focusing on the NHL (a bit more of a home game predictive side of the business).