The Ultimate Guide to Basketball Betting: Tips, Odds, and Strategies for Success

Any bet placed in a bookmaker's shop will have a chance to win only when you play meaningfully and sensibly. One skill that should be mandatory for a bettor is bankroll management and patience and cautiousness. It's also better to use betting systems and techniques. When something easy is needed, many bettors have recourse to basketball betting apps for ease of access to best odds and fast betting.

Bookmaker basketball betting comes with advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are the following:

There exist an enormous number of equally likely outcomes. This is especially true with the NBA, in which any team can beat any other, and this hardly ever becomes a front-page news story. That is why professional players and tipsters mostly bet on these outcomes in order to make a steady return in the long term.
Low margins and high limits on the NBA. Since the NBA receives the most basketball bets in the world, bookmakers try to make the best offers to punters and cut margins and impose very high limits. This is generally an option from large Western bookmakers, while domestic bookmakers offer standard limits on the NBA, as with the Euroleague or national championships.
The frequency of games. Quite a number of basketball clubs have 2-3 games a week, and in the NBA, the frequency can even be higher. Therefore, basketball has attracted huge attention among fans of statistics with a big sample size. Additionally, in the NBA, even New Year's – December 31 and January 1 – are practically the only large markets in the line where bets are accepted.

As for the disadvantages, the main one is the modest selection of betting markets for most basketball matches. Many bookmakers limit themselves to the spread, total, and main outcomes.

The way basketball betting works largely depends on the bettor themselves. In-depth analysis, proper bankroll management, choosing the right bookmaker and markets – and you’ll start consistently beating the bookmaker.

Basketball Betting Odds

The odds on a basketball match are heavily reliant on how popular the tournament and the match are. For instance, in NBA matches, every top bookmaker sets a low margin – this is where the bookmaker will make his/her profit irrespective of the outcome of the match. With a low margin, there are high odds on which a bettor can wager.

Additionally, the matches of the top European league – the Euroleague – have good odds. Betting turnover on it is lower than the NBA but high in any case. European bookmakers build relatively low margins into the prices for the Euroleague, whereas US bookmakers, the tournament being less favored there, cut the odds.

Most Common Types of Basketball Bets

Bookmakers offer fewer basketball markets to bet on than hockey and especially football. Basketball remains on the schedule of all bookmakers, however, so the punter will not find it difficult to bet. Apart from the main results (victory of one of the teams or a draw, which is not very common), you have the option to bet on the quarter, half, outcomes and on the amount of points, rebounds, assists scored by a player or a team throughout the game.

Single Bet (Moneyline)

The simplest bet is on the outcome of the match. Another name for this market is Moneyline – the American counterpart to wagering on the win of either of the two sides or on a draw.

Draws are not common at all in this sport, yet they happen. Therefore, the stakes on a draw (X) are generally minimum 11.0. Important note: when staking on a draw, only the regular time is considered. If the teams then go into overtime, your stake on the draw is void.

Some other bookmakers accept bets on winning of the home team (P1) or visiting team (P2) including overtime (OT), but there are some who do not. Carefully read the line and bookmaker rules prior to betting on the basketball outcome. For example, for the NBA match between the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks on October 29, 2021, the away win in the regular time odds was 1.78, and with overtime win odds was 1.69. Home win odds were 2.52 (no OT) and 2.34 (yes OT).

Spread (Handicap)

Spread in basketball refers to the ultimate point differential in favor of a team. Spreads betting demands that you forecast whether or not the point differential will be greater or smaller than the specified value.

Just like in other sports, the spread may either be negative (for the favorite) or positive (for the underdog). If you bet on a team with a spread of (-5.5), you need them to win by a difference of 6 points or more. If your bet is on a team with a spread of (+5.5), you want them to lose by a difference of 5 points or less.

Total (Over/Under)

The total in basketball is a bet on the total of points scored by both sides of the game. Bookmakers also offer bets on the overall of each side, on the overall for halves and quarters, and on the overall for specific player (number of points, fouls, assists, rebounds he will get).

The total is indicated by the letter "T", with the letter either followed by "B" (more) or "M" (less). A number then comes that signifies the amount you are betting on to be more or less. Just like the spread, the total can also be bought in both the over and under.

Most bookmakers offer action on the total with overtime. This is both the total for the entire game and the total for each of the two teams. Individual player totals (personal stats) wagers are, however, offered more often on regular time alone (no OT).

Handicaps

Handicap is a word that is used in English language, and it's a synonym for the spread. The two are synonyms for the final point difference in one of the two teams' favor.

Gamblers confuse the words "handicap" and "spread" because the former is usually of two types: Asian and European.

Asian Handicap – the standard spread, denoted by an integer or half-decimal. Handicap 1 (-10.5) would be betting on the first team to win by 11 or more points. Handicap 2 (+10.0) would be betting on the second team not to lose by 9 or more points; in a 10-point margin, the bookie will give a refund (bet settled at odds of 1).

European Handicap. This is a bet on the main outcome with an extra score, starting the match conditionally: P1 (0:1), X (0:2), P2 (2:0). Unlike the Asian handicap, there is no refund. If you bet on P1 (0:1), for instance, you accept that the match starts with a 0:1 score of the guest team, but you still bet on the home team's victory. If the home team wins by 2 goals, your wager is a winner.

Quarter Bets

Basketball punter favourite is to bet on quarters, as a matter of fact. A basketball quarter is essentially a mini-game. If you call a quarter's result, then you can be settled on your wager immediately, not waiting for the entire match to conclude.

Often, bookmakers offer action on not only the outcome, spread, and total for each quarter. Many bookmakers offer action on comparing quarters by scores: who scored the most points, had the most fouls, etc.

To make profitable quarter bets, it's important to analyze how specific teams play in specific quarters. If you’re betting on the 3rd or 4th quarter, pay attention to the physical condition of the players, as fatigue accumulates by that time.

One of the most popular basketball betting systems is the "martingale" for quarters. In the martingale, the punter bet on one side winning in a quarter and repeatedly make the bet size larger in some form of progression until they are successful. The optimum odds for this system are 2.0 and above. You double up if you lose.

Long-Term and Special Bets

Basketball long-term wagers (also known as outrights) are placed before the start of the tournament. Bookmakers tend to wager on:

The champion of a particular competition.
The finishing position of a team in the championship (will they be in the top three?).
Whether a team will qualify from the group stage.
Whether a team will reach a particular stage of the playoffs.
The tournament's MVP (Most Valuable Player).

The European and World Championships continental tournaments, the NBA, and Euroleague are far and away the best for long-term gambling bets.

Golden basket bets are not as popular as in soccer. However, there are bookmakers who have available betting markets on great basketball players. For example, if LeBron James and his son Bronny will be teammates before the father's retirement.