How to Bet on Basketball: An Expert's Guide

With the NBA regular season on hold and no professional basketball currently being played as a result of the Coronavirus, now is the perfect time to brush up on the best practices in betting on basketball.

If you don’t have much previous experience with betting, you might be wanting to learn more about how to bet on basketball in the first place.

Be sure to read the tips below to make sure you’re putting yourself in the best position for a payout, once sports are back in action.

Bet on the Spread

Betting on the spread can be one of the most enjoyable types of online sports betting that you can do, as well as the most common.

You’ve probably seen details of the spread for a game before while logging onto your favorite sports app.

Most recently, the XFL has embraced sports betting in their games, placing the spread of both teams right next to their logos on the scoreboard during their broadcast.

For example, you might see a scoreboard online that has the spread for a game listed like this: Toronto Raptors -7.5 vs. Golden State Warriors +7.5.

In that case, you would read that as the Toronto Raptors are expected to win by a total of 7.5 points or higher.

So, if you bet on the Raptors for that particular game, then you’d need them to win by 8 points or more. If you bet on the Warriors, then you’d want them to either lose by 7 points (or fewer) or win the game.

Are those fair odds for that particular matchup? Only you can decide that for yourself, and that’s the beauty of betting on the spread!

Keep Your Eyes on Value

When you’re betting on sports, you have to keep your allegiance to your favorite sports teams at the window.

You also have to look for favorable matchups that will actually win you money, not just win you the match.

For example, if you chose the Toronto Raptors in the previous example, then you won’t have many payouts if any. Sure, you win the game if they win, but you don’t get any money for having won… so what’s the point?

Keep the win-loss records for your intramural basketball team. Your sports betting should be all about how much money you can win in any particular situation.

The size of your profits will dictate whether or not you’re successful at that goal. The wins you accrue might be unsubstantial, thus your total profit will take a huge hit.

Looking for some extra insight into this line of thinking before the NCAA March Madness tournament kicks off? If so, check out this site for some free NCAA basketball picks and expert predictions each and every day.

Ignore the Popular Teams

Don’t you ever get tired of seeing fans jump on the bandwagon when a team suddenly gets good?

Even worse is when a fan, who has zero knowledge of the current NBA, just says they’re a Lakers fan or a Celtics fan because that’s the only team they know to be good.

If you’re not careful, your inexperience in sports betting could lead you to make a similar mistake. You could find yourself only betting on the popular teams, rather than finding more favorable odds with lesser-known teams.

For example, an inexperienced sports better who has no information on the current NBA standings might pick the Golden State Warriors for several games.

They think that because the Warriors have won several championships in the last decade that they’re a safe bet. However, they don’t realize the Warriors are now dead last in the NBA standings.

That mistake will lead to them losing a ton of money because they went with a team they recognized. That same bettor could have picked lesser-known teams like the Denver Nuggets or Milwaukee Bucks, who are balling out this year, and had better luck.

Think Long Haul

In your sports betting infancy, you might feel compelled one night to place a sizeable amount of your bankroll on one game to see if you can win big. However, that’s a very irresponsible move to make.

Remember, sports betting is a marathon, not a race. Those that keep their eyes on the prize and think long term will be better suited for success.

Betting on basketball isn’t just about making a handful of bets each year that give you a huge payout. It’s about finding small winnings and staying consistent with making a bet or two each night.

At the end of the NBA Playoffs, those who won small winnings on bets every night will have a far more favorable profit than those that only made two or three sizable bets the entire season.

It also leads to more year-round fun and is far more rewarding to see your hard work pay off. Those that win big on one bet always make the mistake of thinking they can repeat that success. It never works out that way.