Betting on basketball can be incredibly fun. It is fast paced and exciting, but when it comes to betting, there are some essentials that you must adhere to ensure that you don’t falter.
Play it safe
There are a wide variety of markets within basketball betting, but if you’re new to the business, you might want to play it safe and stick to the ones that involve less risk, such as over/under or better yet, money line markets. If you want to dabble in more high-risk markets, such as parlay or teaser bets, which involve multiple bets, don’t go overboard. Although betting on more outcomes could result in a bigger payout, just one mistake, and you can lose it all. But these have their time and place, and should not be dabbled with unless you are positively sure that all your choices are the right ones.
Bet on what you’re familiar with
An obvious rule, but it can’t be stressed enough. If you’re only familiar with a few teams and tournaments, bet only on them. Even when it comes to the type of bet, choose a market that you know. You can base your decision on the information of analysts or public opinion, but it’s much safer to stick with what you already know, what you’re sure of. Don’t be tempted to tread into unfamiliar territory with the promise of a huge payout, as your inexperience could cost you dearly.
Line Movements
Odds constantly change, and when a spread moves either up or down, this is known as a line movement. They are usually caused by betting activity. Sometimes, bookmakers will change the spread, especially if the majority of the public is placing bets on one team, to balance out the wagers coming it. It’s effortless to predict the outcomes of some games, and they know that. Think of it in this way. There’s a match between Team X and Team Y. X is the stronger team with a 60% chance of winning. So everyone places their bets on X. To balance things out, and to encourage people to place bets on Y, the bookies change the odds. In this case, the odds don’t reflect the outcome. Keep an eye out for these movements, and find the perfect time to jump in.
Look for value
A good bettor always looks for value to maximize their profits. When you find that the odds provided reflect an outcome that that is in reality, less likely to occur, you have spotted a value bet. This intuition usually comes with experience. Sometimes, to attract customers, provide high odds on a team, but not too high, in case of a win. If you can spot this inaccurate prediction, you have found yourself a value bet. Usually, you can spot one by either gauging the odd yourself or by comparing the odds offered by different bookmakers and tipsters. In this case, betting on the underdog will be highly profitable.
Research
Look into their schedule, as fatigue plays a huge role in a team’s performance. Where the match is being played is a determining factor as well. Home teams have an advantage of course. They’re usually high energy, as they have the support of the fans, and are not fatigued by any travel. These factors tend to affect players more towards the end of the tournament.
It’s during occasions like this when the underdogs rise to the top, despite the odds not being in their favor. If you bet on the underdog home team, and they rise to the occasion, your profit margin would be higher than the one you would have made betting on the favourites, if they would have won.
Upcoming matches are also important. If a team has a friendly, unimportant game just before a huge match, it’s highly likely that they won’t put as much effort into it, to save energy. Take a look at lineups as well. Coaches often save their star players for difficult matches, and send out second or third choice players instead, which will impact overall betting.
We recommend you to read our other betting in Basketball guide article before placing your next Basketball bet. If you are looking for more detailed betting help you may read our betting guru video series here.
