Basketball betting is a great way to make quick money during the NBA season. Betting on a sportsbook is simple if you’re a casual NBA fan looking to make some money. Online, there are numerous sportsbooks for all budgets and types of wagers. Sports betting can be purely luck-based, but it can also be a way to consistently profit from NBA wagers. But first, take a look at the different types of bets available to see which ones are generally safer and which ones you should avoid if you’re serious about gambling.
If you’re interested in betting on NBA, you’ve come to the right place! Below you’ll find the latest odds for your favorite NBA teams and players.
The following are the different types of NBA bets.
Moneyline Betting
NBA moneyline bets are the most straightforward. When you bet on a money line, you’re simply predicting which team will win without considering any other factors. You win regardless of whether the game goes to overtime or if a player is injured. However, the amount you win is determined by the money line’s odds. For example, the game between Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, the Moneyline odds will be presented as “Los Angeles Lakers -160” vs. “Golden State Warriors” +140.
The minus sign denotes a favorite, while the plus sign denotes a underdog team. Of course, betting on an risky bet will bring you more money as it is less likely to happen. The most basic way to calculate your potential winnings is to use the the following bet as an example. If you bet $120 with an odds of +100, you will receive your $120 + $120 payout for a total of $240. On the other hand, betting on a favorite is best checked by how much you have to bet to win $100. If the odds are -120, you would have to bet $120 to win $100.
Spread Betting
Unlike moneyline bets, spread bets usually pay around 2 to 1 or usually 90% no matter which side you bet on, so a $100 bet will generally give you about $90 in winnings. The reason behind this is because you’re not looking at who wins the game, the deciding factor is whether your team falls or covers the spread. For example, the spread of the game between “Los Angeles Lakers” and “Golden State Warriors” will look like this: “Houston Rockets” -9.5, “Los Angeles Lakers” +9.5. The plus line indicates who is the underdog and the minus sign is the favorite.
In this example, betting on the Golden State Warriors will benefit you if the Warriors finish the game with at least a 10 point advantage, while betting on the Los Angeles Lakers will win if the Lakers win the game or lose the game by 9 points or less.
Betting on the Totals (Over/Under)
Betting on the total points are bets on whether the total amount of points scored as a result of the game will be more or less than the number set by the sportsbook. For example, the total amount of a unit can be set at 201.5 and the final score at 120-100, which is 220 total points. In this case, if you bet the “over” +201.5, you would win, while if the final score was 100-95, for a total of 195 points, the “under” bet would win.
Futures Bets
A futures bet is a wager on an event that you believe will occur in the future, such as who will win the NBA championship or who will be named the MVP. These bets have odds based on the likelihood of the event happening. The higher the payout, the less likely it is to occur, and vice versa. These bets are usually not recommended because they last a long time and do not account for player movements or injuries that occur throughout the season, but they are a great way to bet less and win big! Also, it’s very profitable if you find out that your MVP pick actually won the award.