Online Basketball Betting

Basketball is an incredible sport, with just about every game featuring lots of scoring, momentum swings, and highlight-reel plays. It’s no wonder that sports bettors love to bet on basketball online. The highs and lows of online basketball betting are like no other, especially when the game comes down to the last shot.

While anyone can bet on basketball online, going in with an understanding of the sport and what to look for is imperative to long-term success. Perhaps the most important aspect of online basketball betting is familiarizing yourself with every player on every team you plan on wagering on or against.

This sounds like a daunting task, and it certainly isn’t easy. But keep in mind that there are only 8-10 players that see action per team; far less than the active roster sizes in hockey (20), baseball (25), and football (45). Momentum changes in basketball that seem random to the casual observer often have more to do with in-game personnel changes, and these changes won’t catch you off guard if you see them coming.

3 Important Pieces of Information to Know Before Wagering on Basketball

1. Bench Players

  • Far too many bettors make the mistake of focusing strictly on the superstars or starting five when handicapping a game and placing wagers online. Obviously these players will have the biggest impact on the game, but the play of players off the bench is quite often the difference between winning and losing. Bettors don’t need to know everything about every player, but knowing the basics will keep you from being surprised when the star player takes a seat and a bench player jogs on to the court. Is he a defensive specialist? A 3-point shooter? How effective is he in his role?
  • Watching bench players give up a big lead can be infuriating to bettors, but it should be accounted for in the handicapping process if the bettor is including the bench in their handicapping process. Great value can often be found on teams with deep benches going up against teams with a superstar or two; bettors that don’t do their homework may be surprised, but you shouldn’t be.

2. Coaching Strategies

  • It is also important to consider coaching tendencies. Some coaches rely heavily on bench players and give regular breaks to starters at certain points of the game, while others ride their starters as long as they can and only use their bench when a starter gets into foul trouble. Most coaches are stubborn in their ways, and tendencies are easy to spot.

3. Home Court Advantage

  • The other major factor to always keep in mind in online basketball betting is the tremendous home court advantage. NBA home teams have a higher winning percentage (about 59%) than those in the MLB, NFL, and NHL, and home court can have an even bigger effect in emotionally-driven college basketball.
  • With fan proximity in basketball closer than any other sport, it is commonplace to see the road team get overwhelmed by a revved-up crowd. For this reason, point spreads are often skewed considerably against the road team. Finding teams that play particularly well on the road (or poorly at home), especially early in the season before bookmakers make the adjustments, can be very profitable.

Basketball Gambling Strategies and Tips

Evaluating the talent of the players on the court and factoring in thunderous home court advantages is a great start to successful handicapping, but there are many other strategies and tips that should be considered, including the importance of rebounds, controlling the tempo, and finding value in teams others might overlook.

    - We have dedicated our strategies and tips article to taking an in-depth look at these and other key basketball handicapping strategies. By studying the strategies and tips in that section as well as the ones covered here, you should be well on your way to a successful run of betting basketball.

Types of Basketball Bets

There are many ways to bet on basketball, including betting teams on the money line or with the point spread, betting the Over/Under, or more advanced bets such as parlays and proposition bets.

Each type of bet has its strengths, and making the right bet in the right circumstances will allow you to maximize your value and profit as you win bets. With this in-depth look at each basketball betting type you will have the tools to make your desired wager exactly the way you choose.

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