NBA Betting and Online Basketball Wagering

If the NFL is quality, the NBA is quantity, which is actually a good thing. An 82-game season offers plenty of opportunities for gamblers who like to keep busy. Other than the length of the campaign, though, betting on the NBA comes down to about the same basics. Just in case, though, CashBet sportsbook provides you with an overview of those basics right here.

In every NBA game there is a favorite and an underdog. The favorite is the team most likely to win. The underdog is the team most likely to lose. Favorites and underdogs are determined by a number called the moneyline. For example,

• Milwaukee Bucks -140
• Toronto Raptors +120

The Bucks are -140 favorites and the Raptors are +120 underdogs. All things being equal, most people would bet on the favorite. That’s not good for business. To level the playing field, betting on the favorite entails a little more risk. And betting on the underdog involves a little more reward. In this example, you bet $140 on the Bucks to win $100; you risk more than you win. On the other hand, you win $120 on the Raptors if you bet $100; you win more than you risk. Now all you have to do is to pick one of the two teams to win the game and place a wager on your selection.

In moneyline betting, winning is winning. In point spread betting, winning is not necessarily enough. It all depends of the margin of victory.

• Milwaukee Bucks -2½
• Toronto Raptors +2½

The Bucks are still the favorites and the Raptors remain the underdogs. But now the Bucks are 2.5-point favorite and the Raptors are 2.5-point underdogs. In addition to winning, Milwaukee has to do so by at least three points. If the Bucks win by three points or more, that’s called covering the spread. Conversely, if Toronto manages to lose by just two points, it wouldn’t be just a moral victory. As a matter of fact, they would win against-the-spread. Thus, in addition to winning not being necessarily enough, losing is not necessarily losing either. Moreover, if the Raptors actually win the game by any margin, then needless to say, the Bucks would not cover the spread.

If you don’t like to play favorites, then betting on the total is for you. Like the spread, the total has to do with scoring. In this case however, it’s not which team scores more points, but how many points both teams score.

• Milwaukee Bucks Over 216
• Toronto Raptors Under 216

In this case, the Bucks and the Raptors are projected to score a combined 216 points. They could score more than 216 points, or fewer than 216 points. That is to say, they could go over the total or under the total. And that’s where you come in. You bet your money on whether you think they will go over or under. Bear in mind that they could perfectly score exactly 216 points. This is known as a push and it means you don’t lose money don’t win it either. Also bear in mind that a push can also occur in point spread betting, if the spread is a whole number.

Instead of the outcome of a single game, you bet on an outcome after many games. for instance, you bet on a team to win the NBA championship. Or to be a conference champion, or division champion. Or on a player to be the regular season MVP, or the Finals MVP.

This usually involve a single player accomplishments during a single game. Such as how many points he will score, how many rebounds he will grab, how many assists they will deliver, etc.

You cab parlay a bet; e.g., bet on the spread and the total in a single game or across multiple games. The payoff is bigger but then so is the risk. Let’s say you get all your spreads right but miss a total. In such a case, you would lose the parlay. A teaser is a means of improving your chances to win a parlay. You can tease a spread or total; i.e., add or take points off. Note that if you choose this option, you are decreasing your payout.