A Guide To Sports Betting On The New NBA Season
The new NBA season has just begun, and you can feel the excitement everywhere you go. The audience for the new season completely varies, from those casually interested in the basketball sport, to those who are die-hard fans watching every single game like a hawk. Not everyone gets their enjoyment from living it large in Vegas, and may feel like an idiot in the poker room, which is why many individuals place bets on their favorite NBA players and teams from home instead. However, betting on sports isn’t what it once used to be, with intense, complex guides laying out an entire array of betting options and types of sports betting for basketball. If you’re interested in the NBA and would like to start betting on the sport, fear not! We have the ultimate guide right here for you, with everything you need to know to get started.
How Does The NBA Work?
Before you begin sports betting on the NBA, it’s crucial that you understand how the sport works and the rules associated with the game. NBA stands for the National Basketball Association, and the league is comprised of 30 different teams, each playing 82 regular season games per season. These teams are further split into two 15 team conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference is then split into three divisions with five teams in each division. Each team will then play each other team in their division four times, making a total of 16 games on a team’s schedule. Teams also play four games against six teams outside of their division, totaling another 24 games, and then they play three games against the remaining four out-of-division teams for a total of 12 games. Finally, teams play each team in the other conference twice, totaling 30 games on the schedule. Exhausting!
Currently, the playoffs are composed of 16 teams, with 8 clubs from each conference participating in the NBA playoffs. After a series of matches and finals, the eventual NBA winner will be crowned the champions of that season!
How Do NBA Odds Work?
When being introduced into NBA sports betting, one of the first things that you’ll realize is that there are several different odds involved decimal odds, fractional odds and money line odds. Don’t worry, though! It seems all confusing now, but after breaking each type down, you should have a greater understanding on how NBA odds work. All odds reflect the exact same thing, so it’s up to you to figure out which ones work for you best. In order to convert these odds into implied probabilities or vice versa, you can do so via conversion methods. Here are all the tricks you need to know.
Decimal Odds: Decimal odds are probably the easiest to understand at a glance, as the figure you see is a reflection of the return you’ll receive if you’ve bet on the winning team. For example, let’s say the bookmaker has put up odds of 1.65 on the Brooklyn Nets to win. Simply, this means that for every 1.00 that you bet on that outcome, you will receive a profit of 65p if the Brooklyn Nets end up on top. To find the implied probability, all you need to do is divide 1 by the odds that have been provided (1.65 in this case) and then multiply the outcome by 100 (which would be 60.6%). So, you will have a 60.6% chance of having a profitable outcome when betting on the Brooklyn Nets to win.
Fractional Odds: If you really want to go back to the roots of sports betting, fractional odds are the way to do it. They are slightly more complicated than decimal odds, however the principle still remains the same. For example, imagine the bookmaker has offered odds of 5/2 for the Toronto Raptors to win their game (also expressed as 5 to 2). Essentially, this means that for every 2 units that you bet, you will receive 5 back as profit. To put this into perspective, say you bet 200 on the Toronto Raptors you would have received 500 profits as well as your original stake of 200 if the Raptors won their game. For an implied probability, it’s slightly trickier with fractions. With this example, you need to divide the denominator (2) by the denominator plus the numerator (2+5). This results in 2/7, which equates to 0.2857. Multiply this by 100 (28.57%), and there’s your probability!
Moneyline Odds: These are the most complicated type of odd, but those living in North America use them the most. As they aren’t popular within the UK, well spare you the details, but there are many popular guides online explaining how moneyline odds work in closer detail.
What Method Can I Use To Bet on the NBA?
Now that you have a better understanding on what the odds mean, it’s time to start placing your bets! But, with so many different betting options in the industry, it can be difficult to choose! We’ll help you make that decision, as each sports betting option will provide you with a different outcome, so it’s important that you weigh out the pros and cons of each method.
The handicap betting method is by far the most popular when it comes to betting on the NBA, and is more commonly referred to as a point spread. To put it simply, an NBA point spread is the final margin that is estimated by the bookmaker, which they will list for an upcoming NBA game. This ‘margin’ is regarded as a 50/50 bet to bookmakers, as they believe there is a 50% chance that the final margin of the match will end on one side or the other. Therefore, when choosing handicap betting, you’re basically predicting which side of the margin the game will finish on.
A Handicap Betting Example
Imagine that the Chicago Bulls are playing the Memphis Grizzlies, with a respective line of -8.5 @ 1.91 and +8.5 @ 1.91. Looks mind-blowing, right? Listen carefully. In this instance, the Bulls are considered the favorites due to the ‘-‘ sign in front of the figure, meaning the Grizzlies are the underdogs due to the ‘+’sign. Therefore, the bookmakers are determining that the final margin will be either side of the Bulls by 8.5 points. So, if you’re feeling lucky with the Bulls and believe they’ll win by more than 8.5 points, you’ll place a bet there. Or, if you think the Grizzlies will win the game or at least lose by less than 8.5, you’ll place a bet on them instead.
“How will I know if my bet is a winner?” I hear you ask. It’s simple, really say the final score of the game is 101 to Bulls and 90 to Grizzlies. If you’ve bet on the Bulls, you’ll subtract 8.5 points from their final score, creating a new score of 92.5. As this is still greater than Grizzlies with 90, the Bulls still win the game, so you’ve got the winning bet! Or, if you’ve bet on the Grizzlies, you’d add 8.5 points to their final score, resulting in 98.5. As this value is still below 101 for the Bulls, you’ve still lost the bet.
Things To Bear In Mind When Sports Betting on the NBA
Hopefully you have now grasped the concept of betting on the NBA, but you should know that it isn’t all sunshine and roses from here. For even more detailed information, check out this guide on betting on the NBA! From this point forward, you need to be prepared to learn the tricks of the trade, as betting strategies change and so does the NBA! One week, a player might be seriously injured, or your favorite team might not be performing the way you’d like them too. In times like this, it’s paramount that you keep your composure and adapt yourself to all new betting situations, as many people have lost control over betting in previous years and succumbed to poor betting strategies, losing them a lot of money.
To get the most out of your NBA sports betting, bet on teams that you’re familiar with, and start with small stakes as well. This way, you can become familiar with how things work and identify any trends that emerge within the basketball season. In addition, attempt to keep a record on your NBA betting this should include details such as dates, your stakes and any profits or losses. With a sports betting history, you can figure out what bets are working and which aren’t, giving you the opportunity to adjust your sports betting strategy. One thing you can be sure of is that your chances of winning your bets are much higher when you bet on sports, as opposed to betting on weird and wonderful things like fantasy weather leagues and the likes! So, whether you’re a diehard fan of the Portland Trail Blazers, or your bedroom is covered in posters of the Sacramento Kings, you can enjoy placing bets on your favorite team this NBA season.