Betting on Basketball

You may be new to the world of betting on basketball. Looking at a sports books odds screens high above the betting windows can be quite intimidating to the new sports bettor. Take a deep breath and relax, it is really quite easy to understand.

I will break down some of the most common wagers you can make when wagering on basketball. I will also try to illustrate these wagers as best as possible with examples. I hope it makes sense!

Against The Spread (ATS)

The most popular way to bet on basketball is betting against the spread (ATS). The point spread is a pre-determined handicap on one team to make both teams equal as far as betting goes. These handicaps are determined by professional odds makers within major sports books across the globe. The team that is expected to win and is giving points (-), is called the favorite. The team that is expected to lose and is receiving points (+), is called the underdog.

When you are betting (ATS), you need to pay “juice” to the sports book. What this means, is that you have pay a 10% fee to place your bet. If you win, you get this fee back. If you lose, you surrender this fee along with your bet. 

Example:

If the Cleveland Cavaliers are scheduled to play the New Jersey Nets, the better team here (based on 2009-’10 stats) would be the Cleveland Cavaliers. Odds makers may determine to give the underdog, the New Jersey Nets, a handicap of (+15), to make the game more even in terms of betting. Therefore, if you were to bet on the Cleveland Cavaliers who are giving (-15) pts to the New Jersey Nets, the Cavaliers would have to win by MORE than (15) points for you to win your bet. If you were betting on the New Jersey Nets (+15), they would need to win outright or not get beat by more than (15) points. If the score ends by the Cavaliers winning by (15)pts exactly, the bet is considered a PUSH and is a No Play. All money would then be refunded.

If you wanted to bet $100 on the Cavaliers, it would cost you $110 at the sports betting window to place your bet. If the Cavaliers beat the Nets 100-89, they would “cover” the spread and you would win your bet. You would receive your initial $110 back (+) $100 for your winning bet. Therefore, you would walk away from the betting window with $210.

 Totals

Another popular method of betting on basketball is betting on the totals of the game, also known as the over/under. The total is also a pre-determined number by odds makers on the predicted combined final score of the game. This total will be posted, and bettors can chose to bet on the whether the final combined score will be OVER or UNDER the number.

Just as when you are betting (ATS), when you bet Totals, you need to pay “juice” to the sports book. What this means, is that you have pay a 10% fee to place your bet. If you win, you get this fee back. If you lose, you surrender this fee along with your bet. 

Example:

Using the example above, let’s say that the odds makers predict that the posted Total will be 199.5 pts, and you bet $100(bet) + $10(juice) = $110(total bet) on the OVER, you would have lost. The total score was 100+89=189pts, which is UNDER the posted total of 199.5. You would have lost all $110 bet on that game.

Money Line Wagers

Money Line wagers are yet another way to bet on basketball games. With Money Line bets, you are betting with pure odds on a Straight Up WIN, with no point spread, by a team. Because some teams are so much better than others, if you bet on the favorite, you may have to actually give odds (-) to the sports book to take your bet. However, if you feel very strongly that the Underdog will win straight up without the point spread, you can actually receive odds (+). No “juice” is required to place a bet with Money Lines as odds are being used.

Example:

Once again, using the example game above, the Money Line may look something like this:

Cleveland Cavaliers (-700)
New Jersey Nets (+450)

If you were to bet on the Cavaliers to WIN on the Money Line, you would have to wager $7 to win $1. Because the Cavaliers are heavy favorites to win straight up, you are giving the sports book 7/1 (-700) odds.

If you were to bet on the Nets to WIN on the Money Line, you would receive odds of 4.5/1 (+450). Therefore, if the Nets were to win, you would receive $4.50 for every $1 wagered.

Parlays

Parlays are a way to increase your payout odds as well. In this type of bet, you must choose the winners of multiple games (2 or more). However, you must WIN every game in your parlay for the parlay bet to win. If you lose just 1 game, you lose your parlay. No juice is needed to be paid for parlays

You can choose to include (ATS), Totals, or Money Lines in your parlays. The odds of your potential winning payout will differ based on the odds of each game included in your parlay. But, if you use only (ATS) and/or Totals in your parlays (no money lines) these are the general payouts to expect:

2 Team Parlay  – 2.5 to 1

3 Team Parlay – 6 to 1

4 Team Parlay – 10 to 1

5 Team Parlay – 20 to 1

6 Team Parlay – 40 to 1

7 Team Parlay – 75 to 1

8 Team Parlay – 150 to 1

NOTE: In the occasion that (1) of your games in your parlay “Push”, the game will be a no play and your parlay will drop down to the next level.

Example:

Once again, using the example above, if you were to make a $100 bet on a (2) Team Parlay: Cleveland Cavaliers (-15) & Cleveland Cavaliers/New Jersey Nets (UNDER), you would have won $250 (2.5/1) on your $100 bet and walked away from the window with $350 (original $100 bet + $250 winnings). However, if you would have taken the Cavaliers and the OVER, you would have lost the entire bet.

Teasers

Teasers work just like parlays. However, with a teaser, you can add additional points to your handicap. A big difference in these, is a push is considered a loss! No juice is required and these pay very little odds.

Common basketball teasers are (4), (4.5), and (5)pt Teasers.

 Example

Let’s say you bet $100 on a 2 Team (4.5)pt Teaser on the: Cleveland Cavaliers (-15) – (-4.5) = (-10.5) – Cleveland now only has to win by (-10.5) & Cleveland/New Jersey UNDER (199.5) – (-4.5) = (204) – Total score now only has to be (UNDER 204). You would have won 10/12 odds, or $83.33 and walked away from the betting window with $183.33 (original bet of $100 + $83.33 in winnings).

I hope these descriptions and break downs of how to bet on basketball help you understand what’s going on, and where you can make some money. With the NBA and NCAA both having such long seasons, there is always PLENTY OF BETTING ACTION available.

Best of Luck!