Basketball is top 5 in the category with the most common and fun sports to wager on. Certain punters who like to bet on basketball have been getting sharper and have also found ways to bet on it more efficiently. One of the smartest ways for a basketball bettor to get started is to sign up with one of the betting sites not on Gamstop. This is a self-exclusion scheme for people with gambling addictions, but bookmakers affiliated with it may restrict players’ freedom in several ways. For that reason, basketball bettors that think ahead prefer to sign up with offshore bookies that are not registered with Gamstop.
Basketball is a game of runs, which keeps punters on their toes, and allows them to find good payout opportunities by betting on teams making comebacks. We often see teams go down 10-20 points and end up going on a hot streak, which leads to them winning by double digits instead. Especially during the NBA season, where the game’s tempo is super fast, teams can turn around 10 point leads in the span of a few minutes. However, sportsbooks can make that scenario seem a lot more unlikely to happen than it truly is and give good in-play odds on the losing team. Smart players who are confident on a team but want to get better odds than those offered before a game, can wait until their team is down and place a bet with more value on the payout. Savvy punters should keep an eye on live odds at the beginning of the game, where we very often see one team start red hot and the other cold, but things even out soon after.
Bettors who want to be well prepared for a matchup that they are interested in, should definitely do their homework. That means they should be getting updated about the injury report, starting lineups, and last-minute changes in regards to that. Missing a star player in basketball, where only five players from each team are on the court simultaneously, can be a lot more significant than in other sports. In addition, punters should be looking into each team’s schedule. Factors such as, if the team is playing back to back games in two days, or whether the team is playing consecutive games on the road can be critical indicators for predicting the winner of a match. In addition, if a team is decent but is on a losing streak, it is essentially due to bounce back; hence the possibility of them winning their next game is increased regardless of who they are facing. Bettors should also be aware of the importance of the game for each team. For example, a EuroLeague final is equally crucial for each competing team, but a regular-season game’s impact can vary. An NBA team that has secured a playoff spot does not take a late regular-season game as seriously as a team trying to secure the 7th or 8th seed.
Smart players in basketball can also take advantage of handicaps in case the moneyline is not enough for them. If a powerhouse such as the Lakers or the Nets is playing against a minor franchise such as the Timberwolves, we have seen the underdog be given even up to 15 points in spread. As good as a Lakers or Nets squad is, a 15 point handicap can be hard to cover regardless of which the opposing team is. Upsets are very common in basketball, especially in the NBA. Therefore, if you believe the underdog has a chance to win, taking the handicap would be the safest way to back them. Of course, betting on the underdog to win outright can be a bold move but can turn out to be very profitable. You can potentially get the best possible odds if you bet on an underdog live when it’s losing.
