If you are new to wagering money on the NBA, it can seem supremely difficult unless you fully understand how it all works. You are putting money into it, so you want to know all the ins and outs.

Fully comprehending the concepts and the odds of NBA betting can become a fun and profitable activity once you know what you are doing. Fortunately, understanding the odds and strategies to use in NBA betting does not need an understanding of complex numerical representations. In this guide, we show you the ins and outs of odds and strategies of NBA betting online, why NBA betting can become a fun and profitable activity, so that you can make smart wagers on your favorite games.

How to Read NBA Odds

The first barrier to understanding basketball betting is how you can read the odds. You can place a variety of bets on the different NBA games but the most popular are the point spread, money line, and totals also known as over/under. Odds will typically be expressed with the minus sign as a representation of the favorite, while the plus sign always designates the underdog.

Another common thing to see is -110 or +110, which is typically the addition of the baseline bet of $100 added to the $10 omission that goes to the bookmaker. Nonetheless, you need to know that you do not have to bet 100. Gambling sites will allow you to bet any amount from $17, $45000 or even $40. The amount bet is totally up to what you feel like you want to put up.

1. The Money Line The money line is also found in hockey and baseball and typically refers to a person choosing an outright winner of a game. They will thus put up an amount of money asserting their conviction that one team will be the outright winner of a contest. For instance, if the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to win against the Miami Heat you a money line bet would be something like:

• Los Angeles Lakers – 140
• Miami Heat + 160

In this example, the minus sign always denotes the amount of money you must bet to win $100 on the favorite. The plus sign denotes the amount you can win on the underdog for every $100 dollar bet placed. As such, a $140 dollar bet should win $100 dollars if you bet on the favorite while the underdog bet will net you 160 for the $100 spent.

2. The Point Spread The Point spread is also known as the spread or the line and is usually used when two NBA team are not evenly matched. The point spread means that the bookmaker makes a prediction that the favorite team will win by a set number of points. The number of points favored by the odds maker is what is known as the points spread. Odds makers will often give the weaker team a given amount of points so that you have a chance of winning even if you bet on the underdog.

Under the points spread system the favorite goes by the minus sign such as -5.5 while the underdog will go by the plus sign such as +5.5. For instance, if you placed your bet on the favorite, you will win if they win the game and they have a margin of victory higher than that of the point spread. You also get a chance to win if you put your money on the underdog and they go on to tie, win or if the favorite team wins but does not exceed the set spread.

3. Totals:  Also referred to as over/under, these are wagers in which you place a bet asserting that a game will go under or over a given number of points. For instance, if the total for a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Chicago Bulls is set at 220, to win the bet, you will need the points to exceed 220 if you placed a bet on Over. If you placed the bet on under, you will win the wager if the total points are 219 or less.

NBA Betting Strategies

There are several NBA betting strategies that if followed improve your chances of winning your NBA bet. Moreover, In situs judi online, basketball betting has been taken to another level as many sites now offer rewards and bonuses for most of the NBA matches. This improves your chance of winning by a significant margin even if you do not win the bigger prizes

Some of the more popular strategies include:

1. The Contrarian Strategy This is where you take a contrarian view to the confidence shown by most of the public that is betting on a game. Most contrarian bets are taken on the basis of evidence rather than the sentiment of the masses which leads to misplaced confidence.

Certain circumstances usually favor the use of the betting strategy against the masses. For instance, you stand a good chance of winning your bet if most of the public is placing their bets on a favorite. Anything from 75% or more of the bets being placed on the favorite may be an indication that the public may be overvaluing the team, and depending on sentiment rather than numbers and logic.

This is most common in classic disputes and big games where a thorough analysis is tossed through the window in exchange for the sentiment. When it comes to the NBA, this is most common in the postseason or playoff matches where cognitive biases cloud the judgment of the crowd who overestimate home ground advantage.

2. Back-to-back Teams that have been playing back to back fixtures show disproportional results in the second game. This means that the players tend to have poorer performances if they are playing back to back. As such, one of the most important things to do when preparing your NBA strategies is to check for strong and weak rosters.

3. Three in Four Just like with back to back games, playing four games in a row can also have a negative effect on the team. This is especially so for teams that have played at least three of their games on the road. This may be because teams on the road are more defensive. Since they are on the road, they will have to defend more, which needs a lot of effort. They will also have to deal with fatigue.

4. Momentum Teams that comprehensively win their games are likely to continue with the momentum and win the next game. The same applies for teams that are on a losing streak which will often be more likely to continue losing than turn their fortunes around. However, the same rules do not apply to hammering the points as a team that hammers another NBA team is likely to beat the spread about 40% of the time. This may be because of the odds makers reacting to the happenings of the previous game or overconfidence and fatigue taking their toll.

Wrapping Up: Making the Bet

A good understanding of the strategies and odds that have been successfully employed by the best NBA bettors over the years mean that you can increase the chances of winning. Taking the time to go through these strategies and applying them appropriately through researching your underdogs and favorites, should make NBA betting fun and enjoyable.