Basketball is a popular sport to gamble on thanks to the fact that it fills a sizeable gap between the NFL and MLB seasons. However, gambling on this sport cannot be approached lightly. There is a long season here, and the fact that there are a lot of games played brings up two important things that need to be considered before you place your first bet. The first consideration is the fact that many games—there are 82 games in the regular NBA season. This means that a lot can happen over the course of a season. From game to game, anything can happen. Games can be won by huge underdogs, and vice versa. But the big variance will ultimately even out over the course of a season. The big wins and big losses will more truly represent a team’s worth than in a short season sport like pro football where a good team can still lose 8 or more games because of bad luck.
This means that you will want to adjust your strategy to account for variance of individual games, and the predictability of a long season. This means that there are several types of bets you can take advantage of. The first is season long props. A great team is more likely to have great results in the NBA than in other sports. So if you’re looking at the defending Miami Heat for the 2013-14 season, you will want to take into account the fact that LeBron James is the MVP and that they have a strong caliber returning teams. Dwyane Wade’s injuries might prove to hold them back, though, so you will want to make sure you look at possibilities from as many angles as possible.
Over/under bets for single games are also very popular bets. NBA games are high scoring affairs, and if you look at how your favorite team has performed over their last several games against similar teams, you can give yourself a better idea of how they will perform against future teams. If a line is set at +/- 200.5, but your team hasn’t scored a lot against strong zone defenses, and the current opponent hasn’t played well against teams with few turnovers, an under bet might be the best bet here.
The big novelty to take into account here is the March Madness collegiate tournament. Because of the tournament structure with NCAA basketball, this sport is a lot different to wager on than other sports, and it can be very difficult to predict outcomes correctly. Basically, you are trying to fill in a winning team bracket as accurately as possible. The opening teams will be listed, and your job is to fill in the rest of the paper (or computer screen) with as many correct picks as possible. This—other than the Super Bowl—is probably one of the most widely bet sporting events out there. There are 68 teams in the tournament, and if you can predict winners well, you can stand to win a lot of money. There are several different ways of scoring the NCAA tourney, but the common thread is that correct picks in later rounds are worth more. So if you think a few teams are very likely to make the Final Four, revolving your choices around these teams can be more beneficial than just blindly picking winners.
Basketball betting, both NCAA and NBA, is really popular, and there are a lot of opportunities for good bettors to make money. Just make sure you do your research and scout out the best opportunities. Remember, just because a team is favored doesn’t make it a good pick. Look at payouts and match them up with your handicapping results to make sure you are betting overlays and not throwing away money.