If you’ve never really taken an interest in sports betting, listening to your friends talk about it can be a little confusing and, at times, make it seem as if they’re speaking in a foreign language. If your heart drops when your friends mention NBA player props, parlay bets, and money line handicaps, then this article is designed for you.
In order to help people get their heads around the confusing world of basketball betting, we’ve put together this handy guide telling you everything you need to know about wagering on the NBA. If you never want to be left out of the conversation again or are harbouring hopes of winning big yourself, read on…
Understanding The Odds
When it comes to writing articles like this, sections explaining how odds work are always the ones that we look forward to the least. That’s because sports odds are somewhat complex, and it’s hard to explain it through words alone.
Anyway, let’s give this a shot…
Here in America our odds system is different to everywhere else in the world because, well, we’re American and we like to do things our own way. Whereas the rest of the world use fractional and decimal odds, we use the imaginatively named ‘American odds’.
Here is an example of American odds from a game that, at the time of writing, is yet to take place:
Miami Heat -166
Charlotte Hornets +140
In American odds, the favorite for a particular clash will always be represented with a –, whereas the outsider will be represented with a +, but what do all the numbers mean? Well, in order to win $100 wagering on the Heat, you would have to bet exactly $166.
If you were to wager on the Hornets the calculation is slightly different as they are the outsiders. In this example, a $100 wager would leave you with $140 in winnings.
In short, then, – figures denote how much you would have to wager to win $100, and + figures show you how much you would win from a $100 wager. If you want to bet other amounts, you will have to do the math to work out your potential winnings.
Understanding the Jargon
Now we’ve covered the odds. There’s only one other area that we can really cover, and that’s the confusing jargon and terminology surrounding sports betting that puts so many people off from getting involved.
Below, we’ve compiled every phrase or term that we can think of that a budding basketball bettor would need to know. If there are any you think we’ve missed out, be sure to let us know in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
Moneyline: This is a bet on a game in which you choose a winner, much like in the example we used in the section above.
Parlay: A bet in which you choose multiple winners of different games; one such example could involve you wagering $10 on the Jazz, Heat, and Lakers to win their next games.
Points Spread: This one does what it says on the tin, really. In essence, you bet on the points spread at the end of the game, choosing from the sportsbook’s predetermined figures.
Over/Under: Another one that does what it says on the tin, this is when you bet on a team to score over or under a certain amount of points in a game.
Prop Bets: We mentioned this purposely in the intro to this piece, as not one conversation about NBA sports betting can go on without at least one person mentioning this type of bet. So what are they? Well, they are a new addition to NBA betting that allows you to wager on a long list of variables, such as:
- First team to score 15 points
- Total 3-pointers made by a team
- Individual player points hauls
Futures: Can you predict the future? If you can, you shouldn’t be reading this article; you should be betting on the San Antonio Spurs to win next year’s Championship, right? Well, if you were, you would be betting on a futures market, which are outright choices such as Championship winner, conference winner, MVP winner, etc.
