Basketball Odds and the Rise of Online Basketball Betting

Whether you like NBA action and the high-stakes drama of The Finals, or college hoops and March Madness, basketball betting means analyzing basketball odds for the best chances of winning your wager.

Winning, after all, is the biggest thrill in sports betting. To find the best values in basketball bets, you must have a firm grasp of how odds and point spreads work.

At BetRivers Online Sportsbook, we want you to have a great experience. These basketball betting tips will offer you insights into the best ways to gamble on basketball. With a bit of practice, you'll be dunking all over the competition!

Moneyline and Basketball Odds

Before you wager money on real-money basketball betting, it is crucial to understand the basics of how basketball odds actually work.

One of the most popular basketball bets uses the moneyline wagering system. In an moneyline bet, you try to pick the team you think will win the game. If they pull off the victory, you win your bet, regardless of the score. The favored team is represented by negative values (such as -150), whereas positive odds (e.g. +225) indicate the underdog. Dollar for dollar, underdog betting has a higher payoff -- but the risks are higher, too.

Basketball Odds when Wagering on Futures

If you have a good idea that a specific hoops team might win a championship, you may want to consider futures betting. In futures, you pick a team to win the title long before that game arrives, wagering during the midst of the season or even before the season begins.

Just keep in mind that as the season proceeds, the odds will change. If one team is doing well, then its odds will improve, whereas the odds will go down for a team that's tanking in hopes of scoring a lottery pick in the draft. So, for example, if you're sure that LeBron James is going to get his team to The Finals, you may want to place your futures bet before the season, before the team shows everyone how good they really are, and the odds begin to shift.

As you can imagine, to place a smart futures bet, it's best to research the team and its opponents first. Any team with a strong strength of schedule might struggle, even with a superstar like James powering his way to the rim every trip down the court.

The Blowout Betting System

Have you ever been mesmerized by a team because of its offensive firepower? Think Golden State and Stephen Curry or the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant. When a team beats its opponent by a large margin, you might be inclined to wager on a subsequent victory, feeling that they have all the momentum. However, historical data shows that this often isn't the case -- back-to-back blowout victories are actually rather unusual. That means you'll want to watch the odds with a careful eye and not overpay for a low-value pick.

The Back-to-Back System in Basketball Betting

The NBA has gotten a lot of press -- both good and bad -- in the past few years for scheduling many back-to-back games. Some teams can handle this kind of high-intensity scheduling, others struggle mightily.

Before you bet, pay extra attention to the health of players. Without a night of rest, even small injuries can slow down superstars and backups alike.

And remember that detailed statistical histories show that teams almost always lose more often than normal in the second game of a back-to-back. That's especially true for teams that already have a losing record.