Want to make a bet on a basketball game? It’s really easy to do at a legal sports book. Winning is tough, betting is easy. Sports books in the US allow betting on college and professional games. Casual fans known more about the NBA (National Basketball Association) which has 30 teams, rather than about the hundreds of colleges that field basketball teams you can bet on.
For NBA games, bookies offer three standard bets: the point spread, the money line, and the over/under. Traditionally, the point spread has been the most popular.
Understanding the Point Spread
You can choose a team and get points (+) or give points (-). When you choose a team and “get” points you get the number of points added to your pick’s final score. Say you bet team “A” + 5 points. In this case you win your bet if team “A” wins the game or loses by less than 5 points. You push and get your money back if your team loses by exactly 5 points, such as 105 to 100.
When you lay, or give points (-), your pick has to win by more than the number you gave up. If you bet your team –10 points, you push if they win by exactly 10 points, such as 110 to 100; you win your bet if they win by more than 10 points; you lose if they also lose the game or win by less than 10 points.
Bookies and sports books look at a myriad of data to decide which team should be favored AND they have to adjust for how the public will bet, because sports books and bookies don’t make their income from knowing who will win. They make their money by trying desperately to get the same amount bet on both teams. When the betting is lopsided, they change the line to entice more bets on the side that is light on bets – and, with point spreads, the bookies offer not 1-1 or even money bets like blackjack, oh no.
Sports books usually offer 11/10 bets, not even-money bets like you get at blackjack. You have to bet $11 to win $10! When the sports book manages to get $550 on team “A” and $550 on team “B” they have set the perfect line, or adjusted the line correctly. In this case the book takes in a total of $1100 and pays the winners back a total of $1050.
As you can see, keeping only $50 out of $1100 in bets means the books make less than 5%, and after paying expenses they usually hold only about 2%. But don’t feel bad for them when you book a winner!
Understanding The Money LineMany basketball games also have a money line bet available. In this case, there is no point spread and you are simply trying to choose the team that will win. The favored team will be a minus (-) number, meaning you have to risk more money to win less. The underdog will be a plus (+) number, so you get paid more than even money if they win.
Money line numbers (such as Team “A” –150 and Team “B” +130) are based on $100 bets. To bet on the favorite, Team “A”, you wager $150 to win $100 and get back a total of $250 if they win. If you bet Team “B” you bet $100 to win $130 and get back a total of $230.
Understanding Over/Under BetsOver/Under bets, or totals, are wagers on the final score of the game, with both team’s point totals added together. A score of 110 to 105 has an end total of 215. If the sports book anticipates the total to be 215, they will take bets that it will be over 215 or under 215. If the game actually lands at 215, you get your bet back as a push whether you bet over 215 or under 215.
As with point spreads, over/under bets require the better to place an $11 wager to win $10 and get back a total of $21 when they win – you are always “laying” the odds because you are betting more than you can win. The payoff is .9090909 to 1.
Important Tips
- Always check your ticket to make sure you have the correct wager before leaving
- Make a note of the sports book hours and/or days of operation
- Make sure you know how long your winning ticket is good for, it may expire
Futures bets are available at sports books for most basketball seasons. If you want to pick strong favorites, your payoff will be smaller if you win. Underdogs offer higher odds with less chance of winning much like proposition bets at craps.
Bets are available for small amounts, often as little as $2. For the NBA you can choose a team to win their division, their league, or the NBA Championship. A typical bet on a upcoming team might be 3-1 to win the division ($2 returns $8); 5-1 to win the league ($2 returns $12); and 9-1 to win the championship ($2 returns $20).
