Betting – Basketball

Bets – Basketball (tips for successful betting)

Sports betting is an extremely popular form of gambling, and basketball betting makes up perhaps the largest portion of sports betting in Lithuania. Typically, players who are well-versed in a particular sport choose to analyze potential match outcomes or other results to win money from the betting company. In this article, we will discuss the best ways to place basketball bets.

Basketball Betting – the largest and easiest offer

Basketball is an extremely popular sport worldwide, not just in Lithuania. Many betting companies will have a very wide selection of bets, as both regular and recreational players often place money on basketball game results. This sport’s competitions take place continuously from LKL to NBA, so basketball betting will be a suitable leisure activity for both regular and recreational players. If you are a fan of this sport, participating in betting will increase the excitement of the matches. Every point scored or rebound will bring you closer not only to your favorite team’s victory but also to potential money winnings.

TOP betting companies for basketball bets

Before placing any basketball bets, it is first worth selecting the area of sports competitions according to your interest. For example, if you are mostly interested in Lithuanian basketball, it will always be most appropriate to place bets in this area. Even if bets are placed just for fun and more excitement while watching the games, understanding the betting area will make it much easier to protect your money and lose less in the long run.

We always recommend selecting the best companies for betting. Poker School has already selected and analyzed betting companies, so we suggest choosing one (or several) from the options below. To protect your money for as long as possible, we recommend taking advantage of all the bonuses and promotions offered by the company. This way, you can place more bets and enjoy your time longer!

Of course, you can find many more betting companies, but we have not checked them. Before choosing a place for betting, you should consider several factors. First, whether the company is well-known or has a long history of operation. If at least one of these factors applies, you can already not worry about any potential issues. In other cases, internet searches, other site reviews, and customer comments are always helpful. Remember, placing money in an unknown room risks losing it. This happens very rarely, but problems can arise from unreliable companies – from frozen accounts to very long (or simply non-occurring) withdrawal processes.

Basketball – betting and probabilities

In every sport, bets can slightly differ, as betting companies offer bets not only on winners but also on total points scored or other sport-related results. In basketball betting, as in all other sports, you will find a multitude of different bet types. Some bets may offer very good odds but be too rare to be a profitable decision. For example, bets on the exact total points scored during a match may offer very good odds, but the probability of hitting is incredibly low, making it unrealistic to win any money with such a bet.

Basketball match bets have several commonly used and most profitable bet types. These types are based on specific possible match situations such as total team points or handicaps. Of course, this does not mean that by placing money without any strategy but using these bet types, you will earn money. We recommend viewing any bet as a leisure activity and an opportunity to watch matches with even more excitement.

Basketball – bets and best choices

In basketball, the most profitable bets are: handicaps, team totals, and match winner (moneyline).

1. Handicaps – it is obvious that in almost all matches, one of the teams is the favorite. For example, if Šiauliai “Šiauliai” played against Toronto “Raptors,” the probability that the second team would win would be very high, so the odds for them would be very low. Handicaps allow you to understand the match differently – for example, imagine that the Šiauliai team is given a 5, 10, or 20-point automatic advantage. Then, the probabilities would change slightly. Handicaps reflect exactly this type of bet – a point amount is given to one team in the bet. Therefore, for example, if the Šiauliai team were given a 15-point advantage, and the match ended 70-80, according to the betting company, all handicap bets in favor of the Šiauliai team would have won. Handicap bets can be profitable because it is difficult for companies to assess what the real point advantage is, except in very specific cases.
2. Team totals – this type of bet is sometimes also called “over/under.” Usually, such a bet means that you are betting on whether the teams will exceed (or not reach) a certain point total. For example, you can bet money that a basketball team will score more than 80 points during a match. These bets can be profitable if the player has a good understanding of team compositions, playing style, and balance of power. Usually, if a team scores the number of points specified at the time of the bet, but neither above nor below, the money is returned (sometimes called “push/refund”). Of course, the probability of hitting the exact point total is very low, but in rare cases, it can increase EV.
3. Match winner (moneyline) – the most well-known and simplest bet. In this case, money is placed on the winner of the match. Of course, the simplicity of this bet means that betting companies can usually predict probabilities well, so match winner bets should be selected very carefully, but with a good understanding of the teams, matches, balance of power, and potential, moneyline bets can bring quite a few winnings.

All these bets can be profitable only when the game is well understood. Match winner bets can be the easiest to use for good leisure time, but before starting to use more complex betting systems, it is recommended to first thoroughly analyze the game.

TOP betting companies for basketball bets

If the competition is unfamiliar to you but you still want to bet because the odds seem valuable, it’s best to research the teams and matches using media and forums. Often, you can find valuable information in these places that will ease any decision before placing a bet. For example, before using a “totals” bet, it’s always useful to review the teams’ average points during the season. Of course, the betting company also includes this statistic in the odds calculation, but this knowledge can sway the decision one way or another.

A simple but very important tip: bet on matches that you will watch and understand well. Professional betting company visitors, of course, choose to bet based on expertise and offered odds. It will be easier for newcomers to get involved in betting and gain experience if the games are close to their heart and well-known. Even if you don’t manage to win money, bets will add more excitement when watching your favorite team’s matches.

Basketball Betting

Even knowing the most profitable bets and having information about the matches and teams, not all bets will be equal. Some bets may offer very high odds and seem attractive, but it’s always worth remembering that betting companies calculate odds very precisely. Basketball bets can only pay off if you are well-versed in both betting practices and the game itself.

The best practice before choosing bets is to look for average value. Bets with odds of 5 or higher will be profitable very rarely. Many players who bet more frequently choose 1.85-1.95. Such medium-sized odds mean that the company does not have a clear favorite in this area. Most often, 1.85-1.95 odds will be offered in handicap or team total bet selections. If such bets are found, they are likely to be some of the best possible for those matches. Sometimes companies offer 1.85-1.95 when the match favorite is not clear. In such cases, secondary match factors can be useful – recent wins/losses, coaches’ or players’ comments before the game, team style, strategy, and so on.

Sometimes it may happen that there are no suitable matches or odds for a good bet. In such a case, it’s best to simply skip and wait. There are enough basketball matches happening worldwide throughout the year to find suitable and beneficial bets within a few days.

Finally, it’s always important to assess the amount of money available for betting. As recommended by all betting companies and the institutions overseeing them, never play with money you cannot afford to lose. Always have two separate sums of money – for living expenses and for betting. Never mix these funds. The quickest way to go broke and have significant financial problems is to start playing with money meant for paying bills, buying food, and other important things. All players sometimes feel the urge to recover losses or believe that they will definitely win now. Simple math and reality can determine that this will not be the case, and you will find yourself in even bigger problems.

Basketball Predictions – The Most Popular Leagues in This Sport

NBA League

1. NBA – Founded in 1946 in New York, the league today has 30 teams competing. Teams participate in two distinct conferences: Eastern and Western, and the conferences are divided into 6 divisions.

 The NBA regular season lasts about 7 months (from October 22 to April 18), and then the top 8 teams from both conferences advance to the playoffs.

 As you can see in the picture, the teams that take the top spots in the conferences play against the teams that took the 8th spot in the first round, 2nd place plays against 7th, 3rd against 6th, 4th against 5th. The team that took a higher place in the regular season secures home court advantage for the respective series. The regular season winner guarantees home court advantage for all playoff games, so it’s very important to finish the regular season as high as possible.

However, recently there is a prevailing view that the place taken in the regular season is not very important, as teams do not play at 100% capacity, and the real NBA battles begin only when the playoffs start. To some extent, this can be agreed upon, as teams with less potential give more playing time to young players during the regular season, performing the so-called “tanking” to get a higher draft pick.

 A tip for profiting from this league’s bets – always check the team rosters, which players will be registered for the match, and who might miss the respective meeting. Also, watch the previous matches, if the team has a back-to-back game and has to play a match in a distant location the next night, there is a high probability that the team will not play as well as you might be used to seeing.

 In the regular season, the biggest profit comes from betting on so-called “underdogs,” when, for example, the bookmaker’s set favorite plays three matches in 4 nights or there are no clear full rosters. All our offered NBA basketball predictions can be found here.

Euroleague

2. Euroleague – regarded as the second strongest league in the world, currently featuring 18 teams (the number of participants increased from 16 to 18 in the 2019/2020 season). The regular season in this league starts in early October (this year on October 3) and ends in April (this year on April 10). The eight best-performing teams in the regular season advance to the playoffs.

As you can see in the picture, the team that took first place in the regular season plays with the team that took 8th place, the team that took second place plays with the 7th, the 3rd with the 6th, and the team that remained 4th competes with the 5th. The playoff series is played until 3 wins, and the team that wins the series advances to the final four. In the final four, the action takes place until one victory, so unlike the NBA playoffs, there are more surprises and unexpected results here.

Basketball played in the Euroleague is quite different from what we see in the NBA league, so players coming from the NBA are often overrated. There are cases where players adapted to the European style look great (S. Larkin, D. Williams, R. Beaubois, etc.), but this is only a small part. Euroleague basketball is much more physical and tactically based, so players do not have the freedom they are used to getting across the Atlantic. For this reason, it is very important at the beginning of the season to pay attention to team compositions, analyze whether players have played in Europe, how they have adapted to a different style of play, and seeing “overrated” teams, you can take advantage of this by betting on “underdogs” or taking plus handicaps.

In the Euroleague, home advantage is also much more important, and a great example of this is the Lyon Asvel team, which was undoubtedly considered the weakest team in the tournament before the Euroleague started. In fact, this team won only once away, defeating the Crvena Zvezda team by one point, while at home they achieved 5 wins in 7 matches, defeating even such teams as CSKA Moscow, Panathinaikos, Olimpia Milano, Baskonia, and Olympiacos.

 Many bettors who bet on Euroleague matches throw their money only on team names, although in this much-strengthened Euroleague all teams have good players, and it is very important to evaluate other aspects before betting, including home advantage.

 You can find our analysts’ reviews and suggested Euroleague predictions here.

TOP betting companies for basketball bets