Top 5 Basketball betting strategies

Although not popular to the same extent as football, basketball betting has managed to become one of the favorite markets for punters around the world.

The reasons are well known to every bettor as you need only watch and bet on a single NBA match to understand what makes it so exciting. Even if you don’t wager on top level competitions, you can easily see how mutable basketball is. A point differences of over 10 points might look huge, however, it can be extinguished within a few playing minutes. There’s a huge variety of special bets, concerning not only the score, but also the points totals (even within quarters) and individual player’s performance.

Regardless of its entertaining nature, basketball remains a profitable market, especially for bettors who like to use a little bit of strategy to augment their chances of winning. No matter if you’re based in the USA or are lucky enough to enjoy legal sports betting, we advise you to spend some time reading the following tips.

Top 5 Basketball betting strategies

1. Backing a losing favorite.

If you’re a loyal fan of the sport, you will have noticed favorites seldom lose, as basketball upsets are extremely rare. There are many examples of favorites who need only a few minutes of concentrated play to tip the balance of a match in their favor. This usually happens in the second half, following a locker room tirade by the coach. This one is considered as the best basketball betting strategy by many professional gamblers who like placing their bets only on these types of situations. In any case, if you’re backing a losing favorite you know by default that you are betting on valued odds.

2. 4th quarter points total.

This is another popular basketball betting strategy. One thing you must always remember before placing a bet is to take a look at the online bookmaker betting rules about the sport. Most bookies consider any points scored in extra time, part of the fourth quarter. So, if you bump into a tied match, where no team has built a safe point difference, it’ might be worth betting on over points total. You could win either way, due perhaps to a number of free throws in the last minutes, but if the match does indeed go to extra time you'll have an additional five minutes of play to surpass the point limit.

3. Utilizing basketball lines.

The best way to use this strategy is to study the favorite’s next fixtures, especially in European basketball leagues and concerning teams who also participate in much more prestigious international competitions.

It’s obvious that a team who is playing and travelling every few days will be looking to catch a breather at every possible chance. If they have a boring league match against an inferior team before a continental match, the players will most like look to secure a win and not demolish their opponents. Additionally, the coach could do some required rotation as to give playing minutes to second or third choice players and keep his starters fit ahead of the more important upcoming game. This means that prior to a Euroleague fixture, you could back the underdog’s lines in a league match, especially if the point handicap is high.

4. Low scoring leagues.

In most basketball leagues the vast majority of matches exceed 150 points in total. In 48-minute NBA games this number is even bigger, frequently surpassing 200 points. But what about minor, lower division, women or even youth competitions? The player’s scoring ability is much lower and the point average total similarly slim. Bookies often determine their betting lines according to general statistics in minor leagues, so it’s worthy to bet on under total points lines when they seem big according to the total average points of the opponents. Bet365  offers an extraordinary range of basketball tournaments around the world.

5. Exhaustion takes its toll.

The NBA regular season has an exhausting schedule for the players, with 82 games stitched in less than 180 days. Most teams on the road (especially when playing in the opposite conference) usually play back-to-back matches every two days and sometimes even three in four days. This betting on basketball strategy requires waiting for the third consecutive away match of a clear favorite and backing the underdog, which also has the home advantage.

Remember, betting on basketball has similar requirements compared to other sports.

- A clear and exact staking plan. The more conscious you are about your money, the more refined your betting choices will be. Bet according to your pre defined bankroll, not your online bookmaker’s balance or how much money you have in your wallet.

- Discipline when placing bets. Chasing bets is the worst scenario following a loss. You have to accept that you’ll have bad beats, some times really hard ones. The bottom line in betting is making a profit in a certain time period, not every day.

- Avoid backing favorites with little to no value. This is a one-way road to bankruptcy. Always try to find valuable bets. You’ll note that if you’re betting the right way you feel better, many times even after losing.

- Always analyze match data and read news about possible absences (injuries, suspensions etc.) before betting. If you’re too bored to spend a few minutes to perform a match analysis, you're bound to lose a great number of your bets.