Basketball betting is one out of the few sports betting with a wide variety of profitable betting strategies. A perfect betting system exists to pick winners, make money, and most importantly identity value. This perfect betting system has still not been discovered yet. There are so many ways to pick winners and identify value, this makes it very difficult to pick the best strategy that works across not only basketball but all other sports. However, there are some tips that work well with basketball, and they are some that don’t work well.
It’s sometimes difficult to differentiate the tips that work well from the one that isn’t effective. It’s for this reason that bettors are advised to use these basketball betting tips and strategies that will be discussed later on in this article in one of two different ways.
The first way is by plugging this strategy directly into your bet to pick winners and identify value. A lot of tips actually work well this way. Once they are applied, they will assist you in making better picks and identifying games that you can easily take advantage of.
The second way is by using these tips and strategies to shape your thinking this sounds philosophical, but it’s more than just philosophy. Most beginner bettors don’t have the right mindset needed for betting. Most of them need to be guided by tips and strategies of professional bettors for a period of time to start new trains of thought. Veteran bettors can also gain from these tips and strategies by using this method because sometimes you might need to be exposed to new ideas of betting. You can decide to go for option one or option two, and you could also use both options. Whichever option you go for, these tips will still find a way to help your career in basketball betting.
Table of content:
- The Four Main Strategies For Basketball Betting
- The home underdog power
- Favourites after a big blowout
- Conclusion
The Four Main Strategies For Basketball Betting
Using these strategies in your daily basketball betting activities will call for positive changes in your return rate. These strategies include;
● Always look out for value first
Many bettors, even the experienced ones, still don’t understand that you can’t be a successful bettor if all you do is focus on picking winners. Some bettors have winning streaks but still suffer losses. The only way you can make it big in basketball betting is by hunting for games with high value, and when you come across these games, maximize your bets. A major thing you need to keep in the back of your mind is that winning records mean nothing. For example, two bettors Jack and Jacob have records of 5 bets as follows;
- Jack – 3 wins and 2 losses
- Jacob – 2 wins and 3 losses
Given these records, many bettors will say Jack has made more wins than Jacob because of the higher number of wins. Well, this is very wrong and so is going for the Jacob option. The number of wins and losses isn’t sufficient to judge who has made more money. This principle stands because all bookmakers don’t give the same payouts for different bets. If as a bettor, you decide to place your stake on underdogs, you will realize more money than other bettors that decide to place stakes on favourites. This is mainly because the underdogs are often awarded more odds than the favourites.
● Always look for line movement
This tip goes hand in hand with the tip discussed above. All tips are expected to go hand in hand with value because this helps realize their real weight worth. For example, in a basketball game between the Bostons and the Rockets, the past records of both teams show that the Bostons are underdogs and should have payouts of about +150. You can confirm this payout by line shopping, that is checking out other bookmakers if they offer the same payout.
As a smart bettor, it’s not advisable for you to place your stake just yet. Prior to the game, news and sportscenter, begin talking about how the Boston have improved and how they are going to beat the Rockets. Bookmakers will notice this and decide to increase the payout for the Bostons to +200. This is the right time to place your bet. The point here is lines are never constant, they tend to change based on people’s opinions about the event or some other factors. All you need to do as a bettor is to calm down and watch the lines for the best time to place your stake.
● Be aware of line-ups
Although this tip looks simple and straightforward, even the best bettors in basketball still make the mistake of not using this tip in betting. As a smart bettor you’re supposed to assign time to check the lineups of the basketball teams involved. If you decide to bet on L.A. Lakers because of Lebron James, it might happen that Lebron James will not be playing that particular game due to injury. Players always miss matches especially during regular seasons due to injury or bad form. It’s very important for bettors to check the lineups of teams before placing bets because the key player in a team can decide the outcome of the event.
● Harness the power of the basketball teams’ egos
No one loves to lose. This statement also applies to basketball players and theirs is even worse because the loss is always on a big stage. It’s for this fact that you’ve to take some things into consideration when placing bets.
➔ The home underdog power
Basketball teams see losing at home as the most embarrassing thing ever and this explains why it’s always difficult to beat an underdog that is home. Home underdogs don’t always win, but they always play at their best whenever they are home. You might have to reconsider an underdog bet when the underdog team is the one hosting the favourites.
➔ Favourites after a big blowout
Favourite basketball teams also suffer blowouts but when the blowout happens, the favourites barely lose their next match, because they tend to play at their peak to avoid consecutive losses. As a bettor, you should look out for games like this to place your bets on.
Conclusion
While making your selections in basketball betting always make sure you convert all implied probabilities to betting odds. Line shop and go for values and not payouts. Remember anyone can pick as many selections as possible, and they will all still not be profitable.