LINE BETTING IS A FORM OF SPORTS BETTING
whereby the bookmaker handicaps what they believe to be the more dominant team in any contest by setting a margin that they think the stronger team will win by at least, effectively making the game equal.
The margin between the teams is what is referred to as ‘the line’ but you will also hear it talked about as ‘the spread’ or ‘point spread bets’.
This lines form of sports betting is only used in cases where there are no more than two possible outcomes.
A WIN, OR A LOSS FOR EITHER TEAM
Clearly, as it can never end in a tie, any NBA game falls into this category of ‘two-possible-outcomes’ and is therefore suitable for line betting.
As an example:
If your chosen sportsbook believes that the favoured team (Blue) is going to finish the game 10 points ahead of the underdog team (Red), then they handicap the Blues by 10 points to effectively make them equal.
The line bet now becomes either:
The Blues to win by more than 10.5 points (remember they’re only expected to win by 10)
or
The Reds to get within that 10.5 point margin (even if they don’t win, they have effectively beaten what the odds believed they could manage, and that constitutes a successful wager)
PICK YOUR OWN LINE
Picking your own betting lines is a relatively new form of line betting that can be found on many online sportsbooks.
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It takes the concept of line betting one step further and provides the bettor with a set of fixed (usually higher) odds for a range of different lines.
Instead of just having one line to choose from where the odds are (because of the handicap) relatively equal, bettors can now choose from any number of lines and the odds that they get for each of their betting lines will change accordingly.
If you are particularly confident that one team will beat the other by a larger margin of victory then you can select a higher margin (handicap) for that team.
As the sportsbook algorithm believes that they will triumph, but by a lesser amount, the odds you receive will be more in your favor should you be proven right.
NBA BETTING LINES
With all NBA Championship betting, there will generally be a favored team, even if the margin is almost too tight to call. Certain teams that would have longer or shorter odds using the money line system (see below) are brought to effectively the same level by the handicap system that lines incorporate and it can be a lot easier to understand at first glance.
In our eyes here at The Jump Hub, it’s more fun too. We’d rather place bets on the difference in scores between 2 teams than just guessing who will win. It gives another layer of interest to the bets and keeps us as bettors invested in the process a touch more.
OTHER BET TYPES
NBA money line bet
This is a straight-up wager on one team or the other to win the game outright.
The odds will no longer be roughly even (as with the handicap system inherent in line betting) You are merely choosing the team that you feel will be the winners, and the sportsbook is giving you what they believe to be the odds of that happening.
Parlay bets (also known as accumulators [accas], combo bets, or multis)
Parlay bets are single bets that link together two or more individual wagers. As one wager is successful, the winnings roll over and become the stake of the next bet.
THE SUCCESS OF THE OVERALL WAGER IS DEPENDENT ON ALL OF THOSE BETS WINNING TOGETHER
Read here where we compare Cost per NBA Championship Ranking, to discover which teams are spending ridiculous amounts of money, despite having slim chances of winning the championship.
Most reputable sources will tell you parlays are a poor way to start (and continue) betting, especially if you wish to make money in the long term and not just have a flutter with your friends once a year.
The chances of a parlay being successful are not in your favor, however, if they do come off then the rewards can be huge.
Small bets that have the potential to win big are a source of great excitement among groups of friends who get together once in a while for a big sporting occasion and want to throw a few dollars away.
IF IT COMES OFF THEN EVERYBODY GOES WILD AND THE PARTY NOW COSTS NOTHING
In those circumstances, that kind of betting is perfectly fine, but as a long-term strategy, it is a poor one.
At The Jump Hub, not only do we review odds for individual games but also the latest odds for the NBA futures markets, including one of the most popular NBA Futures bets, the NBA MVP (Most Valuable Player) Betting market.
NBA TOTAL OR OVER/UNDER ODDS
In an ‘over/under’ bet, the listed figure is a number that a sportsbook comes up with, in an attempt to estimate how many points they feel both teams combined will score in an NBA game.
Let’s say that figure is 220.5
If you place a bet that is ‘under’ 220.5, you need the final combined score to be less than that and vice versa for an ‘over’ bet.
PLAYER PROPS BETS
See our in-depth article about NBA Player Props bets
FINAL THOUGHTS
Before you start betting on the final score of every NBA game you watch and build your own NBA point spread strategy it pays to remember a few things.
TRY AND CHOOSE A FORM THAT SUITS YOUR PARTICULAR INTEREST AND SKILL LEVEL THE BEST
It’s no good if you love poring over stats and trends to simply pick a simple win/loss style money line wager hoping that the underdog wins. It won’t keep you interested for long enough. The reverse is also true, so start tentatively with low amounts and get a feel for what suits you best.
MANY PEOPLE ENJOY NBA BETTING AND OTHER FORMS OF GAMBLING RESPONSIBLY
They find it to be a hobby (or even a livelihood if they’re good enough) that brings them great excitement and joy. They bet on teams that they love to watch play and every game brings a little extra satisfaction from trying to get one over on the top sportsbooks.
As their skill and understanding grow and they learn to read NBA odds and sports odds in general they might progress to different forms of live betting.
BUT ALL BETTORS HAVE THEIR LIMITS
and there are others for whom a love of gambling is the last thing that they can afford, mentally or fiscally.
Please do not be ashamed to seek crisis counselling if you believe that you may have a gambling problem and always remember the golden rule:
