Basketball remains one of the most popular sports in the world, attracting millions of viewers across the globe. It is also rising in popularity among bettors, especially with the emergence of online betting and sportsbook apps.
Betting on any sport requires a strategy, if you aim to see long-term results. But this is even more pertinent with basketball, where teams are smaller and the impact of each player is bigger. Here are 5 useful tips which are indispensable to maximize your chances of turning your basketball bets into wins.
#1. Choose Your Bookies Well!
With so many sportsbooks to choose from, picking the one that suits you most might be tough and time-consuming, but carrying out prior research is key.
Before choosing a sportsbook, you should gauge the trustworthiness of the site by reading website reviews and talking to fellow punters, to ensure that the company plays by the rules, pays out winners quickly and offers great customer service.
Regarding payment options, you want to ensure that the site has payment security certificates on their websites, like Skrill, Trustly, MasterCard or Verified by VISA.
While there is no sports betting site that can be labelled as ‘the best’, you also need to know which ones are actually worth their salt. You might be after a vast selection of sport activities, or else seeking quick payouts. You may instead be interested in the bonuses being offered, in which case, lest you didn’t know, there are some fantastic operators out there offering great promotions. For instance, Betplays Casino currently has a 100% up to €500 match bonus up for grabs when you sign up through NoDepositWorld after placing a deposit of €10… a pretty hard-to-beat deal if we do say so ourselves!
Whatever you’re looking for in an online gaming site, don’t settle for anything that doesn’t fully cater for your preferences as a punter.
#2. Head Over Heart
Are you a Lakers supporter? Then think twice before you bet on them! Betting on your favorite team and letting your emotions come in the way is never a good idea when placing bets because this often stunts your objectivity and the likelihood of making a winning bet. If you aim to bet like a pro, you should take emotions out of the equation and instead focus on objective facts. This could include information about the way two teams have fared in head-to-head matchups in the past, whether the game you’re betting on is a revenge game, and any other useful information that can help you make the best moves.
Predictions from basketball tipsters as well as expert advice from reputable sources can help you spot trends and gain more insight into what you should look out for and how to interpret your observations when placing future bets.
#3. Consider Team Form
Unlike football teams which consist of 11 players, a basketball team, consisting of five players, is bound to be much more affected by a single injured player than in any other team sport. Therefore, getting your hands on the injury report is recommended.
Fatigue needs to be factored in by bettors, which, needless to say, significantly affects a team’s winning prospects. Although the NBA has done its best to minimize the effects of player fatigue by reducing the number of back-to-back games, there is still a considerable number of games that are played in succession.
Evaluating individual players is not your only homework. You can get further insight into the physical state of team members by knowing the game schedule. Research shows that teams playing in the second game of a back-to-back stretch win just 44% of the time. Therefore, knowing beforehand that a team has been on the road for two consecutive weeks or that this is their fourth game in five nights, you can come to a better conclusion about the team’s winning prospects.
Having an insight into coaches’ tendencies can be another invaluable piece of information when predicting point spreads and final scores. For instance, whereas some coaches prefer to rest their key players when the team would be severely under defeat, others insist on exhausting the full potential of their best players to improve their winning potential. However, keep in mind that this would also be increasing the odds of fatigue and injury from one game to the next.
#4. Geographical Considerations
It is helpful to consider how far an NBA team has travelled to get to its game, and how many time zones it passed through along the way.
Moreover, home-court advantage is another factor to consider when placing your bets. Apart from factors such as jet lag and fatigue, certain teams also struggle with acclimatizing to the specific country’s weather conditions. While recent studies suggest that the number of games lost by those on the road team is dropping, the advantage of playing in your own arena should not be underestimated. That doesn’t mean you should only bet on teams playing home. But it’s worth considering your bet carefully before wagering a significant amount of money on a road team.
#5. Track Your Bets
Anyone can win a random bet by fluke, but if you’re looking for long term winnings, you need to have a strategic system in place where you keep track of all your wagers. Ideally, the records would be elaborate, detailing the date, the sportsbook, the odds, and the final score. Your records should also include observations and insights gleaned from each move, so that you can gauge what works and what doesn’t. This would allow you to modify your strategy accordingly and make more informed decisions.
If you also track your profit and loss, a few months or years down the line you’ll get to enjoy the benefits of knowing your profitability over time, which would make this record-keeping exercise all the more worthwhile.