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Video Transcript:

When it comes to sports betting in the US, the NFL is number one but the NBA is right behind it.

Betting on the NBA has advantages: There are more games, more scoring and if you know where to look, there are tons of great betting opportunities.

If you want to get in on the action but you’re a newcomer to betting basketball, you’ve come to the right place.

In this video we break down the most popular ways to bet on the NBA, step by step.

We’ll explain the odds, how to read betting lines and how to make common bets like moneylines, point spreads and over/unders.

We’ll also point you in the direction of some really powerful free basketball betting strategies available right here on WSN.com.

Let’s get started.


NBA BETTING ODDS

You may already know all about the sport of basketball, NBA teams and players but, chances are if you’re a newcomer to sports gambling, the odds and betting lines are going to be confusing at first.

Don’t worry. It’s really simple.

Sportsbooks in the US use what are called American odds. It’s a way of showing how much a bet will pay off when it wins and it also tells us something about which team is favored to win and by how much.

Odds in this style are posted as a three digit number with either a plus or minus sign in front of it.

Here are some easy rules for remember how American odds work.

The minus sign shows you which team is the favorite.

The number with the minus sign in front of it tells you how much you have to bet to profit $100.

If a team has odds of -150 it means they’re the favorite, and that a $150 bet will pay out $250 total, $100 in profit plus your original $150 bet.

The plus sign tells you which team is the underdog and the number is the amount of profit you win for every $100 you bet.

If you bet $100 on a team with odds of +200 it will pay out $300 total, $200 in profit plus your original $100 bet.

It’s important to understand that you can bet any amount you want. American odds use $100 as a base unit just to make it easier to understand.

When you place bets online, just type in how much you want to bet and the site will calculate the odds automatically and tell you how much you stand to win, before you have to actually make the bet.

American odds are used in all kinds of sports bets so it’s definitely worth getting comfortable with how to read them right off the bat.

Now let’s take a look at the most popular NBA bets and how to make them.


NBA POINT SPREADS

Point spread betting is hands-down the most popular way for Americans to bet on sports and it’s a really easy way for beginners to bet on the NBA.

The idea is simple.

The underdog team gets an advantage in the form of a margin of points they can lose by and still cover the spread.

The favorite, on the other hand, is put at a disadvantage by getting a margin of points they have to win by in order to cover the spread.

That margin is called the point spread.

The bigger the difference in skill between the two teams, the bigger the point spread.

Let’s look at an example:

The Hornets and Pistons are playing tonight and the Pistons are the favorite. In point spread bets you’ll see the spread right next to the team’s name.

In this example the Pistons are at -2.5 which means they have to win by three or more points to cover the spread.

The Hornets are at +2.5 which means they can either win the game outright, or lose by two or less points and still cover the spread.

If your team covers the spread, you win your bet.

Next to the point spread are the odds, like we explained before.

The most common odds on point spreads are -110 which means you win $100 in profit for every $110 you bet.


Find out more about Kurt Long here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1273767/