• What Does 1000 Points Mean In Basketball
• Basketball Total Points Betting Overtime

NBA totals betting is the full amount of points scored in a game by both teams. It is important to note that even if the game goes to overtime, those points are still counted when concerning the game total that will be graded by the sportsbooks. The underdog team can lose by 10 points and still cover the spread. Total: Known as the over/under, common wisdom says it is how many points oddsmakers feel will be scored in an NBA game by both.

What Does 1000 Points Mean In Basketball

1. Most sports betting sites allow you to buy half-points from a point spread for $0.10. Let’s say the Minnesota Vikings are -110 to cover a -5 point spread against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2. A standard bet on a total is treated just like a point spread. The sportsbook will take its 10% cut, displayed with American odds. For the most part, you’re going to be risking $1.1 for every $1 you want to win on a total bet in a football game. That’s what the -110 means next to the Chiefs-Titans total. So if you risk $11, you’ll win $10.

As a fast-paced end-to-end game, basketball offers bettors an exciting way to try and make a profit. To help those who want to learn how to bet on basketball get started, we’ve explained a few basic bet types that are vital to basketball betting. Continue reading to find out more.

Money line basketball betting

Money line markets are the most common and simplest market for a bettor to understand the cost of a bet. This form of basketball betting is simply placing money on a certain team to win the game. For example, look at these money line odds for Boston Celtics vs. Utah Jazz:

In this example, the Utah Jazz (1.364) are the favourites to beat the Celtics (3.440) at home - in American odds this would be -275 and +244. If you staked £10 on the Jazz, you would get a return of £13.64 – which includes your £10 stake. The profit would be £3.64. However, if the Celtics had won, you would win nothing and lose your £10.

If the Celtics win, your return would be £34.40 including your initial £10 stake, which would leave you a profit of £24.40.

Handicap basketball betting

Basketball Total Points Betting Overtime

Once you understand how to bet on basketball using the money line, betting on the handicap can become a valuable tool when one team is heavily favoured over their opponents. With handicap basketball betting, to counter the perceived bias in ability, bookmakers offer a handicap to level the playing field.

The handicap number (displayed as either + or – a value, such as +7.5 points) is factored into the final score to determine the game’s outcome for the purpose of the bet. This means that the handicap result is sometimes different from the actual result. For example, look at these two handicap bets:

Golden State Warriors: (+7.5) 2.050
Indiana Pacers: (-7.5) 1.862

If the Pacers won the game (100 – 96), bets on their handicap would actually lose. This is because for the purpose of this bet they started the game with -7.5pts, and therefore we have to subtract 7.5 from their final score. This makes the match outcome 92.5 – 96 in the Warriors’ favour.

If the Pacers won 104-96, the adjusted handicap result is 96.5-96, which means the Pacers still win. This is referred to as “covering the handicap”.

Totals basketball betting

Totals betting (also known as Over/Under) is a bet on whether the combined points scored in a game will be over or under a set number. For example, look at the totals odds for the Sacramento Kings vs. Miami Heat below:

Over 210.5: 1.962
Under 210.5: 2.110

If you bet £10 on the game to be over 210.5 points, and the result was 116-98 (an aggregate total of 214 points), you would make a return of £19.62 (£9.62 profit). If you had backed the total score as under 210.5 with the odds of 2.110, you would have lost the bet.

Despite this article outlining the basic forms of basketball betting, giving a solid grounding in understanding how to bet on basketball, there are more advanced bet types that can be implemented now you know how to bet on basketball.

Money Line betting video explainer

Found this article useful? Why not check out our video that details how Money Line betting works.

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• Point Spread: Commonly called the line or spread, it is the number chosen by Las Vegas and overseas oddsmakers that they feel will get an equal number of people to wager on the underdog as on the favorite. The negative value (-10.5) means the team is favored by 10.5 points. The positive value (+10.5) indicates an underdog of 10.5 points. In this instance, the favored team must win by at least 11 points to cover the spread. The underdog team can lose by 10 points and still cover the spread.

• Total: Known as the over/under, common wisdom says it is how many points oddsmakers feel will be scored in an NBA game by both teams combined. If you wagered under 197.5, you want the combined score of both teams to less than 197 (example 100-96).

• Money Line: Commonly used as a baseball and hockey wagering tool, basketball moneylines are popular for picking underdogs. There is no point spread linked to the moneyline. So the team you bet on only has to win the game, not win by a certain number of points. The negative value indicates the favorite, just like a point spread (-170) and the positive value means an underdog (+150). If you picture the number 100 sitting in the middle of these two values, moneylines are easier to comprehend.

• Futures: Betting on a future event (such as which team will win the NBA title) is called future betting. Oddsmakers will update future odds during the year, shortening the odds for good teams on hot streaks and lengthening odds for slumping teams with injury problems. Example: the NBA top team could be +170 to win the championship. This translates to a $100 wager paying out a $170 profit if that team wins. A lousy team might be +2000, making a $100 wager pay out a whopping $2,000 as a longshot.