10 Basketball Betting Terms you should know to understand core sportsbooks concepts like moneyline, point spreads/handicap, over/under totals, in-play and more.
Basketball betting on top tournaments like NBA in the W88 sportsbooks is one of the most fun things to do. However, whether you bet online for fun or to make some cash it is best to know the sportsbook lingo thoroughly. In this article, we will introduce you to the 10 basketball betting terms that you must know as a beginner bettor before betting in sportsbooks online.
1. Moneyline
The first term that you should know is what moneyline means in basketball betting online. Moneyline is one of the main betting options in the sportsbooks. This bet lets you wager by choosing between team 1 win or team 2 win. These bets are also known as the match winner bets in the sportsbooks and are usually provided with two sub-bets. However, sometimes in sportsbooks you will also find 3-way moneyline bets that adds in a third option which is the tie bet that you can choose.
2. Point Spread/Handicap
Another one of the basketball betting terms that is similar to the moneyline bet with tweaks is the Point Spread bets. This betting option is also known as the Handicap betting option in other sportsbooks. This bet provides the underdog team with headstart scores while the stronger team gets a handicap at the beginning of a match. So here you must bet by picking between the team 1 win or team 2 win based on their altered scored once the handicaps are calculated. This bet also has a 3-way spread betting option where you get to choose a tie option in some cases.
3. Over/Under totals
Over/Under totals are the betting options that fall under the main market as well and are one of the important basketball betting terms you should know. Over/Under totals or O/U totals are betting options that do not require you to pick between a team win but rather requires you to bet on the total scores of both teams. However, there are also totals related to a single team that you can choose. Here, you bet to predict whether the totals would be more than which is over a certain margin or under which is less than a certain margin.
4. Quarter/Half bets
This is one of the important basketball betting terms that is related to the game timing. In basketball the games are played in quarters creating four sets in a standard game. And two quarters make a half giving the total match two halves. So, in sportsbooks you will find betting markets that lets you bet on the above betting terms basketball matches have but only for a specific quarter. These are important terms in basketball betting as it lets you come up with many betting strategies that you can apply for profits in the Sportsbook.
5. Live betting (In-play)
Another one of the useful betting terms basketball and other sports have in common is the Live betting which is also known as in-play betting. In-play bets means betting while the match is being played live. This comes with betting options that capture real-time aspects of the basketball game. They include bets like will there by a foul in the next quarter, who will score the over/under totals, etc.
6. Futures
Futures betting means that you are placing bets for future results beforehand unlike in-play betting. This bet is also known as the outright betting option in game rooms. The betting option lets you wager on who will win the entire tournament rather than a single match. So, here you get to choose one team out of all that are participating in the tournament. Since the results would be known in the future which is during the finals, it is called Futures, one of the important betting terms basketball sportsbooks have.
7. Prop Bets
Prop betting in the basketball betting terms is related to individual players rather than the entire team. These bets are usually found in live gameplays in the sportsbooks. However, sometimes they can be related to a team scoring a particular score during a particular moment in the match. Some of these bets include options like LeBron to score 30+ points or player scores total 3 pointers over 20.5, etc. Prob betting is usually not a beginner-friendly betting option so it is best to play the main bets before moving on to such specific bets.
8. Push
Since basketball games are played in sets, there is no need for a draw unless certain games have it. However this is only applicable to the betting options as in the live gameplay sometimes draws happen. For instance, if the total over/under betting margin is 210 and you wager on Over 210 but the teams totals are exactly 210, then the bet is pushed. This means that since the Over 210 didn’t win and neither did the Under 210 won, the betting stakes are returned or pushed back to the bettor. The same applies to handicap bets and other betting options related to exact scores in the sportsbooks.
9. Parley
Parley betting in the sportsbooks are usually done by the high rollers and is one of the risky basketball betting terms in sportsbooks. Parley bets lets you tie more than one betting option in a single bet thereby increasing the betting odds for more payout returns. This means that you can bet on multiple basketball matches and tie them in a single bet, or bet one a basketball match option and another bet from different sports. However, all the bets tied together must win for this single bet to win making it a risky option for beginners.
10. Odds Formats
Lastly and most importantly are the odds formats in sportsbooks. Odds are given under the betting options wherein you get to predict which team is more likely to win, which is not, how much payout you will get, etc. These are important aspects of the sportsbooks that have different formats. There are mainly three odds formats that you should know about when it comes to Basketball betting online.
Decimal Format: These are famous and most common wherein the betting odds are provided in the decimal format and the payouts are based on the odds multiplied with the betting stakes.
Moneyline/American Format: These betting odds are provided in the decimal format however they come with the negative sign as well that tells you how much you need to bet for a certain amount as payout.
Fractional Format: Although outdated, these betting odds come in the fraction format that lets you know how much you must bet in return for a certain amount.
Conclusion
These were the 10 Basketball Betting Terms Explained with simple explanations for beginners. Understanding these is the first step to betting in the sportsbooks online to earn huge payouts. Using these you can understand how sportsbooks operate for basketball betting online. However, if you want a detailed analysis of these terms with betting guides, strategies to win, and insights by experts, keep visiting our website.
