Guide to NBA Single Game Bets

NBA betting can be challenging to navigate. This guide will help both new and experienced bettors with the many aspects that make up NBA betting. There is a fair amount of information to take in, but it is relatively simple once you understand the different aspects. 

The most common form of NBA betting will be single game bets. In order to understand these bets, there are some terms that you'll need to get familiar with. Single game bets can be split into spreads bets, totals bets or moneyline bets. Although single game bets are the easiest to understand, there are some things that you'll need to learn first, such as how to read and interpret the NBA betting odds.  

The easiest and most common NBA bet is the moneyline. This is simply betting on who will win a game. A moneyline is pretty simple to read. The team that has a '+' next to it is the underdog, and the team with a '-' next to it is the favourite. The numbers indicate the probability of each team winning and can be used to calculate what your winnings could be. A positive moneyline shows how much you stand to win, while a negative moneyline shows how much you'll need to bet in order to win $100. 

The next popular way to bet is spread betting, which is also known as point-spread betting and betting shadings the spread. Unlike moneyline betting, you aren't choosing who will win or lose. 

To win a spread bet, the favourite will have to win by a certain number of points, or if betting on the underdog, they will have to win by a certain number of points as well. 

A confusing aspect of point-spread betting is that there are half-points used since there are no half-points in basketball. These half-points are known as 'the hook', which is used to remove the chance of a draw or a 'push'. These half-points are added when a bet is won or lost. If a bet ends in a push, your wager will be returned, and the hook just prevents this from happening. 

Betting sites or sportsbooks prefer spread betting to encourage fair betting on both teams. Spread betting will change in the lead up to the game. Even though there are changes, your bet is locked in on the odds you choose as soon as you place your bet.

Totals betting is another simple way to bet. Here you are simply betting on the number of points that will be scored in a game. This total is calculated by adding the points scored by both teams together. When using totals betting, half points are used as well to prevent a draw or a 'push' from happening.

Like moneyline bets, totals betting use the '+' and '-' signs to indicate the over/under odds. The number next to these symbols indicate the payout. If there is a -110, this means that you have to bet $110 to win $100.