Confused about betting on the NBA or how to read NBA betting odds? You have found the best resource for learning about NBA betting odds. Below we will explain to you the different ways to bet on the NBA, along with how to read the NBA betting odds associated with each wager. We will also have live NBA betting odds that are updated in real time throughout the day for the nights games. If you are familiar with NBA betting odds you can skip down to the bottom where you will find the live NBA odds, check out our NBA predictions, and place your bets at one of the betting sites we have listed!
Betting Odds Explained:
Money Line NBA Betting - Each NBA game will have odds listed for each team to win the game straight up. Betting on a team to win on the money line is a straight up pick of who will win. For example, if the Los Angeles Lakers are favorites at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers it would look something like this:
Cleveland Cavaliers (+120)
@ Los Angeles Lakers (-140)
The number listed in brackets represent the betting odds. These are called American Odds and are the most popular odds used in sportsbooks. If the number has a positive (+) sign in front of it that means the team is the underdog, and a wager would payout more than what you bet. If the betting odds were +120 it would mean that a $10 bet would pay out $12 profit, or a $100 bet would payout $120 profit. If the number has a negative (-) signin front of it that means the team is the favorite , and a wager would payout less than the amount you bet. If the odds were -140 it means that you would have to bet $14 to win $10, or $140 to win $100.
Spread NBA Betting - This is the most popular type of betting for the NBA (and NFL as well). Oddsmakers at sportsbooks set a number that they think the favored team will win by, and bettors can either pick for the favored team win by more than that amount, or the underdogs to either win or lose by less than the set number. Lets take a look at how betting on the spread works:
Cleveland Cavaliers +6.5 (-110)
@ Los Angeles Lakers -6.5 (-110)
The 6.5 number indicates the "spread". The - sign in front of the 6.5 next to the Lakers indicates that they are favored by 6.5 points. If you were to bet on the Lakers on the spread they would have to win by 7 or more points in order for your bet to win - this is called covering the spread. The + signin front of the 6.5 next to the Cavs indicates that Cleveland is the underdog. If you were to place your bet on Cleveland they would either have to win the game or lose by 6 or less points - this is called beating the spread.
When betting the spread you will also come across times where the spread is an even number, such as 7. The favored team would have to win by 8 or more, while the underdogs could lose by 6 or less or win the game. If the favored team wins by exactly 7 points the bet is pushed and your wager will be returned to you.
The numbers in brackets also represent the odds associated with picking each team. If you are unsure how to read the odds check out our explanation for betting the money line, as it is the same. Odds on the spread are always very similar for picking either team, as the oddsmakers try to make the spread as close to what they think the favored team will win by.
Over Under NBA Betting - Another popular type of betting in the NBA is over/under betting. For each NBA game the books will list what is called an over/under line with odds associated. The over/under is also known as a game total, and represents the total amount of points scored by both teams together. The sportsbooks set a number for each game in which they think it will land close to, and bettors can pick either over or under that set line. Here is an example of an over/under line for any given game:
Over 204.5 (-110)
Under 204.5 (-110)
Again if you are unsure how to read the odds listed in the brackets you can check our explanation in the money line betting section.
Daily NBA Betting Odds:
Below are live odds for tonight's NBA games. If you are interested on betting on any of the games listed simply click on the link beside the game and you will be taken to Bodog to check out the site, where you can sign up if you'd like to.
