Photo: Twitter/Basketball Champions League

Basketball is an interesting game to watch, but some people have chosen to make it more interesting by placing bets on the games. With a bet on the line, you will be glued to your screen and will be more invested in the game. But betting on basketball is not just about the thrill; you need to make money. If you are not a casual sports bettor, you will just like a Casino Gamer need to apply some strategies to ensure that you make a profit at the end of the day. These strategies will not help you win every single bet you make, but they will tilt the odds in your favour, meaning you should eventually make a decent profit from the bets. If you want to be a profitable gambler without knowing much about professional sports, you could try an read more about Casino Strategies on the website of Bitreviews.com.

Here are some betting strategies you should incorporate into your basketball bets:

1. Place Your Bets Very Close to Tip-Off

One problem with basketball games, especially in NBA, is that the information on injuries may be released just before tip-off. Placing your bet without any knowledge on the injuries will put you at a disadvantage, and knowing that you lost the bet because of an obvious problem can make you extremely mad at yourself. Following news on injuries might seem like a cumbersome task, but it is necessary for people who are serious about getting money from betting sites.

2. Follow the Schedules of the Teams

In addition to checking the injuries of the star players, you should also go through the schedules of the various basketball teams. In their schedules, you may notice some patches which would leave the team members extremely fatigued. Such holes are missed by many people in the betting community, and they can affect the performance of even the best teams. As an example, if a team has games on consecutive days, and they have to travel from one location to another, they are unlikely to show great performance.

3. Check How the Teams Score their Points

Teams have different ways of scoring points. Some rely on 3-pointers, and while these teams are interesting to watch, they are not usually consistent. Teams that rely on 3-pointers are more likely to get losing streaks in the game. On the other hand, teams that mostly post up and drive to the basket are more likely to score consistently.

4. Home and Away

Sports teams are more likely to win games that are played at home, and this has a lot to do with their emotional desire to impress. It also seems impossible for a team to lose in front of thousands of their own rowdy fans, who are also trying and managing to intimidate the opposition. Usually, the teams also need to get an advantage earlier in the season, and they strive as much as possible to win in their home games.

Regardless of the reason, you can expect about 60% of the games played to be won by the home team. Some people have theorized that some games are won by the home teams simply because the home teams are psychologically programmed to think they will play better in their home ground. This means you should apply this rule carefully, along with other strategies.

5. Avoid Betting on Your Favourites

Many people have a favourite basketball team, but the most successful bettors are indifferent towards the players and teams. They only care about winning the bets and beyond that, they are not interested in how the teams are faring. You don’t have to abandon your enthusiasm for the sport in order to become an excellent bettor, but you need to avoid betting on your favourite team.

Usually, you will be biased to think that your team has a higher chance of winning, even if the evidence disputes this claim. If you have to bet on your favourite team, you should be aware of your bias and should only get your information from legitimate prediction sites. Don’t look at your friends or sites like Reddit for information since they may also have their own bias and will only enforce your conviction.

6. Betting on Low Scoring Leagues

NBA matches and other top basketball leagues usually feature total scores of over 150, some even surpassing the 200 mark. In such competitive games, you may have trouble predicting the total score. But smaller leagues don’t usually feature such high scores, and this is because the players don’t have as much capacity to score as many points. You can make an ‘under’ bet.

7. Track Your Bets by Team

After a few weeks of betting on basketball, you should take a look at your bets and analyze them. Check whether or not there are teams which you are consistently betting successfully on. You should note that when you make a bet on a game, you are betting on your knowledge of both basketball teams. So, you should look at both the winning and losing teams and determine whether you are able to track a single team more successfully. Instead of focusing on all teams at the same time, you can follow a few teams and learn everything you need to know about the players and the factors which influence their chances of winning.

8. Track Your Bet Types

You may be placing wagers on different types of bets, and not all of them may bring you the desired results. Just as you track the teams you are good with; you should also track the bet types which you perform well in. Make sure you also take note of the bet types you are consistently performing poorly in. This way, you will know which ones you need to avoid at all cost.

9. Focus on the Long Term

As a professional sports bettor, you should not focus on short term gains and should instead focus on the long-term. A few losses here and there have to be expected, and the losing streaks can even last for weeks. But you should still make money in the end, and this means you have to play for some months at least.

To play for months and still survive long losing streaks, you will need to manage your bankroll. Determine how much money you can spend on your basketball bets, and then you can decide how much money you will spend on each bet. The amount should be split in such a way that you can still make bets after a few weeks of consistent losses.

You should also not get tempted to dig into your essential spending funds as that can leave you homeless quickly. Set aside enough money for your rent, food, and transport, and what remains can be used for your basketball bets.

Conclusion

Betting on basketball games can be fun, but if you want to make money, you have to approach the activity in a smart way. You shouldn’t just follow rumours and spend money on teams you don’t understand. Make sure you use the strategies listed above to ensure that you make a profit from your wagers.