Cashing in on the NCAA March Madness

An article on how to bet on Basketball and make money during the NCAA March Madness

Of all the major sporting events you can bet on, understanding and betting on basketball has to be the easiest. So if you have been holding back for lack of ‘how to’ knowledge on basketball betting, then read on because there’s loads of money to be made on NCAA March Madness.

If you have previously bet on any other game such as football then you are already half there. There are three popular methods you can use to while betting on basketball:

1. The point spread


2. Over / Under


3. Money Line Wagers

The point spread

The best way (and perhaps the most common of all methods) is to bet using the point spread method. You may already be aware that the point spread is a handicap the Sportsbooks impose on one of the teams so as to even the odds or ‘equalize’ them for purpose of betting. The point spread gives you a 50-50 chance of winning on either NCAA team. Here’s how:

Using the point spread technique, the NCAA team expected to win (the favorites), gives points to the NCAA team expected to lose (the underdogs) therefore both teams have the same number of points. So if you place your bet on the NCAA favorites to win, the favorites have to win by more than the number of points that were transferred to the NCAA underdogs. So if 10 points were transferred than if you are to collect on your bet, the favorites have to win by more than 10 points.

On the other hand, if you bet on the NCAA underdogs, then to collect on your bet, a mere win by the underdogs or the underdogs losing by 9 points or less is sufficient. If the NCAA underdogs lose by 10 points i.e. the NCAA favorites won by 10 points, then there is a tie and you can’t collect.

You might think betting on both teams will win you money but it doesn’t. Here’s why: When you bet against the point spread, then you have to lay 11-to-10 odds i.e. bet $11 to win $10. For e.g. if you bet $11 on the NCAA favorites and you bet $11 on the NCAA underdogs, the Sportsbookie collects $22 from you but will pay out only $21 when either team wins and you end up with a $1 loss.

Totals

You can also bet on NCAA basketball using the ‘totals’ method. Before the game beings, a combined score (call total) for both teams is predicted. If you think the actual combined score will be higher than the number total posted, then you can bet ‘Over’ and if you think the total will be less than the predicted result, you can bet ‘Under’.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

If you have bet on ‘Over’, you would win your bet if the actual score is more than the predicted total and vice-versa if you have bet ‘Under’. If the final combined score turns out to be the same as that predicted, then you have a tie and the money you bet will be refunded. Here too, you have to lay a 11-to-10 odds i.e. wager $11 to win $10.

Money Line Wagers

A money line wager on either of the basketball teams is simple wager with no complications. The Sportsbookie will lay the odds for each team. For example, the Sportsbookie might specify that the odds on the favorites are -300 whereas the odds on the underdogs are +240.

So if you think the favorites will win and wish to bet on the favorites winning, then you have to bet $30 to win $10. Whereas if you think the underdogs will win then you only need to bet $10 to win $24.