If you’re fairly new to sports betting, you may not know that, just like wagering on point spreads and money lines is popular, so is in-game betting. NBA live betting, just as in any other league, involves betting that takes place after the game has begun. As the game goes by, trends will happen that will adjust everything from the ongoing point spread to the point total, as well as individual player props.
Over the last four years, live betting has exploded in popularity. Online betting is projected to remain as a huge moneymaker going forward.
How does it work? What should you know about it? Read on to learn more about live betting in general – and how it can help you win even more money on NBA action.
NBA Live Betting: What You Need to Know for 2024/25 Season
How does live betting work?
Live betting is actually older than you might think. Even back in the 1990s, before the advent of the smartphone, live betting happened when bookies would accept wagers over the phone as the game was going on. Now that online betting has become so popular, casinos and sportsbooks have live-betting options as part of their services.
In some ways, the option of live betting has altered the whole landscape of gambling. One change has to do with the number of available props. Now it’s possible to bet on the number of fouls at different points in the game or the score at the end of each quarter. Because these possibilities change as the game goes on, the numbers on the props and the odds on either side will change as well. This allows the bettor to respond to the game’s changes and possibly change their wagering strategies as a result.
^What are the advantages of in-game betting?
From an entertainment perspective, you can stay a lot more engaged with a game if you are wagering on different outcomes for the whole time. Shifts in momentum, injuries to key players and alterations to team strategies all play a role. If you know basketball and can understand what is likely to happen next based on the flow of a game, then NBA live betting can make a good bit of money for you.
The options in live betting are numerous. When you’re wagering before the game, you’re limited to such possibilities as the game winner, total points, individual statistical totals, point spreads, and the like. With live betting, you can bet on who will win the next quarter or even if one particular player will score again within a particular time frame. This real-time accessibility makes the game more exciting and is ideal for bettors who thrive on making decisions quickly.
Adapting
In-game betting also allows for more adjustments than pregame wagering. If you bet on one team to cover a point spread, as the game goes by, there is no way to change that bet. In live betting, you can place new wagers to hedge your action or double down if things are really going your way. If you placed a bet near the start of the game that looks like a loser, you can add other bets to mitigate those likely losses or leverage other chances that pop up during the action. These options have more to do with prop betting (such as a particular player grabbing fewer than 8.5 rebounds, for example) than with game outcome betting.
Finally, NBA live betting also allows bettors to take advantage of more favorable odds. During the game, odds will change, so there could be times when the favorite falls behind, and the odds of that team to win will lengthen. If you believe that the favorite will come back to win and/or cover, you can turn those longer odds into a payback. Obviously, the risk is growing because the favorite has not only got to come back but also still has to cover that spread, if you wagered on points. This could lead to more money coming your way if things go the way you think they will.
^What are the disadvantages to live betting?
Obviously, since the game is going on while you’re betting, you may only have a few seconds to place your bets before odds shift. This fast pace can be exciting, but it can also lead to decisions made on the basis of emotion – due to anger or anxiety about other bets going sour – or bad information, due to the time pressure.
Since the odds are constantly changing, you have to stay focused on the contest. Such developments as an 8-0 run or a debilitating injury to a crucial player can change the course of the game dramatically. If you’re waiting for odds to shift in your favor, that may backfire, as the course of the game may only push the odds in the wrong direction.
Finally, you may find that you bet with much less discipline when in-game betting is involved. The immediate feedback you’re receiving and the constant flow of action can take your attention away from the amount of money you have riding on different outcomes from the same game. Because losses can stack up in a hurry, you don’t always have the time to look at why you lost and consider how you can avoid sending good money after bad.
^Key strategy tips for live betting
Remember that it’s OK to go through a whole game without a single bet
If things aren’t going your way in a game, placing a bet isn’t likely to change that. Start the game with a specific strategy in mind, and stay true to that strategy throughout the whole game. The opportunities you want to leverage don’t show up in every game. Sometimes matchups just go a completely different direction, and coming out of those games with zero losses is almost like a win in itself.
Start by betting minimums, or just by watching
Watch out how the point spread and the point total change over the course of the game. You’ll get a sense for the pacing of the changes as well as how quickly basketball can shift, You won’t notice live odds deviating far from the pregame numbers until the second quarter at least, because there’s still so much time for the game to revert to the expected trends.
Don’t make bets until breaks in the action
If you’re watching live action while making bets, you’ll be a play or two behind what’s actually taking place on the court. Depending on the cable or streaming service you’re watching, it could actually be a full minute behind the live action on the court, and a minute is an extremely long time in pro basketball. Once you hit a commercial break, your feed will catch up with the live action, and you have time to make better decisions about what in-game bets to make.
Looking for a more accessible prop? Think about shooting percentages
Teams often start out hot (or cold) relative to their shooting percentages as a team. As the game goes by, though, these numbers will frequently regress (or progress) to what they would normally be. So a team that averages 48% from the floor might shoot 75% in the first quarter, but the cold times are likely to come. You can leverage that in your in-game betting the rest of the way, once you get a sense of the game’s rhythms.
^The complete West Group C schedule for the #EmiratesNBACup… Which team is advancing to the knockout rounds? 🤔
— NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2024
West C action tips off Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 10pm/et on TNT.
More info: https://t.co/gLq1foMsfN pic.twitter.com/WV9W5Wj7jv
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