First, let’s talk about the existing types of bets on basketball. The most common are:

1. Betting on the over/under. For this bet you will need to guess whether the final result of the game will be over or under the value offered by the sportsbook. The odds on these bets are usually the same for both the over and the under.  In addition, unlike some other sports, basketball has more than one option for this bet. There are also over/under bets on the number of fouls, two-point and three-point shots, free throws, and quarters. All of these are opportunities to win!

2. Betting on basketball with a spread. Here you need to guess whether the difference in the score will be more or less than the value specified by the sportsbook. For example, if you bet on a team with a spread of -4.5, you need the team to win by at least 5 points. If you were to bet on the same team with a spread of +4.5, you would expect a result where that team would lose by no more than 4 points. Most sportsbooks allow you to buy extra points (usually from 4 to 10 points, each site sets its own values), but this will affect the odds.

3. Bets on the outcome of the match. In this case, the bet is made either on the final winner of the meeting (taking into account overtime) or on the winner after the end of regular time or the game’s four quarters. Each sportsbook has its own rules, so you should clarify them before betting. There are also bets on the outcome of individual quarters.

4. Betting on the comparison of the quarters. This type of bet compares the performance of one team or their total score. Sportsbooks offer bets on basketball for which quarter will be the highest scoring, and other similar wagers.

5. Betting on game comparisons. For the comparison of games, two games in the same league are taken, in which the difference in classes of teams is almost the same. There may be a bet that can be characterized as “better than”, that is, which team will show the largest point difference in their match. The bet is counted by the results of the main time, and if overtime is necessary, then the difference in points is considered to be equal for betting purposes. This type of bet also includes bets on which of the games will result in more points scored.

6. Live betting. Since basketball is a very dynamic game, and the situation can constantly change in favor of one team or another, this type of betting is extremely risky (although very exciting). Variations of this type of bet could be on the first or last shot in a quarter, how many points a particular player will score, whether he will finish the match in regulation time, how much time he will spend on the court, etc.
   
7. Bets on a team to advance. This type appears around playoff time for different leagues. The most prominent examples are NBA, Euroleague and tournament-style games in international competitions like the Olympics.