One of the most risky of basketball betting strategies, but also the most rewarding in term of odds, is to bet on winning and losing streaks. In other words that a team with a recent record of wins or losses will not be able to continue that run, and the cycle of victories or defeats will come to an end.

In basketball, as in many other sports, teams can go on long winning and losing streaks. These never continue indefinitely – if they did, sports would become totally predictable and lose their interest. Instead one of the principal aims of basketball predictions is to forecast when a streak will come to an end – and bet accordingly.

For this strategy to work it is important that information on all the teams involved is collected and studied accordingly. For example, if this is applied to the NBA which currently has 30 teams, then they should be divided into 5 Groups of six teams, ranked according to winning and losing streaks, with Group 1 being the teams with the most wins, and Group 5 the teams with the most losses.

The punter then enters the market at various stages predicting that the run of victories or losses will come to an end, with the entry point in the market differing based on recent history.

In the case of winning streaks:

• Group 1 – the punter enters the market after the 12^th consecutive victory;
• Group 2 – the punter enters the market after the 9^th consecutive victory;
• Group 3 – the punter enters the market after the 7^th consecutive victory;
• Group 4 – the punter enters the market after the 5^th consecutive victory; and
• Group 5 – the punter enters the market after the 3^rd consecutive victory.

In case of losing streaks the principle is the same but the entry point differ:

• Group 1 – the punter enters the market after the 4t^h consecutive loss;
• Group 2 – the punter enters the market after the 6^th consecutive loss;
• Group 3 – the punter enters the market after the 8^th consecutive loss;
• Group 4 – the punter enters the market after the 9^th consecutive loss; and
• Group 5 – the punter enters the market after the 10th consecutive victory.

Having established the data the Martingale betting strategy is then applied. The Martingale system is one of the oldest betting strategies in existence, and dates back to the 18^th century and London casino-owner John Martindale. The Martingale system is actually very simple, and is based upon the doubling-up of bets until they eventually succeed. It is commonly used in roulette for example, most famously by Charles Welles in 1891, who became famous as the “Man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo” after he broke the bank at the famous casino using this method.

In terms of basketball betting tips, the Martingale strategy can be applied to basketball by choosing a team from one of the Groups, and betting that their limit of winning or losing streaks has been reached. If that bet fails, then the player bets again, doubling the stake, and keeps on doing that until the bet wins, in which case the amount won should be enough to offset any accumulated losses.

For this to work, however, it is vital that the gambler establish a maximum betting limit and they stick to it. This is a high-risk strategy and it is important not to bet more than you can stand to lose. It is also important to have enough funds to bankroll the system for a while if a winning or losing streak continues.

Teams will move from one group to another over the course of the season, so another of the important basketball betting tips to keep in mind if you want to follow this system is to keep your records up to date, and be prepared to modify the strategy at any point.