In terms of betting, basketball is one of the easiest sports to choose, mainly because it is such a high scoring game that it offers a whole range of combinations and outcomes on which you can stake.

As with any sport basketball betting has its own vernacular and terminology but, once you have mastered these, and understand the different types of bet available, you can decide your own strategy, choosing just one type of bet, or, depending on your knowledge of the game and appetite for risk, combining several manner of bets.

The most common forms of betting on basketball are Moneyline; Overs and Unders; betting on quarters or halves; handicap betting, highest score in a quarter, and first team to score X points. Here is a brief explanation of how to bet on basketball.

Moneyline is the most popular form of basketball betting and the simplest, as it involves choosing which side will win the game. As with any form of betting, heavily favoured teams will be priced at short odds, so you will get little in the way of return by backing them, even if it is a safe bet. If, however, you bet on the underdog and they win, then, depending on your stake and the odds on offer, the payout can be quite large.

One important factor to bear in mind with basketball is that, unlike football, for example, there can only be two results – a home or away win. There is no such thing as a draw.

Overs and Unders, which is also known as Totals, is a bet on the combined scores of the two teams in a game, either at the end or a quarter, a half, or at the end of the match itself. Bookmakers will post a number, and gamblers can choose to bet that the number of points scored will be greater (over) or less (under). In the event that the combined score is exactly that predicted by the bookmaker, the bet is considered a tie, and the stake is returned to the player.

With betting on quarters or halves, people are wagering on which team will win the individual quarters or halves of a game. In a close match this can be an exciting form of betting because fluctuations in play can lead to rapidly changing fortunes, and, therefore, more opportunities to bet.

Handicap betting, also popularly known as the Points Spread, is used by bookmakers to level the playing field between two teams, by handicapping the favourite and boosting the underdog. With two, relatively well-matched teams, the spread might be 5 points, which means that 5 points will be deducted from the first team’s score, and added to that of their opponents. Money is only earned if the spread is covered – in other words, the handicapped team wins by 11 points or more. For teams where there is a wide disparity in ability, the spread can be much greater, which increases the potential pay-out.

Another simple bet is highest scoring quarter, where a player has to choose the quarter, or the half, in which the most points will be scored.

Finally, with first team to score X points, a bookmaker will set odds for the first team to reach a set number of points – 20, 30, 40 etc. – and you simply have to bet which team will reach that score first.

Betting on basketball offers many options to play, but as with any sport, do not go into it blind. Get to understand the sport, and its rules, the teams involved, who the best players are and how the scoring works. Follow these tips on how to bet on basketball to improve your chances of winning.