When the NBA season ends, the WNBA season begins. We get basketball all year round!
While the NBA does much better numbers than the WNBA, the WNBA has seen massive growth over the last few seasons.
The WNBA Finals averaged 728,000 viewers for each game shown on ESPN platforms. It was the most watched finals in 20 years for the WNBA.
With more popularity comes more betting slips.
Therefore, we’ve added a comprehensive guide for WNBA bettors to have success at the best betting sites.
What Options Are There?
The three most common bets placed on the WNBA include moneyline, totals, and spreads.
Moneyline
The moneyline is selecting a team to win outright. Nothing else matters as long as the team you selected wins the game.
You might see a -200 price on a favorite for a moneyline wager. That -200 means that the team has a 66.67% chance of winning the game per oddsmakers. That would imply that the other team has a lesser chance of winning the game.
If the game goes into overtime, the moneyline bet remains valid until the game concludes.
For example, let’s say the Aces are -200 against the Liberty, who are +150. If you put $100 on the Aces at -200, you’d earn $50 on your wager. Your payout would be $150, using the $100 you bet and the $50 that was earned.
However, if the Aces lost, you’d lose your $100 and win nothing.
On the other hand, if you back the Liberty at +150 and they won, you’d win $150 and be paid out $250.
Total
Regarding totals, there’s one number typically at -110 on both sides. If the Liberty and Aces have a total of 175.5, you’ll either take the Over or the Under for this betting option.
If you select the Over, you’ll need at least 176 points. If they take the Under, you’ll be rooting for no more than 175 points.
This market includes overtime. The game could be Under the total, but if it goes to Overtime, the Under could eventually lose while the Over hits. Keep in mind that overtime counts in these bets.
Spread
The last main betting option is the spread. You can put more money on the favorite by laying points or take points as an underdog and have a worse payout but a higher chance of winning.
For example, if the Aces are -5.5 and the Liberty is +5.5, and you back the Aces at -5.5, you’ll want Las Vegas to win by at least six points or more. This is because you’re subtracting 5.5 points from the Aces’ win margin to have an almost 50% chance of winning.
It’s the same thing with the Liberty at +5.5. You’d root for the Liberty to either win outright or lose by no more than five points. If the Liberty lost by four points, you’d have 5.5 points to your score, and then that would put the Liberty above the Aces in that scenario by 1.5 points.
Other Markets
Parlays
Some people don’t like just betting on one game. They’d rather stack games together as a parlay.
This means that people can add multiple WNBA games to a betting slip to increase the odds. The catch is that all of the wagers need to cash to win.
For example, let’s say there are three games on the WNBA slate. If you select the Aces (-200), Sparks (-120), and Wings (+120) to win their games, you’d actually have odds of +505.
+505 odds would mean that if you put $100 on this parlay, you’d win $505.
It’s a much bigger payout than one straight bet. The catch is that you need each to win to earn the money. If only two of the three bets win, you’d still lose your wager.
Not every bet has to be a moneyline wager in the parlay. You can combine spreads, totals, and moneylines into your parlay. However, most books won’t allow a total and spread from the same game in a parlay.
You’d have to revert to a same-game parlay for that.
Player Props
You can also wager on player props in the WNBA. There are bets on a player’s points, assists, rebounds, and threes, along with other box score stats.
This is simple. You’re betting the Over or Under on the player’s statistics. If you take Breanna Stewart to grab Over 10.5 rebounds at +100, and she hauls in 12 rebounds, you’d win your wager.
You’ll typically see these types of wagers for the starters of each game.
Futures
Finally, there are futures bets that you can dive into. If you’re looking to bet on the Champion or a conference winner, there are odds on the board for those markets.
Remember, once you make a wager, you’ll have to wait until the end of the season to cash in on most futures. You won’t see that money all summer long while the season plays out.
Advice
Trust Your Numbers
Sports betting isn’t easy. Some of the best sports bettors don’t even cash in 60% of the time. When you’re going through the motions, consider looking at analytics, lineups, injuries, back-to-backs, and other things that might pop up in your head.
Trust your process but make sure always to bet responsibly. Begin the season with a bankroll, and don’t exceed that bankroll.
