How to Bet the WNBA: Moneylines, Props, Futures and More

The popularity of the WNBA has grown rapidly in recent years. After a successful 25th season and yet another attempt to bring a team to Canada, you may be wondering how to bet on the WNBA.

If you are looking to place a bet on the WNBA, you will find that the odds maker has many different markets available. Almost all work like their NBA counterparts, which you can read about in our NBA betting guide.

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How to bet on the WNBA

There are three active Canadians in the WNBA – Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Natalie Achonwa. If you wanted to bet on their teams how many points they would score or even place an MVP futures bet, there would be markets for it.

We’ll go through all of the possible WNBA betting options here, as well as the best ways to bet on them, starting with the money line bet.

money line

Money line betting is the easiest way to place a bet on the WNBA. All you have to do is pick the winning team and if you get it right your bet will be paid out.

A team is denoted with a minus sign (-) as a favorite, and a team is denoted with a plus sign (+) as an underdog.

Many factors go into determining a favourite, including injuries, meetings, team trends and breaks, but usually it’s all about who has the better players.

For example, the Las Vegas Aces would certainly be a big favorite (-450) at home against the Atlanta Dream, while the Seattle Storm could be a slight favorite (-110) away against Chicago Sky.

The odds tell you how much you would win depending on your stake and the implied probability of each team winning.

Here are some more examples:

-110: Wager $110 to win $100 (52.38% implied probability)
-450: Wager $450 to win $100 (81.82% implied probability)
-1000: Wager $1000 to win $100 (90.91% implied probability)
+175: A $100 bet wins $175 (36.36% implied probability)
+250: A $100 bet wins $250 (28.57% implied probability)

When betting, putting strong favorites (-1000) on the money line is probably not the best idea, as the return is generally not worth the risk of a surprise.

If you really think a team is going to win and they’re sitting around -200, that’s still a steep price to pay, but it’s far more reasonable in value terms.

If you’re betting on strong underdogs, it’s advisable to bet smaller amounts – you’re more likely to lose, but the ROI is high.

Against Spread (ATS)

Do you want to bet the aces against the dream but without the -450 moneyline? This is where betting against the spread can help.

Each favorite is awarded a number of points by which they must win to cover the spread. This allows bettors to bet on odd matchups at equal odds as spread bets are typically -110 per side.

Let’s say the aces are 7.5 point favorites (referred to as -7.5). That means they would have to win the game by eight points or more to cover the spread. If you bet the Dream as a 7.5 point underdog (+7.5), you could lose – or win outright – by seven points or fewer to cover.

You can also bet on the first half spread, which is based on the margin of a team’s lead or lag at halftime. In the Aces-Dream example, the spread in the first half for Las Vegas would likely be around -4.5. If the Aces went into halftime with a 45-40 lead, they would cover the first-half spread.

There are also options to select alternative spreads, allowing you to buy or sell points back to the book. If you think Vegas will blow Atlanta’s Aces dream on the hypothetical matchup, you could change the line to -11.5 – four more points for longer odds but selling the potential for a bigger return.

On the other hand, if you think it’s going to be a close game, consider moving the line to -4.5. In this case you would buy three points for shorter odds. Alternative spreads would look something like this:

Standard spread: Aces -7.5 (-110) vs Dream +7.5 (-110)
Alternative Spread #1: Aces -11.5 (+250) vs Dream +11.5 (-175)
Alternate Spread #2: Aces -4.5 (-150) vs Dream +4.5 (+160)

to hum

If you’re not comfortable picking the winner of a game, consider betting on the game total (also known as Over/Under or O/U).

Each game is assigned a total score and you must predict whether the actual total will fall above or below this line.

For example, if the total in a game between Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun is set at 176.5, a game total of 177 or higher would redeem the over, while 176 or lower would redeem the under. WNBA totals feature smaller numbers than the NBA because games are 40 minutes long and consist of four 10-minute quarters.

Several factors go into determining totals, such as: B. Team pace stats, offensive efficiency, shot percentage and current form to name a few. The over/under odds are usually set at -110 per side, meaning that neither outcome will prevail for the implied probability.

If you think one team will score a lot of points while the other doesn’t, betting on team totals might be a better option.

Using the Lynx-Sun example, let’s assume Connecticut is a 5.5-point favorite. Sun’s team total could be set at 91.5 points, while Lynx’s would be around 85.5 to account for variability. If you want to place the over on the Lynx team total, they would need to score 86 points or more for the bet to stand.

Similar to betting against the spread, there are options to choose alternative totals. You can move the line up or down as you wish, which will change the associated odds.

How to bet on WNBA props

Props betting in the WNBA is a way of betting on specific outcomes within a game. In this section we will focus on player props.

You can bet on the number of points Breanna Stewart will score, the number of rebounds Tina Charles will collect or the number of assists Sue Bird will dish out. There are many other options as well, including 3-pointer grub and double-double props.

Prop lines are set according to a player’s recent performance and are not necessarily associated with even odds. If Stewart had a tear, the over could be -140 for her total score, while the under could be set at +120.

There are also options to bet on alternative prop lines. Let’s take Bird’s Assist strut as an example.

The original line could be adjusted to: Over 4.5 Assists (-115) / Under 4.5 Assists (-105). If you thought Bird was going to have a great game, you could spice it up: Over 6.5 Assists (+280) / Under 6.5 Assists (-300).

games

Parlaying is a way of combining multiple bets into one ticket with higher odds. The advantage of a combination is that it allows the bettor to mix money lines, props, spreads and totals in one ticket.

For a parlay to money, the bettor must hit every single event (known as a leg) of the parlay. If one leg loses, the entire combination loses as well. As more legs are added to a parlay, the odds of winning decrease while the potential payout increases.

Sue Bird over 4.5 assists (-115)
Seattle Storm -6.5 (-110)
Spark/Mystic above 174.5 (-110)
Money Line New York Liberty (+220)

This bet would have odds of +2080, meaning a $100 bet would have a chance of resulting in a $2080 win. But the implied probability is only 4.59%.

Parlays can be tempting, but it’s important not to get caught up in the possibility of a big payout.

How to bet on WNBA futures

Futures betting allows you to place a bet on an outcome that will occur later. The two most common futures markets are WNBA Finals winners and league MVPs.

As of March 2022, the Connecticut Sun is favored at most sportsbooks to win the WNBA title at +350, while Indiana Fever holds the longest odds at +8000. Reigning champion Chicago Sky sits at +425 to defend his title.

Futures markets are open from the preseason until the start of the finals. Odds can vary wildly based on trades, injuries, team form and more.

If the Fever somehow started the season 10-0 their odds would surely drop from +8000 to a much lower price.

live betting

Live betting is a way of betting on a game that has already started. The odds will fluctuate dramatically over the course of a competition. A team that opened as a 6.5-point favorite could be a moneyline underdog if they fell behind early.

If you think this team is about to make a comeback, now is your prime opportunity to support them in a live betting market.

Similarly, live totals change based on the pace of the score during a game. If a total opens at 180.5 but the score is 40-31 at halftime, the live total could be adjusted to around 149.5.

You can also bet live on other markets such as B. Player props, and also perform in-game parlays.

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Avery Perri writes about sports betting for NorthStar Bets. NorthStar Bets is owned by NordStar Capital, which also owns Torstar, Star’s parent company. Follow him on Twitter: @AveryPerri

Disclaimer This content was created as part of a partnership and as such may not meet the standards of impartial or independent journalism.