WNBA Odds - Compare WNBA Betting Odds at Multiple Sports Books

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a professional basketball league in North America that is currently comprised of 12 teams. The league was founded in April of 1996, and its inaugural season took place in June of 1997. The season runs from June to September, which is an excellent decision because it fills the small lull in sports action during that timeframe.

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The WNBA has often been referred to as the NBA's "little sister", but it can be extremely profitable for extremely disciplined handicappers who understand how to pick and choose their spots to bet. This is because the WNBA is an extremely low-volume betting option, and linemakers typically don't give the league very much attention, thus putting out very beatable lines. In terms of WNBA lines, it does not take much action on a specific line in order for sportsbooks to react and adjust their numbers accordingly.

Any experienced bettor knows that having multiple books at your disposal to shop around at for the best lines is an important factor to be a successful handicapper. Because WNBA lines are often never looked at more than once, you may be able to find full point discrepancies amongst your sportsbooks. The better the line, the better the chance you have of beating it and cashing your ticket.

With tip-off in the WNBA slated for June, take some time to go over the fundamentals of betting on women's basketball. If you understand the simple concepts such as the money line or spread, jump down to the advanced WNBA options and start getting yourself familiarized with these hidden gems.

Betting on the Moneyline

As a concept, this is the simplest wager you can make on any game in any sport (except soccer). The moneyline betting option allows you to place a bet on the team you think is going to emerge victorious. In the NBA and WNBA, this bet includes overtime, so there will ultimately be a winning side and losing side to every moneyline ticket.

Example:

Atlanta Dream: +200 ML
Connecticut Sun: -170 ML

The moneyline betting odds correlate to the listed point spread. In this example, the Sun are the favorites, and you must wager $170 dollars to turn a profit of $100. If you decide that you like the underdog, for every $100 you bet on the Dream, you would profit $200 should they pull off the upset.

Betting on the Point Spread

Much like in football, the point spread is the most common wagering option for bettors who try their luck at basketball – both NBA and WNBA. The point spread is an indication of which team is the favorite and underdog heading into their matchup.

A negative betting line such as -3.5 indicates that the team is expected to not only win the game outright but that they will win by four or more points. On the flip side, positive betting lines such as +3.5 indicate a team's underdog status. Not only is the underdog expected to lose, but they are expected to lose by more than four points.

When looking over betting options for the WNBA, you will come across lines that look like the following:

Atlanta Dream +3.5 (-110)
Connecticut Sun: -3.5 (-110)

Depending on which side you select, your team must "cover the spread" in order for your wager to be graded a winner.
If you choose to take Atlanta +3.5, you will be a winner if either of these two scenarios play out. The first being Atlanta wins the game outright by any score. The second being Atlanta losing by one, two or three points, thus "covering" the +3.5-spread.

The opposite rings true if you take Connecticut. As favorites, the Sun must win by four or more points in order for wager to be graded as a winner.

Betting Game Totals

In a sport where the objective of the game is to put the ball in the hoop as many times as possible over 40 minutes of playing time, it shouldn't come as a shock to you when you see totals ranging anywhere from 120 to upwards of 160 or 170 total points.

Handicappers who dedicate their time to studying totals and pulling research have an advantage over those who don't and can expose lines that are too low or too high in order to turn a profit.

Let's look at an example of a game total:

Connecticut Sun vs Atlanta Dream – "Over" 160.5 -110, "Under" 160.5 -110

If you are to bet the "over" 160.5, there must be a total of 161 points or more scored in the game in order for you to be a winner. If there are 160 or fewer points scored, then those who bet on the "under" will cash their tickets.

It should be noted that overtime is included in all game totals wagers. Just because these two teams are tied at 80 after regulation, does not make your "under" bet a winner.
If totals are whole numbers such as 155 or 160 and the total happens to land exactly on the number, your bet, regardless whether it's an "over" or "under" bet, will be graded as a push and your money will be returned to you.

Advanced WNBA Wagering Options

While the WNBA is almost considered an afterthought among many bettors, there are several hidden gems when it comes to betting options. One of my favorites is the "Team Totals".

Team totals

This works almost exactly like the game total, but it revolves around one team instead of both. With the "team total" wagering option, you are essentially betting on whether you think Team X will score more or less than the line given out by the sportsbooks.

Example:

Seattle Storm Team Total: "Over" 67.5 -110, "Under" 67.5 -110.

In this case you have two options. You can bet them to score 68 or more points or 67 or fewer. The decision is ultimately up to you. This bet also includes overtime, unless otherwise stated in the betting rules provided by your sportsbook of choice.

First-Half Spread

The first-half spread betting option is a trickier form of betting the point spread. This option considers the score at halftime in order to determine a winner. The first-half spread is usually half of what the full game spread is.

Example:

LA Sparks -2.5 1H
Washington Mystics +2.5 1H

Depending on what side you are on, the score going into half time is what is used to determine a winner. If the score is 40-39 LA, bettors with Washington +2.5 1H are winners since LA failed to cover the -2.5-half time spread.

As I mentioned above, the first-half point spread is typically half of what the full game line is.

First Team to Reach 10/15/20 Points

There are three betting options available in this category, with each one being their own bet.

The first one is a race to 10 points. You select the team you believe will score 10 or more points first. Should that team do so, your bet will be graded a winner.

Example: LA Sparks Race to 10: (-105), Washington Mystics Race to 10 (+130).

Furthermore, this exact concept is also offered for a race to 15 points and a race to 20 points under the same premise. Whoever gets to 15/20 first wins.