Key numbers are something that all online sports bettors should definitely be considering when they are placing their bets for the day.  Consistently keeping your eye on key numbers and line movements is a great idea when you are betting on the NFL, the NBA, or the NCAA.  Basically, key numbers are the numbers that you want to watch for because they either make you want to jump on the bet, or avoid it until it makes the move to the spot that you are hoping to get it to.  What this means is that if a line moves around a key number, you are going to want to get your action in on it, if it goes in the direction that you’re hoping for.  We’ll explain both NFL and NBA key numbers here, and also help you know what to look for in the movements around them.
NFL Key Numbers
For starters, there is no more of a key number in NFL betting than the number seven.  Seven is of course a touchdown, and if you are sitting back looking at a team who is -7, and really think they could easily win the game by a touchdown, you have a decision to make.  You can either check one of your other online sports betting sites, or see if this line is going to move to -6.5.  If you can get the line at -6.5 you are going to want to jump on it no matter what site it’s at, because this is an EXCELLENT line movement for you.  On the other side of things, if you are wanting to bet the underdog and the line is +6.5, waiting until it moves to +7 is a great thing to watch for, and then you can get on the action as well.  The other key number in the NFL is three, because of a field goal.  The same rules as above apply, because betting on a team at -3 and -3.5 is a HUGE difference.  You couldn’t even imagine the number of games that end up coming down to a field goal, and leave those bettors who took -3.5 kicking themselves!
NBA Key Numbers
The NBA key betting numbers are a different world here, and some people actually have different opinions on these lines.  The two most popular key numbers are two and seven though.  The number two is of course because of a game potentially coming down to a one basket game.  So if a team is -2.5, you’d definitely prefer to wait to get that line to -2 if you are a fan of betting on the favorite in this situation.  On the other side, if you like the underdog, getting +2.5 instead of +2 is a big time difference as well.  Now, if the line moves off of that number two, you could potentially be looking at a bet to potential land a win on a middle bet as well, which is a good thing to watch for.  As far as the number seven goes, this is the “three possession rule”, which is basically where a team who is down by three possessions typically won’t continue fouling at this point.  Seven definitely isn’t as popular of a key number as two is, but it’s one to watch for!
