Hockey in ice and field format is currently the third most popular sport in the world, with over 2 billion fans enjoying some kind of hockey. Ice hockey, or as further referred to as just hockey, is the most popular single format of the game, played in America, Canada, the majority of Europe and Russia. With the avid following, many leagues have broadcasted games around the world all the time. This makes for a great sport to start your betting journey.
Knowing The Game
As with any nature of betting, knowing the game and how it is played is crucial to your success. NHL is a great place to start as it allows learning a set number of teams throughout the season. The National Hockey League is made up of 32 teams from America and Canada, playing on average 82 games over the majority of the year. There will be a great game to bet on nearly every weekend.
Types Of Bets
When betting on any sport, knowing which bets to make and how to use the bets available to you will be an important factor in winning. Just like knowing how claiming big dollar casino bonuses will boost your wins. These are some of the most frequent available bets in hockey betting.
- Outright bets – Outright bets refer to an outright tournament or league winner. Single games don’t matter much here, only the overall score in the tournament.
- Match result regulation – In a match result regulation bet, you place a wager dictating the winner at the end of regulation time. The score may change in overtime, but this will not affect your bet outcome.
- Match result OT – This is a bet placed on the outcome of the match, including any overtime point scored. The very final score of the match will dictate your bet outcome.
- Correct score – Correct store is a very difficult bet to get right but has the potential for a big win. In correct score, you would place a wager on what you believe the final score of the match is.
- Over/Under – Over/under is a great bet when you are not too sure on the final outcome of winners but know that a lot or few points will be scored. In this bet, you place a wager on whether the final score will be over or under a predetermined amount.
- Puck line – Puck line is a term unique to hockey, but in effect it is similar to a point spread in any other sport. A predetermined margin will be set for the favourites and underdogs, allowing for an even match when it comes to betting.
Understanding Odds
The majority of betting taking place on hockey will be with moneyline odds. Moneyline are easy to understand when you get the hang of it, the most important part is understanding the difference between positive and negative bets.
- Positive – When the positive sign (+) is presented with a number, it will always represent the underdogs. The number is what you would stand to win provided you bet $100.
- Negative – When the negative sign (-) is presented with a number, it will always represent the favourites. The number is what you would need to bet in order to win $100.
When you understand the difference between the underdog and favourite bet, the rest is just down to the scale of the bet you want to make.
