You may be a fan of hockey or ice hockey and know the game in and out. You might also be well aware of the playing teams and good at predicting you will win the upcoming game. What if we told you that you can monetize these skills of yours? Or it is also possible that you’ve stepped into the world to bet on hockey games and wish to gather more information to hone your betting skills.
For either case, we know what you need to know and play the bet to win the prize you’ve been eyeing. Like to know more? Read on and find all about how to bet on hockey, where can you do it and what kind of bets you can play.
Who bets on hockey
Anyone can bet on hockey if he/she wants to. But truth be told, hockey ranks at 4th position in sports betting that too is majorly done on ice hockey. On the bright side, the count players betting on hockey is increasing and you might be a part of that count.
If we believe the sources, a spike has been in who bets on hockey with the addition of Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 to The Strip.
Coming to the ones who already know how to bet on hockey, they are the ones who have been making profits from their predictions and experiences. These experienced folks often eye the NHL (National Hockey League) and win the game as well the bets.
Basics to bet on hockey games
As we are all set to get going on how to bet on hockey, let’s take a quick look at the basics.
The favourite team
No no, this is not about your favourite hockey team. Rather, this one is the collective choice of the audience. In simple words, the strongest contesting team in tournaments such as the NHL is rewarded the tag of the favourite team for that session.
The Underdog team
You might have guessed this one right. The team which has the minimum chances of winning the specified tournament or the one they are participating in are called the underdog team.
The negative and positive numbers
if you have paid attention to the scoreboard, it looks like below:
One team has positive numbers and the other has negative ones. As per the thumb rule, the negative numbers indicate the favourite team and the positive ones indicate the underdog team.
Bet on Hockey with 1xBetWhat are the primary bets on hockey
While there is a long list of applicable bets on hockey games, there are a few which are well known among the bettors. These include money line bets, puck line bets or goal line bets and total or the over/under bets.
If we are to believe the given statistics sportsbook on hockey betting, the parlays have been trending for quite some time among the players. We’ll be discussing all of these in the upcoming sections.
Different Types of NHL Bets
Wow! That was quite some data to get started. Now, that the basics have sunk in, let’s take a bit of deeper dive into how to use all that information. Here are the majority of bets that are applicable on hockey or ice hockey too.
Moneyline
This is one the simplest to understand and play kind of bet. No doubt, this is everyone’s favourite. On similar lines, it allows the bettor to place his/her bet on your favourite team. So what’s still special about this one?
Well, in this case, you get to choose your favourite team. It might be that team A is the favourite of the tournament as we mentioned above, yet you have done your research and have solid grounds to believe that team B can be the winner. In case, your team wins, you win as well.
But what if you and every other player who knows how to bet on ice hockey do the same? Like, everyone will win, but does that really happen?
This is where it gets tricky to make money as the sportsbook platform that you have chosen will foresee this behaviour as well. Hence, to encourage balanced bets, the higher prize amount would be on the underdog and a comparatively lower on the tournament’s favourite.
Make a Moneyline bet with 1xBetPuck Line
The ones who have some experience in hockey betting may be familiar with this variety of bets. However, even if you are not, irrespective of being a newbie or experienced, you can know all about it here.
The puck line is somewhat similar to a spread bet but has conditions of its own. It identifies the 2 participating teams as favourite and underdog. This applies to every event that has a puck bet available.
Now once, teams are designated, the next step is to spot or place a decided number of games into the account of the underdog team. This puts pressure on the bettor because in this case to win the bet, the favourite team will have to win the game with an additional count of spotted goals to the underdog.
Let’s give these statements a better meaning with a suitable example. So, assuming team A is the favourite and team B is the underdog and the assumed the spotted goals are 2. So, if you as a player decides to place a puck line bet on team A, here’s when you’ll win the bet: team A will have to win by a minimum of 2 or more goals as compared to team B. If this doesn’t happen, then even if team A wins, you’ll lose your bet.
Similarly, if you bet on team B, it will have to win/lose with a gap of spotted goals which are 2 in this assumed scenario.
Totals
This is a unique kind of bet that is popular when it comes to betting on hockey games. So, instead of placing the team on a selective team, you place a bet on the collective goals from both teams. This is also called under/over bets. Let’s learn a bit more about this.
For a particular game, depending on the team's performances, you speculate that the teams will collectively score 5 or more goals. This is called an over bet as the total goals are expected to be over the expected number.
In an under bet, you’ll place a bet that states that both teams will score less than say 8 goals during the match. This is how you place and win in a totals bet, totally dependent on the goals.
Another fact to know is the situation of a tie. This is not among teams but the number of goals you placed a totals bet on. So, if you placed an over 5 bet and teams score a total of 5 goals, the bets will be returned and this is called a push.
Make a bet on the total with 1xBet60 Minute Line
This is a popular bet if you wish to place your money on a hockey game that is in its last 3 periods or 60 minutes of the game. You can place a 60-minute bet on predicting the win among the playing teams. If you think the game is headed towards a tie, you can place a bet on that too.
If the predictions are right, you’ve got some money rolling on your way.
Parlays
This is one of the risk options to know when you are learning how to bet on ice hockey. In this, you get to place a bet on as many as 6 games. And the subsequent consequence is that, for you to make any profit from these bets, all of them have to give you desired result. Even if one of them fails, you lose all the other bets as well.
Grand Salami
This betting option is similar to the totals bet but on a grand scale, hence, the name. So, to play with Grand salami, you have to place totals bets on all of the games that are being played on a particular day. This is best suited for the ones who have a keen or developing interest in hockey.
The reason is, you have to win on every single game and bet placed. If things go your way, you are for sure making some good money on the tournament day.
Futures
Well, gambling on hockey can be quite easy as well. To make money with easy betting on a hockey game, futures is the right choice. You don’t have to worry about every game altogether.
All you got to do is decide or predict which team is going to win the tournament or season that is about to begin.
The catch is that as the game continues, the wager varies as the tournament progresses. If your chosen team is heading towards the win in every game, the wages go down and in another case, they can also go up.
Prop bets
If you don’t want to put too much time into speculating a win or need a guide to properly dive into it, proposition bet or props bets is right for you. In this, a bettor like you decides to bet on the predictions made by the sportsbook.
The payouts are totally handled by the sportsbook platform you are using. Depending on various factors such as the number of props bets placed, the payout may increase or decrease.
Live/In-Game Betting
As the name suggests, you get to place a bet while the game is on. There’s no pressure of predicting the future of the game even before it started. Analyse the live numbers, the previous trends similar to the current situation and place the best guess.
Bet on Live with 1xBetHockey Betting Mistakes
Not knowing the players playing
When betting on hockey games, it is important that you perform proper research before playing with real money. It is one of the terrible mistakes many players make while betting on ice hockey.
Therefore, always analyze the teams you are going to bet on, the players, their health and their stats as well. A few players might have done amazing in the past but if they are in their best form, placing a bet can cause you losses.
Mismanaging your bankroll
Bankroll is one way and among the amazing tips to bet on games easy peasy. This is a sum of money you keep aside specifically for gambling. However, despite this effort, many bettors don’t abide by the self-made rules and incur losses.
You need to remember that the budget you decide for betting is based upon your financial situation entirely. Therefore, you need to be careful if ever you are mismanaging your bankroll.
Betting trends for the 2023-24 NHL season
The islanders are the most to receive winning bets for the Stanley cup as of October’s data. Apart from them, Seattle Kraken has also obtained quite a few odds.
Talking about Caesers, even they have acquired attention from the bettors and the over as well as understood at -110 as per data at hand.
Bet on NHL with 1xBetBetting limits on hockey
Betting limits vary for every game and among sportsbooks as well. For instance, a season of NFL has always seen a higher betting limit when compared to NHL. The limits usually vary depending on the number of bettors available to gamble on the sport.
Bet on the odds to win the Stanley Cup
Going by the previous data, the golden knights made a huge impact on the Stanley cup futures. The reason is quite obvious, the residents of the city wish to support and win with their team during the season. However, always keep an open eye on the trends as they may change at any time.
The favorites for the 2023-24 season, from a wagering perspective
The best teams being favoured by players and bettors across sportsbooks are as follows:
| Team name | Projected over/under points |
|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | +550 |
| Tampa bay lightning | +700 |
| Toronto Maple leafs | +1200 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +750 |
| Boston Bruins | +1400 |
Let’s a quick look at where certain oppositions stand as well:
| Team 1 | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Over/under points | Name | Over/under points |
| Colorado Avalanche | -220 | Lightning | +130 |
| New York Islanders | +350 | Golden Knights | -180 |
