Hockey Betting – The Basics

If you are looking to bet on NHL hockey, or any league for that matter, it is pretty simple. There are only a few minor differences in hockey betting that you need to be aware of.

Introducing the puck line

Just like in football you have to know the Spread or in hockey the Puck Line. Much like football betting hockey has a spread for each game. However, since hockey obviously does not deal with touchdowns or field goals the line will stay the exact same for every game in the NHL. This is called the puck line and it is set at 1.5 goals.

When picking a hockey winner, your team has to win by at least 1.5 goals, which is a margin of victory of 2 goals, for you to cash in on your bet. The puck line works in a similar way to a point spread wager. If the hockey team that is the favorite is posted at -1.5 then that team will have to win the game by 2 or more goals in order to win the bet. Conversely, if the line of the underdog in the hockey game is +1.5 then they have to lose by less than 2 goals for the bet to pay out. For example, let’s say that you bet on the Red Wings at -1.5 to beat the L.A. Kings. This means that you are betting that the Red Wings will beat the Kings by at least 2 goals. If the final score is 4-2 Detroit you will win, but if L.A. wins, ties, or only loses by a single goal you will lose. The odds for the puck line is a 11/10 wager unless a money line goes along with the puck line.

Other common hockey bets

There are also totals bets that you can wager on in hockey. All. Much like puck line bets, all total bets have odds of 11/10 (-110) unless they are accompanied by a moneyline specifying otherwise.

Hockey also has an Over/Under bet that is easy to understand. All you have to do in an Over/Under bet is pick the number of goals scored, over or under the posted total, and you will cash in. There are a couple of ways that you can play thins. One is the total points, where you pick the Over/Under on the team’s combined goals. For example, if the total is posted at 5 goals and you bet the over for a St. Louis blues vs. New Jersey Devils game where the Devils are on fire, no pun intended, and win 6-1, the total of the game is 7 and you will win your bet. The other way is to pick the total team goals where you simple pick Over/Under the single teams goal total. For example, you think Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will go off against the backup goalie of the Chicago Blackhawks you take the Over for the posted amount of 3 goals by the Penguins. You are right and the Penguins torch the Blackhawks 5-3. You will win your bet, as obviously 5 is more than 3. You have to remember that goals scored in overtime do not count, so if the game is tied at 3 at the end of regulation and you bet the Over 3 total, even if they score in OT you will lose the bet.

You can also bet on the hockey moneyline, as just with every other sport you play against the line straight up.

Parlays are no problem

There are also parlay bets that are offered with hockey. When betting on hockey the more bets that are combined into one parlay wager, the bigger the odds will be. Obviously, the payout will be larger as well, but you have to win every single game on the parlay bet. Parlays are paid out according to the moneyline of the teams that are wagered on.

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