How to Bet on Hockey Online

There are thousands of hockey players that you can wager on and the most exciting place to find the best players in the world is the National Hockey Ligue (NHL). I know what you’re thinking. What’s the catch? Well, there isn’t any. For those of you worried about any legal repercussions from betting online, let me tell you, you’re in safe hands with hockey. Placing a bet online on your favourite hockey player or the NHL preseason, regular season or even on the Stanley Cup Finals is not restricted by any of the US federal acts on gambling, as long as the sites you’re gambling on are legitimate. If you’re in the US, we recommend to use an offshore online betting site, as those don’t fall under US federal law jurisdictions. Besides on new hockey players, sports fans can bet on other games too. The latest slots gaming operators listed on www.slotswebsites.org/new/ are offering a brand-new gaming experience. This is also the place to learn everything about choosing the right slots sites, mobile apps and gambling tips.

Which Games to Choose

SlotsWebsites are sure sure that everyone has seen at least one game of hockey in their lives. Thus, you know that hockey is very similar to football or soccer where two teams compete to score more goals in the opponent’s net. You probably guessed it by now. Yes, betting on hockey can be very similar to wagering on football. If you’ve tried football betting before, you’ll find most of the sites exactly the same and you don’t need to learn the A to Z of hockey by heart. Hockey is also great to bet on, as the sport offers more than 1,000 games alone during the long regular seasons and another 1,000 games during the ;NHL. So, lots of potential for personal gains! Moreover, there are other hockey tournaments to watch out for. Here are several to research: Ice Hockey World Championships, the Kontinental Hockey League, the Swedish or American Hockey League and of course, the Winter Olympics.

Hockey Rules & Betting Terminology

Getting started with hockey, bear in mind the industry rules of the game, as well as those listed in the small print on the betting site you have chosen. Here’s a refresher on the rules: all hockey games have to complete at least 55 minutes of action on the ice and the winners and losers are determined by the final score, including overtime and shootouts. If a game ends tied in overtime and goes to a shootout, the winner will be given one extra goal. However, it’s important to remember that shootout goals scored are not added to the team's total. If the game has been suspended before the minimum time, then all the bets you’ve made will be refunded, but if the game is suspended afterwards, the score when the game is stopped is used as the final score. The rules of the game are dead simple as in football, for example.

However, an important change occurred in 2005 when the NHL decided to include a shootout to their overtime rules, meaning that no game could end in a tie, thus making it virtually impossible for the bettors to get a half goal cash for their bet. This said, punters still find an easy way to bet on the game by using straight money lines and betting on the win of their preferred team. In the case of hockey, money line replaces the point-spread and requires you to select a winner and an underdog, regardless of the margin. For example, if your team has a minus sign number, this indicates the amount you must bet to with $100. If the sign is positive, this shows the underdog and the money you’d win for every $100 you place on the team.

This is also called an outright bet and in ice hockey the betting possibilities are numerous. Take for example the NHL, it alone has two divisions in each of the two Conferences and another top eight teams from each Conference competing in the playoffs, with the best two teams contesting in the finals from where the best teams will then compete at the Stanley Cup, the largest professional hockey competition. There are numerous other ways to bet on hockey, so let’s dive in the most popular options.

Goal Totals (Over/Under)

If you’ve bet on football, basketball or soccer, you’ll be familiar with the total bets in these games. Hockey totals or the "O/U" are exactly the same. The punters can bet on the number of combined goals that are expected to be scored in the matchup, choosing either to wager Over the expected number or Under if they believe that the goal total will be lower than predicted. Variations in this type of betting exist, with some sportsbooks offering bets on team’s only goal output.

Grand Salami

The Grand Salami is a unique Over/Under bet in pro hockey that is calculated by adding up all games’ totals for a particular day, based on a number created by the odds makers for that particular day. The total is set by adding up all listed 'over/under' odds for each game on that particular day.

Match Result (end of regulation)

Very straightforward bet. Select the team you believe will be the winner, but bear in mind that the winning goal has to be scored within the regulation time period of 60 minutes. But what if it’s a tie? Then even if your preferred team wins in the match overtime, you’d lose your bet as they didn’t score within the first 60 minutes of the game.

Match Result (including Overtime)

I’m sure you have probably guessed by now, but for the sake of clarification, this bet includes the overtime, meaning that you simply bet on the team that you think it might win.

Correct Score

With this bet, you can either bet on what you think will be the exact score at the conclusion of the game, or if you believe the game will be a tie after the end of regulation time. Wagering at a correct score is often reserved for the pro bettors or the very passionate hockey fans.

Puck Line

Attention: this type of betting is not for rookies. Puck line betting is unique to hockey and represents a combination of a money line and point-spread bet. Simply put, you can either wager on the underdog to win or not lose by more than 1 point or if you’re brave enough- on the favourite to win with at least two more goals than the underdog, as the puck line is typically set at 1.5. The puck line is adjusted accordingly based on how strong the favourite is and offers a more affordable option to bet on the favourite. Winning strategies using bets on the puck line suggest that bettors can make a real fortune at a reduced price by either using the puck line alone or combining this bet with another simple money line bet.

Understanding the Odds

As with other sports betting online, finding the providers with the best odds is crucial for building a successful strategy or for at least making some profit out of your bets. Understanding the different types of hockey betting odds might be intimidating for the newbies, and this might be the reason why online hockey betting is still not as popular as football. This can be beneficial to those of you looking for some other profits, as the market is not so saturated yet and it is generally easier to find those operators that provide some perks, such as free bets and other promotional offers. Moreover, bear in mind that usually bookmakers favour the home team by putting the odds on them, but sometimes the visiting team is outperforming and will receive more favourable odds. Learning to find the hidden value in the bookmakers’ odds by consulting various hockey tips and strategies might take time, but it is totally worth it, as you’d not only enjoy the game more, but you’d develop your own winning strategy!

Not only knowing where to find the best odds but also understanding the ground rules of how the odds in hockey are calculated is your first step towards being a successful bettor. You probably noticed that we mentioned ‘lines’ a lot in this article. This is the equivalent of the point spread used in other games or the margin to win. The odd makers predict that the favoured team will win by a certain number of points, which is the point spread and it is always indicated by a minus sign. The underdog is always a positive number. Betting on the underdog is generally a safer option, as you’d win if the underdog wins, ties or if the favoured team wins but fails to exceed the point spread. Hockey money line betting, which we mentioned above, is simply wagering based on a given price rather than a point spread. The team wagered on has to win the game outright, regardless of the score. For the sake of simplicity, betting on a point spread or money line is also called ‘sides’, as the bettor takes a side that they believe will win. Betting over or under is referred to betting ‘totals’, as it takes into account the goal total of a game or a team.

Tweets by @eurohockey