Betting on Hockey: What You Need to Know

It seems like you can’t escape online betting culture nowadays. Maybe you’ve watched games at sports bars with friends who seem more focused on winning their bet than who the puck’s being passed to, or perhaps your friends are putting together a parlay in the group chat that you feel totally out of the loop on. If this describes you, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about or potentially want in on all the action.

And let’s face it: among all global sports, hockey is one of the most dynamic sports to watch and bet on. With rivalries on the ice spanning decades, physical fights to intimidate opponents, and players skating across the ice like nobody’s business, odds and betting lines can change within seconds. While you can lock in a bet before the game even begins, live betting lets you capitalize on games as they unfold. Interested in upping the ante on hockey season? Here’s how you can start betting on hockey and add extra stakes to the game.

Finding the Right Platform

Many entrepreneurs jumped on the opportunity to create their own sports betting platform, meaning there are a whole lot of them out there. The issue is that online betting laws differ between Canadian provinces, where residents can be free to use any legal online betting platform they wish or restricted to a province-specific website.

Picking the perfect platform for you could mean asking around, checking out the new player bonuses they offer, or conducting your own research. If you want to explore the many online casinos and sportsbooks, you can easily find more online that offer a range of slot types, table games, and generous bonuses – just make sure you’re in a province that permits free rein.

The Basics of Hockey Betting

Once you’ve got your account set up, you could simply go ahead and copy what your fellow bettors are doing. But if you truly want to learn the basics and eventually become independent, it’s worth starting small and simple. This means going for straightforward bets on outcomes like the moneyline, puck line, and player-specific or game-specific prop bets.

The moneyline simply refers to who will win outright between the two teams – for example, if the Toronto Maple Leafs are the favourite at -150 in odds and the Montreal Canadiens are +130 as the underdog, betting $5 on the favourite would gain you around $3.33 in profit while taking a risk on the underdog would get you $6.50.

Meanwhile, the puck line (also called the point spread) refers to the margin of goals a team needs to win or lose. To illustrate, a puck line set at 1.5 goals requires the favourite to win by at least 2 goals, or the underdog must either win or lose by 1 goal or less for the bet to go through.

Proposition (prop) bets refer to bets that have nothing to do with the outcomes of the game. These include bets on the player who you think will score the first goal, the number of assists a specific player will score, or game-specific props like whether the game will go into overtime or shootout.

A parlay essentially combines multiple bets into one bet. Each individual bet (called legs) within the parlay needs to win for the entire parlay to succeed. While this inherently means more risk, it also means the potential for higher rewards.

What to Consider Before Placing a Bet

Betting isn’t like slots where the outcomes are based on pure luck – there are plenty of considerations that can help you place a smart bet. For instance, lineups greatly impact whether a team will perform at their usual standard. Without star players Auston Matthews or John Tavares in the starting lineup, the team might struggle with lower morale or lack the practised chemistry they’re used to. Maybe one of the teams that day has a track record of beating the other, or maybe there are players skating with injuries. Are they playing at home or away? All these factors can influence the trajectory of your bet.

It’s also worth deciding how much you want to bet – you don’t necessarily want to go overboard and spend thousands of dollars on a parlay (unless you’re super confident and financially capable). You could also start with cents and dollars to build up your money pool and get a feel of what betting is like.

Are There Strategies for Betting on Hockey?

Understanding the many types of bets available is already a strategy in itself, but delve deeper into the betting scene, and you’ll realize that there are a variety of strategies to help you along the way. One of the easiest and most valuable ways to bolster a wager is to head onto a sports score and statistics site such as theScore to review matchups, player statistics, game details, and other information. You can then use that to inform a bet. Does it make sense, after knowing several starting players are out for injury, to bet on a win? Would it be worthwhile betting on the underdog today based on historical details?

There are also more complicated and wager-based strategies that you can get into as you become more comfortable with sports betting.

Betting Responsibly

Sports betting is a lot of fun, especially since it adds to the excitement of the game and gives you a reason to watch even the most insignificant ones. Eventually, it can also become a part of your daily life, especially during NHL hockey season. With the potential for betting to become addictive, it’s important to bet responsibly. Online platforms have plenty of safeguards in place, like deposit limits and betting limits, to prevent users from going overboard. Take advantage of them so you can stay well in control over your betting habits.