How and Where to Bet on the NHL
Canadians have a variety of options when it comes to
placing a bet on an NHL game. Less than a decade ago,
the most common method and practical way was to buy a
Pro-Line ticket at your local convenience store.
Luckily, that is no longer the case. Now you can place
a NHL bet from your computer and/or your smart phone.
Not only is this much more convenient, but it is also gives
you more betting options and it is much
more cheaper.
If you are still placing
bets with Pro-Line, then you are getting robbed (almost
literally). For an example we will bet the over on the
first four games on October 12, 2013 on Pro-Line and on the
same four games at Bodog. For Pro-Line the odds
are 1.55, 1.90, 1.60 and 1.60. This would work out to
a ticket value of $66.50 on a $10 bet on each game (I know
you can't bet on individual games with Pro-Line) and a
ticket value of $75.39 on a $10 parlay. When you win,
you may feel great, but probably not after you find out what
you have actually lost by not betting at
Bodog.
At Bodog, the odds for the same four games are 1.83, 2.20,
1.74 and 1.90. This will work out to a win of $76.70
on $10 individual game bets (which you can actually do
online) and a $133.10 win on the four team parlay, which is
76.5% more than betting on Pro-Line!
Different Types of NHL Bets
Money Line – When you are placing a bet on the Money
Line, then you are placing a bet on which team will win the game outright.
This is the same as placing a bet on H or V on your Pro-Line
ticket.
Over/Under – When placing a bet on the
over/under, you are placing a bet on whether or not the
total amount of goals scored will be over of under the set
total. The total is generally set at 5.0, 5.5 or 6.0.
Note the winner of a shootout will be rewarded one goal.
This helps when you betting the over at 5.0 and the under at
5.5, because every 2-2 tie at the end of regulation will
make the total be 5 regardless of the outcome.
Puck Line – The Puck Line or
just the Line is the same betting the point spread
on football. The line is almost always +1.5 on the
underdog and -1.5 on the favourite. This is similar to betting H+
and V+ on your ticket, except that the underdogs line is
+1.5 and not -1.5. Betting on the Puck Line can make
empty net goals exciting, regulation ties rewarding and
underdogs into favourites.
First Period Lines – Online you can bet on the results of the first period of
action. The over/under for the first period is
generally set at 1.5 and the Line a 0.0. Betting on
the first period lines lets you take advantage of teams that
get to a slow start, that start defensively or teams that
seam to light it up in the first period.
Parlay –
If you have ever bet on Pro-Line, then you have bet on a
parlay before. A parlay is a bet in which two or more hockey
games are selected. All your selections must be
winners for the parlay to win. Generally the more events that are chosen, the more the hockey parlay bet pays
off, but betting on a few longshots usually pays off better
than betting on a bunch of favourites. You can bet money lines,
over/under and the Puckline in a NHL parlay bet.
Futures – When placing a bet on the Futures, you
are betting on a team that will win the Stanley Cup, their
Division or their Conference. You can usually place
before the season starts and up to the point where there is
a clear cut favourite to win it. The juice is terrible
in future bets, but they can be fun and a relatively cheap
way to bet on your favourite NHL hockey team.
Props – A proposition bet can be exotic, it can
give you a better chance of winning or it could greatly
increase your payout. Some of the more popular NHL
prop bets online include, Additional Team Totals,
Additional Puck Line, Time of 1st Score, Race to 3 Goals,
Margin of Victory, Final Score, Highest Scoring Period, Team
to Score First, Team to Score Last and many more fun prop
bets.
Finding Trends in NHL Hockey
Betting on the NHL may seem like a random task, but that is nowhere near the case. Professional handicappers must look at all the variables and trends in order to have successful season. Some of the attributes our free NHL handicappers use is;
- Do research in the off season to find out which teams are poised to fall, before the generally betting public finds out.
- In the offseason find out which teams are set to greatly improve.
- Find out which teams fair better against lesser competition.
- Find out which teams do better against the harder opponents in the league.
- Look for winning and losing streak trends.
- Know which teams are overrated.
- Find out who is going to be the starting goalie for each team.
- Bet sure things and let other fans gamble.