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How to bet on ice hockey games: top tips to win

Ice hockey is one of the sports mostly selected for betting in North America. It is familiar among the locals over there. They wager on their favourite teams with the ice hockey betting tips. It has wide betting options that can be explored, moneyline, betting lines and totals being the major markets. In this article, you will understand how to bet on ice hockey. 

“Learning how to bet on hockey games starts from the basics, knowing how the league is run. The NHL has 30 teams across America and Canada. Each team plays a total of 82 games in the regular season, 41 at home and 41 away. There are two conferences, the Eastern and the Western. The winner of the former wins the Prince of Wales Trophy, while the winner of the latter gets the Clarence S Campbell Bowl. Then they contest the Stanley Cup trophy,” underlines Alex Weaver of Takebet.com, an ice hockey betting expert and author.

Major hockey leagues apart from the NHL are Kontinental Hockey League, NCAA, American Hockey League and Swedish Hockey League. At the international level, the Winter Olympics are held every four years and the Ice Hockey World Championship is held annually. One can anticipate ice hockey predictions to be offered on all of these tournaments by experts.

What is special about ice hockey betting?

Sports betting in Ice hockey has a lot of amazing features that attract punters. This is a sport where athletes can control the tempo of the game. They can make it fast, slow, and cause big hits or fights. 

Opportunity to make future/outrights bets. This is a wager on future outcomes like the winner of the Stanley Cup final, NHL MVP winner, team to reach the final etc. The odds are there with the list of teams that can win it.

Live betting is making wagers while the game is ongoing. Did you miss staking before the game started? Or you haven’t decided yet, and the match began? you can still wager your bets regardless, it’s not too late.

A bet can be made on the player to score the first goal. Experts make analyses and give you a list of players that can do this. Follow the tips and bet on it. The player selected needs to score the first goal of the game, and you win.

Top betting markets and odds for ice hockey

The betting markets come with savouring odds. The major ones among them are going to be discussed. Finding the best odds comes from comparing the sportsbooks. Their odds differ, and this is what you need to take note of. Bet with the one that has the highest odds.  

Moneyline betting is a stake on the winner of the hockey game. There are only two possible outcomes in this market, home win or away win. No chance for a draw. So it’s either team a or b wins. There is no chance for them to draw. The odds are wide apart. To easily detect the favourite and the underdogs, use the odds. The team with the highest odds is the weaker side, while the team with the lesser odds is the stronger side.

The over/under betting is a bet on the totals of a match. Here, you predict the total number of goals both teams will score. For example, a Chicago Blackhawks vs New York Rangers game. If you use the betting tips and analyse that they won’t score more than three goals. You can go with an under 3.5 or 4.0 goals bet.

The puck line handicap betting can sometimes be referred to as the point spread market. It evens the gap between the match favourites and underdogs. On sportsbooks like Fanduel, the betting line mostly used is “1.5”. The underdog will be given a +1.5 virtual advantage before the game starts, while the favourites will be given a -1.5 virtual disadvantage.

Correct score is a bet on the scoreline of a hockey game. The prediction you make has to be accurate with the final score of the match for you to win.

Prop bets: These are bets that don’t affect the outcome of a match. Examples of NHL prop bets are the team to win the first half and the highest scoring half.

The Grand Salami is a form of over/under betting. Here, the sportsbook will give a slate of games from a particular day and attach a line to it. Now, if you feel the total goals will be more, you go with an over bet. If you feel it will be less, you make an under bet.

Top points to consider when betting on ice hockey

Search for the best available odds. They determine the amount of money you can win from a bet. The higher the odds, the more the guaranteed winnings. Therefore, you need to look out among all the popular bookmakers for the one with the best available odds. 

Explore the available betting markets. Moneyline is a good betting market, but it has one of the lowest odds compared to betting options like puck line, totals and correct score. With a good betting strategy, you win bets from them as well. The other options have higher odds.

Follow experts betting tips and predictions. No man is an island, you can’t know it all. Mixing your ideas with others will give you an edge and improve your winnings. On the internet, there are lots of experts that give free bets with high accuracy. Follow them and compare them with your analysis.

Do’s and don’ts when doing a bet on hockey

• Keep tabs on the latest betting odds. 
• Spend time doing research on your bets. 
• Develop a good betting strategy. 
• Don’t panic and rush to rebet when you lose 
• Follow the team news and injury reports. 
• Make use of the bonus codes to get bonuses when you want to bet. Follow injury reports on the ice.

Conclusion

Ice hockey betting isn’t as complicated as it seems. Start from the basics, how the leagues are run and the number of games played. Next thing is to know the type of bets available in ice hockey, the popular ones and others. Abide by the instructions provided above. Get a top bookmaker that gives good odds. Register with them and bet on the predictions.

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