How to Bet on Hockey

With playoff Hockey in full swing, many people are looking to make wagers on the NHL playoff games. But Hockey is nor as popular a sport in this country as many others, so many people who would like to make wagers are confused and unsure of the odds and lines that they see in their sports sections or on websites.

Betting on Hockey is not all that much different than betting on the NFL or NBA. Once you understand the lines, you will be on your way to enjoying this additional wagering opportunity.

National Hockey League

The first thing you will need to understand is the money line. This is the most common method for betting on NHL games, and is a bit confusing to look at for the first time bettor.

In most cases, you will find hockey money lines follow the 20 cent line. What this refers to it the difference in odds between the favorite and the underdog. You will find however, on extremely large favorites, that the 20 cent difference will be considerably greater.

When you view NHL money lines, they will look something like:

Colorado +110

San Jose -130

This money line shows San Jose as the favorite. If you wager $130 on San Jose, you will win $100 if San Jose wins the game. Conversely, if you bet $100 on Colorado, and Colorado wins, you will win $110.

If you see the money line for a large favorite, it could look much more unbalanced, but still means the same basic thing. A example would be:

Edmonton +250

Detroit -300

This line would indicate Detroit as a huge favorite. You would have to wager $300 on Detroit to win $100.

On the other hand, a wager of $100 on Edmonton, and a win by Edmonton, would put $250 in your pocket.

The Puck Line

The second most popular method of wagering on Hockey is The Puck Line. This method is similar to run lines in baseball, or points spreads in football and basketball.

A NHL Puck Line will represent the addition of lay, or give 1.5 goals to the underdog when betting on the favorite, or take 1.5 goals away from the favorite when betting the underdog.

A typical puck line would look like:

Toronto +1.5

Washington -1.5

This can become a bit more confusing for new bettors to the NHL. In the case shown above, Washington is the favorite. If you bet on Toronto, and Toronto loses the game by 1 goal, or they win outright, then you would win the wager.

If you bet Washington, then Washington would have to win the game by 2 or more goals. The .5 goals is rounded up in this case.

Totals

A third method of wagering on the NHL is known as totals. This is the ebullient of the over and under in football.

A number will be posted by the odds makers. As a rule, it will be somewhere between 5 and 6.5. You, as the bettor, bet on wither the total number of goals scored by both teams will be over that number, or under that number.

Totals will also be posted with a money line number beside of it, for example, Calgary +110 Florida -130. This represents the same numbers as they do in a money line. In this case, betting $100 on Calgary will win you $110, but you would need to bet $130 on Florida to win $100.

In Hockey, the totals numbers will from time to tome change, just as they do in football. However, in hockey, the points number will not be changed, the money line number will be changed instead.

The Grand Salami

This betting method is extremely popular in Hockey, and especially during this time of year, the Playoffs.

Basically, The Grand salami is simply betting the over and under (totals) during all the games played on a particular day.

For example, during regular season, you may have 10 games played on a single day. The Grand Salami number may be 55. You will wager the total number of goals scored on that day as over or under the posted number.

This method allows the bettor to have a stake in the outcome of every game played on a single day.

Time To Bet

Now that you have the basics of how to wager on hockey, go check out the odds, and place your bet. Hockey is a great game, and wagering on Hockey is a great way to feel involved in the Greatest game on Earth.......Hockey.