How does ice hockey betting function?

How to bet on ice hockey?

❓How to bet on ice hockey?
📌Is ice hockey easy to bet on?
💬Can you bet on a tie in ice hockey?
✨What is double chance in ice hockey betting?
🎉What is the no bet in ice hockey?
✅How do the odds work in ice hockey?

Ice hockey is known as a fast-paced, action-packed sport - the ideal recipe for an entertaining bet. The NHL is supported widely around the world, as with hockey leagues in many different countries, presenting a plethora of options for hockey fans and gamblers to bet on their favourite teams. Like all major sports, odds are quoted on ice hockey across leading online bookmakers, with the chance to find value across a range of different betting types. But there are some specific features of ice hockey that make it distinct from other betting sports. Let’s dive into how to bet on ice hockey, and the information you need to make the best betting decisions with the highest chance of success.

How to bet on ice hockey and win?

The aim of the game in ice hockey is to score more than the opposing team, similar to football, rugby, basketball and most other team sports. There are 6 players on the ice for each team at any one time, drawn from a deeper squad that typically runs to about 20. Substitutions are rolling to account for the highly physical nature of ice hockey matches, which can become aggressive affairs - all the better for the entertainment value for spectators.

Betting on ice hockey requires both an understanding of the sport, and an analysis of the odds, the form and other data points available to you ahead of the match. While it’s impossible to guarantee you will win an ice hockey bet, approaching your bets with knowledge of the sport and the relevant data, including recent team and player performance, will give you the best chance of picking the right bets.

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Is ice hockey easy to bet on?

Ice hockey is typically a less easy betting sport than others, and some knowledge is required before you can place sensible bets that will put you in a good position to capitalise. The first bet is the moneyline, which is a straight-up bet on the winner of a match. There’s also commonly the overs/unders market, which reflects on the total score. In this bet, you’re picking whether the total score will be over or under a given line, when the final scores of both teams are combined. So in effect, this is a bet on the total score of the game, rather than on one side or the other.

The third common type of bet in ice hockey is a handicap bet, which reflects the margin of the win. This is usually used to even out discrepancies between teams, such that the winning team needs to win by over a set margin for the bet to pay out. Again, this requires some knowledge of the sport and the teams concerned, in order to weigh up whether this is a sensible bet.

Can you bet on a tie in ice hockey?

It is possible to bet on a tie in ice hockey, though it’s worth noting that ties are not a possible final outcome in a hockey match. What this means in practice is that you’re betting on a tie within regulation time, where the scores are level before overtime. Overtime is sudden death, with the first scorer during the 5 minutes allotted overtime being declared the winner. If a game is still tied after overtime, a shootout will ensue to determine the eventual winner.

Ties are covered in some bet types anyway, including the double chance bet, which we’ll deal with in a moment. While tie bets are therefore a possibility, it’s an unlikely and uncommon bet in its own right in ice hockey betting.

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What is double chance in ice hockey betting?

The double chance in ice hockey betting is a bet on a team to win, or to be drawn after the regulation 60 minutes. This is widely offered at leading sportsbooks, but comes with a significant downward impact on the odds. This is because you’re far more likely to win your bet if you’ve covered the win and tie outcomes, rather than just the win outcome itself. As a result, you can expect to pay for this security with a lower rate of return should your bet come good.

Double chance bets are available on the moneyline at selected bookmakers, and will be indicated as such so you know you’re covering the tie as well as the outright win. You should also be able to tell the difference at a glance by comparing the odds, with double chance paying much less as a rate of return than outright ice hockey betting.

What is the no bet in ice hockey?

Draw no bet allows you to eliminate the draw possibility from your bet, effectively returning your stakes and cancelling the bet in the event that a game finishes as a tie during regulation time. Bets will only win if your team wins, and only lose if your team loses - in this instance, the draw bet is excluded, so your stakes are returned with no harm done.

This makes it a two-way, rather than a three-way market, and is reflected in lower odds. However, it does deliver you the security of knowing that unless the outcome you’ve backed actively loses, your stake is at least safe - only a loss will cost you your bet.

How do the odds work in ice hockey?

The odds in ice hockey work similarly to odds in other sports. They are a reflection of the likelihood calculated by the bookmaker, and the weight of betting activity on both sides of a market, to determine the likely outcome in advance. While the odds will typically indicate a favourite, or a most-likely outcome, there is still ample scope for surprise results - as in all sports.

The odds in ice hockey should therefore only serve as a guide - you’re ultimately looking for value from your bets, where the difference between the odds quoted and your perception of likelihood is at its greatest. This will deliver the best chance of success from your ice hockey betting long-term.