Hockey Betting

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Ice Hockey Betting

So, you’re looking for a complete guide on how to bet on ice hockey, eh? You’ve found the right place. This ice hockey betting guide will take you through everything concerning betting on ice hockey game: types of bets, popular championships and events, ice hockey pre-match odds, where to play, complete with some tried and tested strategies that you should consider when betting on ice hockey.

Therefore, if you’ve ever had any questions about betting on this captivating sport, you’ll find all the answers here. Let’s get down to business.

Ice hockey or just hockey, as most fans call it, ranks as one of the most popular winter sporting events worldwide. What’s more, the sport is also admired because of its team sports discipline.

Thus, all sportsbooks that are worth your time and money will offer options to bet on hockey games, particularly the National Hockey League of North America (NHL). With 31 teams and 9 months of action yearly, the NHL is recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) as the most prominent and influential hockey league competition in the world.

Ice hockey, being a sport played in several countries around the globe, is increasingly gaining popularity among sports betting enthusiasts. With the always-increasing number of bookmakers that offer ice hockey bets, this sport is a force to reckon with. With a top bookmaker like GGBet, you’ll find a wide array of markets to bet on. Nevertheless, before you start your betting adventure, it’s vital to acquaint yourself with the basics so that you can make the most out of your wagers.

How to Bet on Ice Hockey – Types of Bets

Betting on hockey games comes with a host of gambling markets, with some being exclusive to this sports discipline, while others are more general markets that are also offered in many other sports. Here’s a breakdown of the most popular hockey betting markets:

  • Moneyline

The moneyline wager is the simplest of all markets. Here, you place a bet on what team will end up winning the game.

  • Spreads/Puck Line Betting (Handicap)

The puck line handicap bet comes into play when a given team is favored over the other. A case in point is where Team X is given a puck line handicap set at -1.5 goals. This implies, for the bettor to win, Team X will have to win the match by two or more goals. Conversely, Team X might as well be handicapped at +1.5 goals, which means they should work to avoid losing the game by two or more goals for you to win.

  • Total Goals (Overs/Unders)

In goal totals, you wager on the total number of goals that will be scored in a given match. In this bet, the bookmaker will set a mark for the number of combined goals by both teams. All you have to do is to choose whether the two teams will score more or fewer goals than the set number.

  • Correct Score Bet

The name says it all. With the correct score bet, you wager on what you feel the exact score will be once the match ends. Such types of wagers usually have exceptionally high odds.

  • Prop Bets

Also known as “proposition bets” in full, prop bets are wagers you place on specific outcomes in a match. This could be which teams will score first, which player will score the highest number of goals, which goalkeeper will make the most saves, and so on.

  • League Outrights/Future/Long-term Bets

Most sportsbooks will also offer long-term betting where you get to predict outcomes that will be known once the league season concludes.

  • Parlay Bets

A parlay bet is a combination of two or more bets that you can make for a better payout. For example, you can place a parlay bet comprising moneyline bets, total goals bets and correct score bets.

  • Live In-Play Betting

Live or in-play betting lets you place wagers in real-time when the match is in progress. With live in-play, you can place new wagers all through the match. Moreover, seeing as there are very many fluctuating factors involved, the live odds on all bets will always be changing. This provides the smart bettor with loads of opportunities to make real money on correct predictions.

Best Ice Hockey Leagues

The International Ice Hockey Federation is made up of 74 members, and hockey is played in numerous parts of the globe, both at amateur and professional levels. Although this sport is widespread in the cold winter regions, such as North America and Eastern Europe, the game is also played in various areas of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Below is a list of the top ice hockey championships that offer punters the most lucrative betting action:

Ice Hockey at the Winter Olympic Games

Ice hockey competitions have been played at the Olympics Games since the 1920s. The top teams which participate in the tournament comprise professional players from the National Hockey League and numerous other pro leagues. Like in any other sport, winning the Olympic gold medal remains a massive career achievement for players.

Ice Hockey World Championships

Unlike the Ice Hockey Olympics which is held every four years, the World Championships take place once a year. The Ice Hockey World Championships comprise 16 best national teams globally, made up of the best players who go head to head against each other annually.

The National Hockey League (NHL)

Established on 26 November 1917, Montreal, Canada, the National Hockey League is the largest professional ice hockey league tournament in the world. As we speak, the league consists of 31 teams, 24 of them in the US and 7 in Canada.

The NHL splits the total 31 teams into two leagues called conferences. We have the Eastern Conference, which contains 16 teams, and the Western Conference, which has 15 teams. The regular NHL pre-season begins in September, while the regular seasons start in early October and conclude in mid-April. The regular season is immediately followed by the Stanley Cup playoffs running from April to June.

Renowned teams participating in the NHL competition include the likes of Montreal Canadians, the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Rangers. Famous top players include Jonathan Toews, Shea Weber, Henrik Lundqvist, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby.

Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)

The Kontinental Hockey League follows the NHL closely as the second most popular hockey league tournament worldwide. Initially, the KHL used to be known as the Russia Super League, but it rebranded to the KHL in 2008. Currently, it is made up of 23 teams: 18 teams from Russia and a team each from China, Belarus, Finland, Kazakhstan and Latvia.

American Hockey League (AHL)

The American Hockey League has a set-up similar to that of the NHL and is essentially a minor league for ice hockey players looking forward to making it to the top league. Even so, the league has massive support and is covered by most sportsbooks.

Swedish Hockey League (SHL)

The Swedish Hockey League also ranks amongst the most popular leagues worldwide, and many online sportsbooks offer it as a betting option. The SHL consists of 14 teams contending for the Le Mat trophy. This league was founded in 1975, and like other European leagues, it has a relegation and promotion system.

Other leagues worth mentioning include:

  • NCAA Ice Hockey Championship
  • UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL)
  • Asia League
  • Danish Metal Ligaen
  • French Ligue Magnus
  • Norwegian GET-ligaen
  • Polska Hokej Liga
  • Slovak Extraliga
  • German Eishockey Liga
  • New Zealand Ice Hockey League
  • Australian Ice Hockey League
  • Austrian Hockey League

Ice Hockey Odds Explained

For any sports event you pick to wager on or the specific market you choose for your bet, the odds will always be critical. This is because the odds determine the amount of money you’ll win from a bet.

On most of the sports betting sites, the ice hockey betting odds or any other sporting event are presented in one or all of the three ways: in decimals, fractions and American or moneyline odds.

Probability

Basically, odds that apply to a sports event that you pick will illustrate the likelihood of that outcome occurring. Let’s say the New York Rangers are listed at 3.0 hockey odds to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in a match. The odds of 3.0 are the implied probability. They reflect what the bookmaker feels are the likelihood of the New York Rangers emerging winners in that match.

How Hockey Game Odds Work

So from the example above, we can calculate the probability of the New York Rangers beating the Chicago Blackhawks at odds of 3.0 using the simple formula below:

The implied probability = 1/ decimal odds. So we’ll have 1 divided by 3 = 1/3. 1/3 converted to percentage will be 33.3%.

This implies New York Rangers have a 33.3% chance of beating the Chicago Blackhawks in this match. Therefore, based on your analysis of the performance of the two teams, you’ll decide whether it’s worth betting on New York Rangers to win.

Placing a $20 bet on New York Rangers to win at 3.0 odds will pay back $60. This leaves you with a healthy profit of $40 – a great profit off of a somewhat risky wager.

Enjoy Betting on Ice Hockey at GGBet

GGBet is one of the best places to visit when betting on sports online. GG.Bet is a reputable sports betting site that was launched not long ago and is run by Verbenaz Limited. Our GGBet bookmaker website is popular amongst bettors, thanks to the availability of legal betting on hockey and numerous other sports events such as football, basketball, tennis, baseball and rugby.

Moreover, GG Bet is a dependable bookie licensed in Curacao; hence players are assured of safety while betting on hockey games. Your funds and personal information are secured by industry-standard SSL encryption technology, meaning that no malicious third party can access the information under any circumstance.

On top of offering a wide coverage of games and a broad range of lucrative markets to wager on, our GGBet sportsbook is also a delight to play in because of the following advantages:

  • Lucrative bonuses and promotions
  • Dependability when calculating bets
  • High betting odds
  • The opportunity to bet on the most popular sports events in the world
  • 100% payout on all wagers made
  • Professional 24/7 customer support service

Ice Hockey Strategies and Tips - How to Win

As with every other sports betting, there are different strategies and tips that you can take advantage of in ice hockey online betting to boost your winning chances. Here are some of the best ice hockey tips for betting:

  • Do your research and look into how the teams performed in earlier matches.
  • In many cases, online sportsbooks also get it wrong, so always hunt for the extra valuable betting lines.
  • Just in case a team’s crucial players are out with injuries or serving suspensions, pay attention to that because it will affect the dynamic of the game.
  • Whether the match is being played at home or on the road can have a significant effect on the outcome.

Start Betting on Ice Hockey Today

Take the first step today by registering at GGBet and enjoying betting on your favorite teams. Furthermore, it’s never been easier to bet on ice hockey using your mobile device. Our GGBet bookmaker website is well designed to seamlessly work on smartphones and tablets. Whichever operating system your device is running on, Android or iOS, you won’t have any problem placing ice hockey bets. Visit GGBet and kick start your ice hockey adventure today. Good Luck!