How To Place A Bet On Hockey Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

How to place a bet on hockey

Once again, I'm going to discuss this topic since I get several emails on how to place a bet on hockey.

The National Hockey League is a distant fourth of the four major sports in the United States.  Sports Books, however, still post lines on the NHL.  Hockey bettors who are willing to put some effort into handicapping the National Hockey League are often rewarded since oddsmakers do not spend the same amount of time creating hockey odds as they do a more the more popular sports.

This article pertains to the National Hockey League and not information on European hockey.

Generally, hockey bettors will find lower betting limits on NHL games than the other popular betting sports events.  Generally, an acknowledgment by the sports books that they are less comfortable accepting bets on the NHL than they are in the other sports.

Before a person can start to bet the NHL, it is very important they have a solid understanding of the moneyline.  If the money line is a new concept for you, then CLICK HERE!

The moneyline is the most common method of betting the NHL, although there is also a puck line, which we will discuss a bit later, as well as totals.  A number of sports books also offer the "Grand Salami," which is the combined total of all the games that are played on a particular day, and  I will discuss that a bit later, as well.

Just about every sports book uses a 20 cent line on the National Hockey League.  The 20 cents refers to the difference in the odds on the favorite and the odds on the underdog.  However, as with other sports, the odds on an extremely large favorite will often be greater than the 20 cents.

The odds on a typical National Hockey League game may look like:

Bruins +110
Lightning -130

What that means is that Tampa Bay hockey bettors are asked to risk $130 to win $100, while Boston hockey bettors risk $100 to win $110.

But the odds on a game with a larger favorite are more inclined to look like:

Toronto +250
Detroit -300

The larger difference in odds is typical in all sports, not just hockey, so it is not as if hockey bettors are being singled out.

While betting on the moneyline, as shown above, is the most popular method of betting the NHL, there is also the puck line.  Baseball bettors will recognize this bet as the runline.  When betting the puck line, bettors can either lay 1.5 goals with the favorite or take 1.5 goals with the underdog.

Using the two games above, the puck lines odds will be something like:

Bruins +1.5 (-240)
Lightning -1.5 (+200)

Toronto +1.5 (-110)
Detroit -1.5 (-110)

Now, Tampa Bay hockey bettors will win their wagers if the Lightning wins the game or losses by one goal, while Bruin hockey bettors can only win their wagers if the they win by two goals or more. But Lightning hockey bettors are now asked to risk $240 to $100 and Bruin hockey bettors are risking $100 to win $200.

Likewise, Maple Leaf hockey bettors will win their bets if the Maple Leafs win or lose by one goal and Red Wing hockey bettors will only win their bet if the Red Wings win by two or more goals.

In the NHL, hockey bettors can also bet the totals number of goals scored in a game.  The sports books will post a number, generally between 5 and 5.5 and hockey bettors can wager the number of goals scored in the game will be greater, the over, than the posted number or less, the under, than the posted number.

There is one primary difference in betting hockey totals as opposed to other sporting events such as basketball and football totals.  Because scoring in hockey is so much lower than in football or basketball, the sports books are reluctant to change the number of a total and instead will often adjust the odds.

So totals can take on several different forms, but will nearly always look like one of the two following examples:

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals over 5.5 (-110)
New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals under 5.5 (-110)

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals over 5.5 (-135)
New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals under 5.5 (+115)

In the first example, hockey bettors are asked to wager $110 to win $100 regardless if they bet the over or the under.  This is referred to as "5.5-flat," meaning it is -110 on both the over and the under.  In the second example, hockey bettors who wish to wager on the over will have to risk $135 to win $100, while under hockey bettors will risk $100 to win $115.  This is type of bet is ofter referred to as "5.5-Over".

What is know as "The Grand Salami" is practically an institution for hockey bettors.  "The Grand Salami" allows hockey fans to have a rooting interest in every game being played on a particular day for the cost of one bet.

"The Grand Salami" allows the hockey bettors to wager over or under the total number of goals scored in all of the games played on a particular day.  Thus, if there are 10 games on a given day, "The Grand Salami" total will generally be around 55 to 60, depending on the particular games. 

You are now ready to place a wager on the coolest game on ice.

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