Best Way To Bet On Hockey

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The best way to bet on hockey is knowing in advance what you should bet on. That being said, you shouldn’t fill up an accumulator with small odds of «guaranteed to win» results. If you bet on 4-5+, one. Another common bet in most sports is the over/under, and hockey is no slouch in this regard, either. The line is usually set at 5.0 or 5.5, though it can be higher or lower. Betting the over can be fun, especially when the two teams are on a goal-scoring spree in the first period. Do Live Betting. Once the puck drops, everything can change quickly. Live betting is a great way to.

  • Betting the puck line is like betting the NHL point spread, but the format is different from other spread betting
  • Puck line bets often have better odds than moneylines on the same game
  • There are unique strategic considerations to make when wagering the puck line

Puck line betting is the most popular form of hockey betting for both regular season NHL games and during the NHL playoffs.

As the closest thing to an NHL point spread, wagering on the puck line is just like betting against the spread in football or taking on the run line in baseball.

Read on to learn how to beat the books betting on the puck line!

NHL Point Spread Betting, Sort Of…

Hockey games, especially in the NHL, are often very tight affairs. The rigidity of the puck line reflects this fact, and the puck line is always set at +1.5 or -1.5.

As always, the + indicates the underdog, and the – indicates the favorite. Whenever you wager on the puck line, you are betting on the favorite (-1.5) to win by 2 goals, or the underdog (+1.5) to lose by one goal or win outright.

The inclusion of half points on the line eliminates the possibility of a push, or a tie. Clearly, NHL betting sites want to avoid this scenario however possible, and the 0.5 hook ensures that every bet on the puck line will be either a winner or a loser. There are no funky rules in the NHL; a half goal is impossible, under any circumstance.

Whenever you wager on the puck line, you are betting on the favorite to win by two goals or the underdog to lose by one goal or outright. It’s hockey’s version of the point spread, but the spread never changes.

One way to look at this is to take the final score and add 1.5 goals to the underdog’s goal total and subtract 1.5 goals from the favorite’s goal total. If your team wins the game after the score has been adjusted like this, you’ve covered the puck line and won the bet!

Why Bet on the Puck Line

So, what’s the point of the puck line? Why should you choose to bet on hockey’s point spread, rather than simply picking the winner of a game outright?

The puck line levels the playing field between two competing teams, as sportsbooks want to encourage equal action on both sides of the line.

In terms of value for bettors, the puck line often offers far better odds with a higher potential payout than does the moneyline, or picking a winner straight-up.

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The puck line often offers far better odds and a higher payout than picking a winner straight-up.

For example, you may wish to wager on a team that is heavily favored to win, only to find the moneyline odds to be heavily skewed to attract action on the underdog. You’ll undoubtedly find better odds betting on the puck line, but you must be confident that the favored team is going to win the game by at least two goals.

If you think the game is going to be close, or that the favorite might not churn out a dominant victory, you can always bet the underdog the puck line. This way, you have a one-goal margin of error to reduce your risk.

Dropping the Puck on the Puck Line

Let’s take a closer look at the hypothetical puck line provided above. The Vancouver Canucks are listed as the underdog in this classic Western Conference matchup, heading to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis to take on a theoretically stronger squad in the Blues.

If you were to place a bet on the Canucks, you would need them to either lose by a single goal or beat the Blues outright. It’s worth noting that if the game goes to overtime or ends in a shootout, the Vancouver Canucks would automatically cover the spread, as a St. Louis victory in overtime or the shootout would guarantee the margin of victory to be just one goal.

Payouts are indicated by the odds, which are listed at +160 for the Canucks to cover. If you placed a bet of $100 and the Canucks do cover, you would get $260 in return, including your $100 stake plus $160 profit. If you were to bet $10, you would receive $26, with $16 of that being profit.

On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues need to beat the Vancouver Canucks by a minimum of two goals in order to cover the spread. If St. Louis eeks out a close victory in a one-goal game, or if they win in overtime or the shootout, a bet on them would be unsuccessful.

Since the odds for St. Louis are listed at -150, you would need to bet $150 in order to profit $100. In the end, you’d see a return of $250 ($150 stake, in addition to $100 in profit). If you were to bet $15, you would receive $25, with $10 in profit.

Puck Line Strategy from the Experts

When betting on the puck line, you should consider many of the same strategies for success in NHL playoff betting. Coaching, goaltending, injuries, and statistics such as possession, quality of chance, and shot totals can all be helpful metrics.

However, there’s one factor that is often overlooked but can make all the difference in how an NHL team performs on game night: travel schedules.

Pay Attention to Travel Schedules

Obviously, a rested home team will be the favorite against a road team playing their 6th game in 9 nights, in the second half of back to back. The more research you do, the more accurately you can analyze a team’s travel schedule and the implications it has for their chances of victory.

Hockey is a very physical sport with a very busy schedule: performance in the midst of an intense travel schedule should always be factored into any bet you place.

Hockey is an extremely physical, full-contact sport with a busy schedule that sees each team playing multiple games per week. As such, travel schedules are far more significant in hockey than they are in less physical sports, like baseball, or in those with only a small number of games on the schedule, such as football.

If a team is deep in the throes of a 12 game road trip, there’s a good chance their play is going to lag towards the end of it, especially if players cross time zones throughout the course of the trip. Eastern teams often endure road swings in Western Canada (Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver) or California (Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, and now Las Vegas).

The chances of even the best teams making it through such a trip unscathed are next to nothing, and you should bet accordingly. Both of these journeys are notoriously difficult and grueling for too many reasons to list, but performance in the midst of an intense travel schedule should always be factored into any bet you place.

The Camera Adds a Few Points

Certain teams historically have better records when they’re on national television. No matter how bad the Toronto Maple Leafs were in their down years throughout the mid-2000s and early 2010s, they always put on a show for Hockey Night in Canada. The same holds true for celebrated Original Six teams like the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks.

Ready to Start Betting on Hockey?

If you’re ready to dive into the exciting world of betting hockey online, you’ve come to the right place. Before putting your money on the table, make sure you’ve also taken a peek at our NHL Betting Basics Guide.

Those wanting to expand their horizons by wagering on a wide range of sports will be well served by exploring the depth of articles available in our comprehensive how to bet on sports series.



NHL hockey season is here! Hockey is one of the few bright spots to the changing of the seasons into the freezing temps up here in the north. Only 6 months of Winter where I live, and hockey helps to make it better 🙂 The landscape of the online betting world has changed significantly over the past 2 years, year, and even the last 6 months. It is important to stay up to date with what is going on, but if you select a site from those listed below, you should have very little problem (if any) for years to come. These are the exact same sites that I use, and recommend them to my closest friends and family. I am here to help people avoid the pitfalls of the online gambling world. Don’t fall for the pie in the sky bonuses, and all of the flashy junk. When it comes down to it, all that matters is that the site is financially stable, pays you when you win, and pays you when you win…yeah I repeated that on purpose! All of the rest is just trimming.

Some things you must look for in a sports betting site for hockey wagering…

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  • 3 WAY LINES – These are wagers for the winner during regulation time. This is a bet that does not include OT, if you bet on one team or the other to win and the game goes into overtime…you lose. You have the option of taking team A -0.5 or Team B +0.5 (you win if they tie) or Team B at pickem (lose if there is OT). The 3 way line is essential to profiting with NHL wagering. It allows you to maximize profits without the exposure of puckline (- 1.5) wagering. 3 Way lines pay significantly higher odds than do regular moneyline bets.
  • Team Totals – Want to take the “OVER”, but one team has an exceptional goaltender? Then TEAM TOTAL is an excellent option. You can bet on a single team’s total, which is usually 2.5 goals, and against a soft “D” and goalie…this can be easily exploited.

The sites I will recommend are based on the following factors;

  • Trustworthiness
  • Financial stability of the company & history of timely payments
  • Customer service
  • Player experience & ease of use
  • Betting lines & variety of wagering options
  • Security of personal information

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All of the sites below are open to players from ALL countries!
The grades are based specifically on hockey wagering.

BookMaker.eu – A

BookMaker is part of the CRIS family of offshore gaming sites. betCRIS is one of the most financially stable and most respected names in the business. Perhaps it’s because they were the first ever offshore sportsbook, starting out with just telephone service pre-dating the internet! How’s that for a track record? BookMaker has always been one of my favorite books ever since they started, especially for NHL betting!

Why BookMaker?

  • Stability
  • High Limits
  • .10 lines (dime line) = less juice or ‘vig’
  • 3 Way Betting Lines & Team Totals
  • Earliest Lines Released
  • International Hockey Lines
  • Deposits can be a challenge (only minor inconvenience)
  • $100 minimum deposit
  • Bonuses only kick in on deposits of $300+

5Dimes – A

5 Dimes offers players from North America the best option for low juice wagering across all sports. They are extremely financially stable and cater to US players. Their landing page is a bit outdated, but the wagering interface is the best there is. The screens are clean and allow you to buy and sell points with a drop down menu on the main screen with no extra steps or clicks necessary. 5 Dimes also offers players 3 way wagering options, as well as team totals, which can be exploited at times during the season when a matchup is favorable for one team, but the other has a strong goaltender.

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DEPOSIT WITH VISA or eCheck!

Why 5 Dimes?

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  • Reduced juice book for North American players
  • 3 way lines and team totals for NHL wagering
  • Easy deposit options via VISA & eChecks
  • At least a %50 free play bonus on deposits of $100+
Why NOT 5 Dimes?
  • Older website (who cares)
  • Lower limits

Bovada – A-

Bovada has stood the test of time as Bodog, but now replaces that brand in the USA. The group that runs Bovada, based in Canada, is a class act, and is especially appealing to new players as their site is very attractive and easy to use.

Canadians, Click here for Bodog.ca!

  • Stability
  • Great service
  • User friendly
  • Many NHL player and team props
  • Unique line sets

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  • No 3 Way wagering option
  • Standard .20 lines