How to bet on Ice Hockey

Flyers' Noah Cates
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 03: Philadelphia Flyers Left Wing Noah Cates (49) is pictured prior to the National Hockey League game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers on April 3, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

When it comes to sporting activities that are played on ice, ice hockey sits at number one. It is one of the most popular sports in the US and Canada, where they have huge sporting competitions such as the NHL.

Despite its huge appeal in the US and Canada, it does also attract many around the world, including the Nordics, Russia and more. With the NHL being the biggest Ice Hockey competition in the world and the new season starting every October, we thought it would be right to let you know our best ice hockey betting tips and strategies so you can get involved yourself, whether you are an experienced punter of the sport or just starting out.

Once you’ve taken in our betting tips, we recommend heading over to oddsindex.com where you can find the best betting sites to wager with and claim huge bonuses to increase your bank roll.

Betting Markets

Before delving deep into every bit of detail when it comes to betting selections in ice hockey, as a beginner, it’s better to simply understand the 2 common betting market types as once you know this, everything else will start to fall into place.

Regulation time betting / 3-way betting:

This is possibly the most common betting market in all sports when it comes to betting. Some people will recognise it as the traditional 1X2 betting market, where you select from the following: home win, draw, away win. 

In ice hockey, this betting market simply applies to regulation time only. Therefore, if the team or result you have backed comes in after that (overtime or shootout), your bet will still be marked as a loss. It all depends on what the result is by the end of regulation time.

Full game betting / moneyline betting:

Full game betting is similar to regulation time betting just with some tweaks here and there. So, there is no “tie” betting option in this selection, it is simply just win/loss. As well as that, this betting option considers the result of a game after it has fully been complete, so it will take into consideration overtime or a shootout.

Ice Hockey Betting Tips

● Total Betting: Total betting is very straightforward. You are predicting the number of goals scored in a game, not by just one team, but the 2 teams combined. They will be listed by the bookmaker in “.5’s”. For example, you have to predict whether or not there will be over 6.5 goals in the game by both teams combined. Half goals don’t exist in ice hockey so it will be clear to see whether or not there were over 6.5 goals or not.

● Game Lines: Game lines betting, also known as “puckline”, is a form of betting similar to what some people recognise as “handicap betting”. The favourite of the matches will have a list of handicaps given by the bookmaker and you get to decide which ones you think will happen. For example, you may start a team on minus goals and bet on them to win. The score in which they win doesn’t matter, as long as they win. If that turns out to be the case, your bet will win.

● 3-way total betting: This betting market is great. Bookies will mark out a goal line, for example 5  goals annd you get to decide whether you think the game will have over, under or bang on this many. It’s that simple.

● In-play betting: This is different to the others as it isn’t a betting selection, it is a strategy. In-play betting is where you get to bet on a fixture whilst it is currently underway. The advantage to this is if you are following the game and seeing how the teams are set out, you should have a good judgement on how the action will unfold and what might happen next. Using this knowledge, you can place a bet.

Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire