Based on your expertise in betting, you’re perhaps aware that there’re many types of bets you can place on ice hockey rather than just pocking the game’s winner. It’s now possible to bet on various outcomes thanks to the advancement of sportsbooks. The main benefit of having various betting options is the flexibility given to bettors.
Before we jump into the common types of ice hockey bets, we must review some popular ice hockey events around the world.
National Hockey League (NHL) – featuring 24 teams from the US and 7 teams from Canada, NHL is a professional ice hockey league headquartered in New York.
Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) – established in 2003 and featuring 10 teams, EIHL is the leading ice hockey league in the UK.
United States Hockey League (USHL) – it’s a top-tier ice hockey league that comprises of players younger than 21 years and has a total of 17 teams.
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) – started in 2008, it features 27 ice hockey clubs mainly in Russia, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, China, Belarus, and Finland.
Types of Hockey Bets
Moneyline Bets
Since there’s no spread in hockey betting, most sportsbooks use Moneyline to indicate that the favourite is the underdog. In this type of bet, you’re merely selecting a team to win, but the two teams have inflated odds for every team indicating the underdog and favourite.
Future Bets
When it comes to the future bets, you’re merely wagering on the future outcome of a game. For instance, you can make a bet on which team will win the EIHL or which side will be relegated from the NHL. But the best odds for this type of betting are given before the start of the season. Although you can still bet during the season, it’s notable that these odds are usually low.
Totals (Under/Over)
This is one of the easiest types of ice hockey bet to understand. Most betting sites offer a total for a game regarding the number of total goals to be scored. For example, the totals can be set at 3 for a particular game, and you need to bet whether the goals will be under/over 3.
Prop Bets
A prop bet involves you staking on whether an event will occur or not. The prop bets are simple but very hard to understand. For instance, you may be needed to bet on a team that will score first, whether the final total score will be an odd or even number, or whether there’ll be a goal scored in the first quarter of the game.