Online bookmakers offer their regular customers dozens of disciplines for staking activities. Usually these are sports and esports, but on the platforms of many brands punters can also find opportunities to place cash predictions on political, musical and financial events.
But in this manual, we will talk about one of the most popular staking disciplines in the world — hockey betting. You will learn about its specifics, the most demanding competitions and common mistakes of rookies. Additionally, we will present a step-by-step guide on placing bets on hockey and tell you about their most popular types.
General Understanding of Hockey Betting
We can talk about hockey for a very long time, because it is one of the most famous, ancient and popular sports in the world. It is not surprising that hockey betting also enjoys fantastic popularity among online bookies’ clients.
In short, hockey is played by two squads on an ice rink in an indoor area. At the same time, one goalkeeper and five field players can be on the rink from each side. Violation of the numerical composition is punishable by penalty — one player is sent to the penalty box for two minutes. Behind the sides are the coaching staff and other team members. Every 40-50 seconds, players from the ice (except goalkeepers) go over the side, and other players take their places.
The task of the squads is to throw a rubber puck with a stick into someone else’s goal. Hockey is a contact sport, so players can attack opponents with the body, knocking them down and pinning them to the board. If the blow falls on the head, groin or other unprotected part of the body, the referee removes the offender. Staking on penalty minutes is one of the most demanding in hockey betting.
A hockey event lasts for three periods, each of which consists of 20 mins. If a tie is recorded after regular time, the game continues in overtime until the first goal. It is worth noting that the match can last much longer, because due to the specifics of the rules, there may be stops due to the penalties of players, their injuries, the puck, its ejection into the stands and other situations caused by the rules.
Some Popular Hockey Betting Leagues
Hockey is played by fewer countries than football, and there are fewer competitions in this sport. But there are many superb leagues among them, for the matches of which bookmakers offer a fantastic amount of bets. Below we will give examples of such tournaments.
National Hockey League (NHL)
The strongest club league in the world. Now 32 squads are playing in it after the recent inclusion of the Seattle Kraken club in the league. Hockey betting fans are waiting every year for the start of this multi-month marathon, which starts in October and ends only next summer. This is not only a tournament of the highest level and entertainment, but also thousands of opportunities for online NHL betting monthly.
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)
KHL is the second strongest hockey league in the world (it is second only to the NHL) and objectively the strongest in Europe. Formally, it is considered a Russian competition, but it has an international character. In addition to Russian teams, the league includes clubs from Belarus, Kazakhstan and China. Previously, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Finnish and Ukrainian clubs also played in it. Bookies give a lot of opportunities to bet on KHL matches, so you can certainly make an excellent express.
American Hockey League (AHL)
The AHL is the second strongest North American hockey league. It features squads that are affiliated to NHL clubs. The latter regularly send young players to them who need practice and experience to improve their skill level. Thanks to this, AHL matches are particularly uncompromising, and hockey betting fans love them very much.
World Championships
Every year, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) holds a World Championship (WC), the participants of which are the 16 best national squads in the world. The tournament consists of a group stage and a playoff, and is one of the most popular events for hockey betting enthusiasts for the year.
Winter Olympics
Unlike the WC, the Winter Olympic Games are held every four years. One of the competitions that are included in its schedule is a hockey tournament. It features the best national squads in the world, as well as several national teams that manage to pass the qualifying stage before the start of the Olympics. The format of the competition is identical to the World Cup: the group stage, and then the playoffs.
Most Popular Hockey Bets
As in any other sports discipline, hockey betting has the most demanding types of cash predictions:
- Moneyline. Try to name the winner of the match;
- Total goals. Bet on the total number of goals in the match;
- Correct Score. Guess the exact score of the game;
- Player Scores. A stake that one of the players will score a goal;
- Over/Under. Try to guess whether more than the specified number of goals will be scored in the game or less.
There are other popular types of stakes, but we recommend that you pay special attention to these.
Step-by-step Guide for Hockey Bettors
We have prepared a universal hockey betting guide for you. It will help you to perform the required actions for placing cash predictions and hunting for big winnings as quickly as possible:
- Action 1. First, find a reliable online bookmaker who accepts players from your country, works legally and has a license. Create an account and recharge the balance;
- Action 2. Now you need to open the Sportsbook, pick the hockey category, and then — one of the competitions. Next, click on one of the events to open its page with outcomes and odds;
- Action 3. Explore the range of options for betting, and pick one of them, say, the Correct score;
- Action 4. Indicate the take amount. Ideally, it should be comfortable for your budget;
- Action 5. Confirm the stake, but before that carefully check the coupon, and only when you are sure of your decision to choose this outcome, click on the confirmation key.
Now you need to wait for the result. The winnings will be instantly credited to your balance if your hockey betting prediction is correct.
Common Mistakes When Betting on Hockey
We want to complete our manual with a listing and a brief description of several common mistakes of beginners in NHL betting and staking on any hockey matches in general:
- Low competence. We strongly recommend betting on events from those leagues in which you are well versed. Peruse the stats, the results of past events and the standings of the squads to be as prepared as possible;
- Poor management of funds. You have to control your budget and make stakes of the size that will be comfortable for you;
- Unnecessary emotions. Hockey betting is an emotional kind of Internet activity, because it allows you to count on a cash profit. But, you have to stay focused and make sober decisions. Only in this case you will avoid the risks of making a hasty cash prediction and putting yourself at risk of losing.
Keeping these tips in mind, you will increase your level as a bettor and you will be able to count on winning.